Rat Whispers



"What can you tell me today, my little gutter friends?"

- Billie upon first using the talisman

Rat Whispers is a passive supernatural ability in Death of the Outsider. Granted to Billie Lurk by a talisman from Deirdre, it allows her to overhear the conversations of rats whispered in Deirdre's voice, picking up valuable information. Unlike Billie's other abilities, Rat Whispers is not related to the Black Shard Arm, Sliver of the Eye or the Twin-bladed Knife, allowing her to use it during the mission One Last Fight.

Usage tips

 * Listening to rats can give important mission information as well as general thoughts from the rats.
 * In any group of rats, only the first whisper is relevant to the mission. Everything after that, and in most cases the first as well, is irrelevant to Billie's missions.
 * The talisman does not work when rats are running from place to place.
 * As rats have a very different perspective on the world, the whispers can be hard to decipher. However, all relevant information gleaned from rats gives a mission clue.

General

 * "The friend listens. The friend hears us. One of us. One of us! But ugly... And big... Still friend." (This is always the quote Billie gets from the her first interaction with the rats in Acantila Repair Station at the beginning of the game.)
 * "Little one in the mud, wails for the one who left it! But smells of fat milk, smells of longing and fear. Not ripe! But soon..."
 * "Tried to hit us, tried to burns us out. Swarm up, crawl up legs, bite at soft flesh, bite at eye and hand and heart."
 * "Steel box traps us. Metal walls hurt teeth. Can't gnaw free. Coin, jewels, ink and paper. Useless for food. We grow weak."
 * "Bite at eyes and tongues, delicious food. Leave them in gutters for us to eat."
 * "Blood tasted sharp. Tasted bitter. Scent of empty bottle rolling in street. Numbness and blindness. Poisoned food!"
 * "Bright fire lights the sky. Smoke in coughing clouds. High houses crumble, spark and flame. She watches, screams alarm with others. Hides tinder in her fist."
 * "Follow the smell of milk. Fat, grassy, soft in the mouth. Tastes of happiness."
 * "Bright eyes, sleek fur. Whiskers twitch. Scent of wanting. Bite neck, pin body. Fur is soft, soft and hot."
 * "Long teeth, long claws! Hounds sniff us out and swallow us alive."
 * "Deep in sewers. Flesh on skewers, over flames. Snatch, run! Scurry, scurry! Hot fat melts, sweet guilt on tongue. One of us. One of us."
 * "They stick us with long pins and burn our flesh. Teeth crunching bones, eat us whole!"
 * "Witches chase us. Clever fingers grasp, claw, clasp. Bind books with our skins."
 * "Traps in low places, metal teeth clamping down on tails and toes. Leave us to starve! Break our bones!"
 * "Follow bloodflies, watch for smell of nests, papery and full of grubs. Spear us with their mouths if they catch us there! But delicious grubs..."
 * "Salt drips down wires, chew the metal. Burns us, fire from inside. Scent of heat and death. Dangerous food."
 * "Make nests in the walls, pink babies crying for food. Little ones, little ones, we will bring flesh for you."
 * "Old ones spoke of old days. Bad days. Sick. Madness in our mouths. Death in our minds. Armies of us in streets. In sewers. All feared us. Bite! Bite! Bite! Bite!"
 * "Careful, careful! Old ones warned us. Never let tails twist together. Twining, tying. Trapped together! Dying."
 * "Metal man, knife hands. Steel feet stomp metal floor. Careful! It starts hunts. Never stops."
 * "Papers and ink, bitter ink. Dead thoughts, dead flesh. Dry and cracked and withering. Bite at the binding. Make ink spill out. Ruinous food."
 * "Hush. Listen! Humming from the floor. Danger? Wary steps on wires. Shock! Twists us, fires in our minds. Burns!"
 * "Bodies hidden in dirt, under marked white stone, rotting alone. Bodies unearthed, flesh in clean sunshine. Left for us. Sweet taste of decay."
 * "Old ones told of him. Little man, chittering like us. One of us. First one. Only one."
 * "Garbage, garbage, garbage."

Acantila Repair Station

 * "She fed us in lean times. Tossed us grains and crumbs. Loud voices came, metal flashed. Warm blood in floods on the floor. Our first feast. We lap her up."
 * "Follow the sea scent. Climb ropes up, up. Hide inside dark boat belly. Wood rocks, water flows. Salt taste on fur. New homes for us."
 * "Teeth in the water. Hagfish bite as we swim. Careful, careful. Watch for fins. Watch for the black biting mouths."

Northern Campo Seta

 * "He sneaks along in the dark. Reeks of drink, dark blood, our screaming kin. Hunts us. His knife is fast."
 * "We smell them from here. Sour with fear. They carry scratched bones, carved wood. Blood and soft feather. No use. Death still finds them."
 * "He was like us. Creeping to his nest. Sleeping safe under earth and stone, ripe with rot and piss. Men came hush, hush. Silver knives, bindings. Trapped! His nest lies empty now." (This can only be heard from rats found in the hovel next to Albarca Baths, referring to the beggar who was kidnapped by the Eyeless and used to train their hounds)

Upper Cyria District

 * "Warm blood, easy blood. Draining from flesh. Drip, drip, drip into tubes. Flowing, him to her. Wait, wait. Drag the empty dead away. We swarm. Sweet blood warms our bellies." (referring to sanguine transfusion, a ritual practiced by the Eyeless)
 * "Noises in that house, hear it through the floor. Wires pulled taut. Plink, plonk, plink... Can't hear our song, can't hear our music." (This can only be heard from rats in front of Shan Yun's house)

Cyria Gardens

 * "Men with metal faces send hounds, yes. Watch for wet smell, watch for smell of fat and blood and burning."
 * "Snatch scattered papers, take tatters to nest. Scent of candles, spice, quiet. Old books make best beds."

Shindaerey North Quarry

 * "Burrowed here, but not always. Some days stone, some days iron. Shiver, then still. Air tastes like blood, then nothing but dust."

Trivia

 * Rat Whispers is voiced by Emily O'Brien.
 * The Rat Whispers talisman is not directly linked to any Void ability. It's theoretically possible that any person with this talisman would be able to listen to rats, not just Billie.
 * Deidre stole the talisman from someone before giving it to Billie. It is possible that the previous owner used it in the same way.
 * The achievement Rat Whisperer is obtained by listening to rats five times.
 * Harming or scaring rats when they are talking through Rat Whispers will make them scream.
 * According to the Dishonored Roleplaying Game, a stronger version of this power, called Beast Whispers, exists. This power allows users to communicate with not only rats but also bloodflies and other vermins.
 * Sometimes the rats may recall the Rat Plague in Dunwall and Granny Rags.
 * Granny Rags possesses this power.