The Siul-Bas

It was a nice day when I opened the pub and the afternoon was just the perfect degree of cool. I always leave the door unlocked while I warm up the stove, it was a small town and nothing really happened much. When I went back to the bar the first thing that hit me was the cold chill in the room, but I didn’t have time to think on that as a tall man with dark hair and a grey beard was standing at the bar. He asked for whiskey and threw down a handful of coins. So who was I to question it. The man sat at the end of the bar with his bottle and poured glass after glass all afternoon. He said he name was “Shamus” and he wanted to be left along wit his drink and his thoughts. Fair enough.

As the afternoon carried on he had finished the first bottle, and wanted another. I tried to offer him food, but he said he didn’t need any and paid for his whiskey. As the sun began to set he had expressed an interest in a third bottle and I couldn’t believe my eyes. This man had been drinking my top shelf for the better part of a whole day and hadn’t have a so much as a bread crust. I started to say “No” even after he doubled the price in coins, but something in his eye convinced me otherwise. I guess I was expecting him to pass out, or even kill over, shortly and it wouldn’t be my problem anymore.

I went back to tending bar when two men came in, I’d seen them around. A couple of toughs who fancied themselves the start of a gang. They’d already bust up my place a few days back and I wasn’t ready for trouble, but it was certainly looking for them. Shamus howled like a wolf and jumped for the large of the two and threw him against a table. The second man avoided Shamus’ punch and pulled a blade, waving it like he was threatening Shamus. Shamus didn’t care and grabbed the guy by his throat and lifted him off the floor. The guy started cutting at Shamus’ arm and stabbing at his elbow all the while he face was turning bright red. Shamus didn’t seem to care that blood was pouring down his shirt as he choked the life from the man. As he did so the friend got up and I expect the man to jump into the fight, but instead he just screamed and ran out the pub. Everyone watched, like it was a dream, Shamus getting stabbed all the while choking this boy with one hand. The young man’s throat started to crack, bone by bone, and finally he died. Shamus dropped the body and simply walked out as if planning to follow the ruffian who left… only THEY did I realize the room had grown warmer.

I learned 3 days later that the two boys had broken into a man’s house. Killed him in his sleep, raped his wife and left her for dead while they then stole all his possessions. The man’s name was Shamus O’Malley.

I’ve never seen a Siul-Bas since then, but to this day my heart still skips a beat if any man orders a bottle of whiskey.

When an Honorable Celt dies a dishonorable death, the Fey of Tir na nOg give them the chance to return as a Siul-Bas (Walking Death), that could strike down those that killed them. Becoming a Siul-Bas however is a risky game since the Celts’ soul has actually returned and vengeance is punishable by damnation. The Siul-Bas often learns this too late, and wanders for years trying to gain redemption before he moves onto the afterlife. Because of this it’s still unsure if the Siul-Bas is a blessing or a curse… a gift from the first in hopes of damming a soul or a new beginning from the powers that be with a heavy price that must be repaid in turn.

It was winter and my husband had injured his leg cutting lumber for our fire. We had no money for a doctor and were now running out of wood to warm the house which seemed to be the only think keeping us alive. I did not know what to do when a knock at my door woke me from my chair. I went to open it and there was a young man in an old officer’s uniform, the kind which I hadn’t seen since I was a girl. He said his name was “Patrick” and he’d heard of my husband’s illness – he even claimed to be a doctor and we were desperate. He offered to help in exchange for some Brandy to warm himself and bread to fill his stomach.

That night he had to remove my husbands leg, and it was a night I would have never gotten though had Patrick not been there to console me and tell me everything was going to be alright. He told me stories of men whom he’d treated the war who had much more sever injuries. Now that I think on it, he did seem too young to have served in a war, bat at that time I was more concerned with my husbands health than his saviors identity.

The next morning he chopped wood for use and even went to the market to buy us some supplies, he claimed we’d run out of sugar for tea and it was important for my husband to drink his tea. He only asked for shelter from the elements and refused to lay by the fire saying that we needed the warmth more than he. When I asked why he was so generous he said it was because he wanted nothing more than to save another life.

One night, Patrick woke me from my sleep and said “You husband is waking.” I was so excited I rushed past the man without even thanking him for all he’d done in the past week. My only interest was in finding out if he was right. My husband did wake, and I was so relived that I cried tears of joy. But when I turned to thank Patrick – he was gone. The winds were howling outside and no door had opened… it seemed he’d simply vanished.

It would be 5 years before I would meet Kelly McGreggor at a bible teaching for the children. My story of the mysterious medic brought tears to her eyes – Her Father was a Medic in the Army and his name was also Patrick. But her Patrick was killed in the streets on his way home from the war… over 20 years ago… she said he was still wearing his uniform when he died.

Siul-Bas (Walking Death), is buried in Irish legend right next to the Dearg-Dul (Red Blood Drinker) but instead of blood the Siul-Bas are attracted to alcohol. As ironic as this may seem for being Irish, it’s coupled with a strong desire for pastries and cookies which lead Dr. Walsh to publish a theory that the Siul-Bas uses sugars to boost its own metabolic rate and thus localize an advanced type of cellular regeneration causing bursts of nearly superhuman strength and immeasurable powers of self-healing. Since most of the cellular energy is stored and burned in short instances the “host” remains cold. The Siul-Bas also seems to draw energy from the environment around it and use this to power needed brain and organ functions, causing temperatures to drop and in some cases a strong Siul-Bas has even reportedly caused candles to dim and go out. This would also explain why most Siul-Bas are inactive during the day – all legends that discuss Siul-Bas posing as people, with uncanny accuracy, during the day never seem to even hint that the person is a Siul-Bas save for the desire to drink liquor, eat biscuits and the possibility of looking like someone who was already dead.

We knew what he was… we knew he’d be weakest during the day. We just guessed he’d be back at the docks where we strangled him the first time. There he was, fishing like a normal man. We didn’t hesitate, we rushed him and started to beat him down. Oh, he fought back, but he was no where near as fast and as strong as he was the night before… the night he killed Brian… the night he tried to kill us all. We beat him down like a rabid hound and put 2 bullets in his brain, 4 in his chest and waited to see if he would get up as easily as he did the other night. We passed the time by stabbing and kicking him as he lay there. When we got tired we pushed the body into the ocean and went to the pub.

That was our mistake. After Grady was killed that night the witch told me were were supposed to cut off his head and burn the body… all we ended up doing was pissing him off. That’s why I’m waiting here… I don’t doubt he’ll find me. Besides the sun’s coming up soon and we both know he won’t be so tough then. Either way, this will be over by noon.

Siul-Bas(19 point quality) get +2 to Str and Con, +3 to Dex (Attributes 7). The will never grow old or die (Immortal 0) and are heavy drinkers as well as fond of pastries (Obsessions: Drinking Alcohol and Eating Sweets -1). While they don’t have to be active only at night, it’s after sun down when they can draw enough energy to be more than human (Limited Use: Night -1). At night they can track their own killers, read people like books (Insight 5) and regenerate Life points at Con per Minute (Regeneration 3). The regeneration seems to be due to the sugar and calories they store eating and drinking during daylight hours. The only way to truly kill one (Unique Kill 5) is either Decapitation or Fire and it’s best to use a combination of both. Since the Siul-Bas is a reincarnated soul it is still accountable for it’s actions. Often a Siul-Bas who is destroyed with the weight of those it killed on its shoulders will be condemned and can not return to Tin na nOg… the most frightening Siul-Bas are the ones who don’t care about  damnation and attempt to live out their immortal existence as agents of evil.