Episode 12: “The Whisperjack Incident: I Met My Own Alias and He Tried to Kill Me”
Host: Gilbreth Bernardus
Style: One-part advice, two-parts bragging, three-parts made-up
Setting: A candlelit room with the shutters nailed shut and a dagger wedged into the doorframe — for ambiance; low thunder
‘I just wanted to be someone worth remembering.’
He didn’t kill me after that.
Instead, he said, ‘Then stop pretending, and start becoming.’
:: TRANSCRIPT ::
Gilbreth sounds a bit rattled but trying to keep it smooth
Gilbreth:
“I’ve told a lot of lies.
Some big. Some beautiful. Some so layered I could rent them out as apartments.
But only one of those lies tried to stab me.”
🃏 The Alias
“Whisperjack.
Sounds cool, right? Bit mysterious. Bit dangerous.I used it at underground card tables. Made up a whole reputation — whispered rumors, shadow deals, the works.
People feared the name.
Problem is… someone else heard it.
And decided to become it.”
🗡️ The Encounter
“It was in a tavern called The Mourning Tankard — the kind of place where every chair has at least one kill to its name.
I’m sitting there, spinning stories, when this tall, cloaked figure sits across from me.
Doesn’t speak. Doesn’t blink.
Just says:
‘You stole my name.’I, being the eloquent poet that I am, replied with:
‘I steal a lot of things. Can you narrow it down?’”
⚔️ The Fight
“He flips the table. Draws twin daggers. I throw my drink — which, to be fair, was already paid for.
We brawl across the tavern. Cards fly. Bottles break.
I’m using a stool like a shield, yelling, ‘You can’t kill me! I’m not even real!’He yells back, ‘Exactly!’”
🤝 The… Resolution?
“Eventually we both collapse, out of breath and pride.
He asks me what I wanted out of being Whisperjack.
I told him the truth:
‘I just wanted to be someone worth remembering.’
He didn’t kill me after that.
Instead, he said, ‘Then stop pretending, and start becoming.’
Gave me a coin. Left.
Never saw him again.
Still hear him in my dreams, though.
Weird guy. Great footwork.”
Gilbreth (quieter):
“Sometimes we wear names like armor.
Other times, like shackles.Either way — if someone wants theirs back…
Give it to them.”
🎶 “Half-truths, whole drinks — and a name too dangerous to keep pretending.” 🎶