The Mercies

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"The Mercies, Grace and Lettice, are legendary for their rambunctiousness, and drinking holes pride themselves on weathering the tomb-colonist pair's storms of destruction. For all that, there is one thing that can be said in their favour: there are only two of them. [...]"[1]

The Mercies are a notorious pair of tomb-colonist twin sisters, Lettice and Grace, who have become infamous across London for their wild behavior and daredevil antics.[2] They tear through the city in an open carriage,[3] driving with reckless glee and leaving chaos in their wake.[4] The sisters are at least old enough to have lived in the Fourth City, where they were bold enough to prank the Masters themselves;[5] Lettice claims that they are kept alive by their many vices,[6] including heavy drinking,[7] chain-smoking,[8] and partaking in gaoler's honey.[9]

Lettice[edit]

"You're good fun for a softskin, but don't slow down. I said don't slow down! I'm shooting spiders at six."[10]

The more sociable of the two, Lettice has amassed a colorful history of friendships, enemies, and lovers.[11] She is a connoisseur of destruction: well-versed in armaments,[12] chemistry,[13] explosives,[14] and applications of other sciences that can be used to effect mass destruction.[15] She is also knowledgeable in Third City history.[16]

Lettice is a member of the Order of the Blackened Hoof, a defiant society of tomb-colonists who refuse to be exiled quietly.[17] During the attack on Karakorum that preceded its sale and designation as the Fourth City, Lettice fled with her family, only to abandon them in a vainglorious and futile attempt to find the Great Khan and save the city. She later found the remnants of her family in the Tomb-Colonies.[18]

Grace[edit]

"Muscaria Brandy is lethal to breathing humans. "Year in Hell," Grace explains creakily. "Taste for the stuff. Good in coffee." A year in Hell? But she says nothing more. That's Grace for you."[19]

Grace is the quieter sister, but no less dangerous. She previously served as a sponsor in Knife-and-Candle,[20] and is currently a player in Mr Hearts' spiritual successor, Hearts' Game.[21] Since she prefers the intimate brutality of Knife-and-Candle over the poisons of Hearts' Game,[22] she often skirts the edges of the rules of the newer murder-game.[23] Grace lived in Hell for a year, and is able to consume Muscaria Brandy, which kills "breathing humans;"[24] she also has a signature coffee recipe that grants strength[25] but contains a variety of ingredients that are harmful to one's health.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Point visiting tomb-colonists towards a gin-palace, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Point visiting tomb-colonists towards a gin-palace, Fallen London "The Mercies, Grace and Lettice, are legendary for their rambunctiousness, and […] destruction. For all that, there is one thing that can be said in their favour: there are only two of them. Six bars later, and you […] have yet to find one up to the task."
  3. ↑ Meet with Tomb-Colonists, Fallen London "The Mercies' phaeton barrels round the corner. They barely pause to scoop you up. "To the Forgotten Quarter!" carols Lettice. "Bones like stones! Light like night!" She's been drinking again. Or reading poetry."
  4. ↑ The unquiet dead, once more, Fallen London "[…] Dowagers and urchins alike scatter before the terrible wheels of the Mercies. 'Have at you, silk-skins!" roars the right-most gleefully. Then the whistles of the Constables sound, and one of them pushes you […]. "For your own good!" she cries. […]"
  5. ↑ Your Salon: invite the Mercies as guests of honour, Fallen London ”…and then Grace said to the Khan’o’Drums - course, he isn’t called that now - if you can ride, so can I! I’d snuck up behind him with a net. Now they’re wary bastards - oh, stop faintin’ over there, bastards I said and bastards I meant, bastards bastards bastards - where was I? Get me another cigar, you. This one tastes like someone shredded an urchin.”
  6. ↑ Lettice, the Mercy, Fallen London ""I warned you," Lettice says proudly as your coughing fit subsides. She retrieves the reeking cigarette and passes you the gin bottle. "It preserves me, though. Like a kipper.""
  7. ↑ Two of Ribs: Pursuit, Fallen London "The Knight possesses a startlingly ramshackle phaeton and a pair of wild-eyed, rearing horses. She settles into the front seat, uncorking a bottle of wine with her teeth. "Let's see him outrun this," she croaks, tossing you the reins. "Ride!""
  8. ↑ KNIGHT OF RIBS, Fallen London "Clever eyes glitter like razors beneath her bandages. She puffs acrid smoke from a long churchwarden pipe, and when she speaks – which is rarely – her voice is quiet and creaky." [Editor's Note: The Knight of Ribs is heavily implied to be Grace]
  9. ↑ Honey at the crossroads, Sunless Sea "A clatter of hooves; hoarse voices raised in song. A phaeton pulls up beside you, slewing dangerously. Two bandaged figures sit hunched at the front. “Honey!” one croaks. “Quickly!” You pass up the barrel, and they heft it as if it were empty. “I'm a terrible person,” she tells you dolefully. “But so are you. And it tastes so sweet. Here's your money.”"
  10. ↑ Lettice, the Mercy, Fallen London
  11. ↑ Apply her particular expertise in a novel way, Fallen London "Lettice does indeed have a long recollection of her many past enemies, friends, lovers... and those who overlap more than one category. But it takes an afternoon to untangle the anecdote, only to discover it has barely any relevance at all."
  12. ↑ Ask her to help with ordinary research, Fallen London "Lettice knows a little something about every type of weapon you can think of. When you ask why, she always says, "Target practice.""
  13. ↑ Ask her to help with ordinary research, Fallen London "Lettice draws various unsavoury comparisons between these chemicals and the substances used for embalming. The story about the preserved skunk will be haunting you for some time to come."
  14. ↑ Laboratory Services of Lettice the Mercy, Fallen London "She's inclined toward blowing things up. Destructive testing is her greatest interest. But she also has a few things to say about the Third City, if you ask politely."
  15. ↑ Ask her to help with ordinary research, Fallen London "You might not have expected Lettice to be patient enough for this kind of work. But it is the sort of mathematics that flattens cities, and she is very much interested. It's all you can do to stop her copying sigils of the Correspondence into your equations just to find out what happens."
  16. ↑ Ask her what a Tomb Colonist would say about this, Fallen London "Of course, she is not just any Tomb Colonist. But she knows more about the Third City and its survivors than most Londoners."
  17. ↑ A Rendezvous Aboard the HMS Ungulate, Fallen London ""We's the Order of the Blackened Hoof, and we ain't goin' quietly!" The subsequent war cry from the assembled Blackened Hooves is raspy, decrepit, and utterly terrifying. Lettice grins, and puffs on her pipe. "You need guns, or alibis, or bandages – give us a call.""
  18. ↑ A Confession of Lettice, Fallen London "The confession recalls the fall of the Fourth City. [...] When the bats came, Lettice began to lead her loved ones to safety. But halfway to the city's gate she abandoned them in order to seek out the Great Khan, instead. Perhaps she could save him, and perhaps he could save the city? She could not, and he could not. Much, much later, she tracked her surviving family down in the Tomb-Colonies. Those that remained, at least."
  19. ↑ The grace of Grace, Fallen London
  20. ↑ Grace, the Mercy, Fallen London "Grace is the one who doesn't talk much. She supports her protegé(é)s with Muscaria Brandy, and likes Elusive players who win."
  21. ↑ Work with the Knight, Fallen London ""So it's the Khan of Hearts this time, is it?" She tuts, and wraps a loose bandage more tightly around her forearm. "Can't be helped." She stalks into the night, and does not check that you are keeping up."
  22. ↑ Eight of Ribs: Close Quarters, Fallen London "The Knight chafes against the strictures of the game. She seems used to something […] more violent. "Problem with poison," she says, "is that you don't often get to watch it work." She flashes one of her terrifying grins. "I prefer the personal touch.""
  23. ↑ Run your target down in the street – carefully, Fallen London "You are lucky that the target survives the blades and blood loss. "[...] death by any means other than poison is grounds for disqualification." An umpire has appeared [...]"
  24. ↑ The grace of Grace, Fallen London "Muscaria Brandy is lethal to breathing humans. "Year in Hell," Grace explains creakily. "Taste for the stuff. Good in coffee." A year in Hell? But she says nothing more. That's Grace for you."
  25. ↑ Grace's Stirrup-Cup, Fallen London "A flare of light behind your eyes! A taste like tar and terror. A thick and oily rolling in your stomach. When you cough, it comes up black. When you clench your fists, you could splinter timber."
  26. ↑ Grace's Stirrup-Cup, Fallen London "A horrifying concoction of coffee dosed with poisons, medicines, and spirits [...]; it is unlikely to kill you stone dead."
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