TEXT: 1313
  MiCk green
  Once every other month or thereabouts, a traveler 
  might stumble upon one of the stranger scenes in 
  Malifaux. In the darker hours of the night, when 
  Delios hangs in the sky but before Illios has 
  risen, a train of dusty wagons will sometimes roll 
  quietly into one of Malifaux’s many decrepit ghost 
  towns. The leader of the procession activates her 
  constructs and sends them through the town to 
  clear away debris and cluttered paths and then 
  begins the ritual that will bring the Meat Market 
  into existence. 
  As the last words of the spell leave her lips, the 
  ghost town lurches into a semblance of life. Rotted 
  walls of flesh push up from the ground to form 
  crude sheds and huts, while elsewhere ghostly 
  stalls and canopies fade into existence around 
  half-remembered paths and streets. Misshapen 
  creatures shuffle out of the wagons, dragging their 
  wares into the forming stalls with the slow patience 
  of the dead. Near the entrance to the emerging 
  market, two statues of white marble push their 
  way up from the ground. One depicts a man with a 
  ram’s head; its grasping hand reaches towards the 
  second statue, an emaciated woman with the head 
  of a crow. 
  These statues serve as a sort of clock for the 
  market’s existence. Over the course of the next 
  few nights, the statues gradually move together, 
  until the ram almost has the crow in its grasp, at 
  which point the organizer of the Meat Market gives 
  the signal, causing the fleshy walls to instantly rot 
  away into refuse and the ethereal stalls to fade 
  back into the aether as the market packs up its 
  wagons and rolls out of town. The meaning of the 
  statues isn’t something that the market’s organizer 
  shares with others, but the popular theory among 
  those familiar with the market is that the statues 
  represent how close the Guild’s Death Marshals 
  are to discovering the location of the market, and 
  that they move closer together as the hunters 
  close in and slowly part when false leads or other 
  events distract them. 
  While the market is in existence, it serves as a dream 
  come true for those who practice the necromantic 
  arts. The wares sold by the market’s stalls are 
  as varied as they are disturbing. Some stalls 
  peddle the severed limbs of humans, Nephilim, 
  and creatures stranger still, each preserved with 
  magic to keep it fresh and free of rot, while others 
  deal exclusively in preservative chemicals, necrotic 
  unguents, and fell tinctures.  Another ghostly stall 
  contains nothing but dark grimoires, strangely 
  incorporeal until the stallholder, herself a floating 
  spirit with a rotting face beneath her pince-nez, 
  hands them to a buyer. More mundane booths 
  sell the tools of the graverobbing trade, surgical 
  instruments, soulstones, and ruined constructs. 
  MeAt Market
  
  1414
  Very few of the merchants that man these booths 
  are willing to deal in Guild scrip. Most prefer to 
  operate on the barter system, trading their wares 
  for whatever unique or interesting items their 
  customers bring to the market. Corpses and 
  information are the most common form of currency 
  in the market, though Soulstones and Grimoires 
  also change hands from time to time. While this 
  might make the market a tempting target for 
  thieves, its wares are protected by the intimidating 
  Phlegyas. 
  These shrouded spirits manifest with the market, 
  though they seem to be independent of it and have 
  been known to protect customers from annoyed 
  merchants on more than one occasion. These 
  spirits flit about the market, directing traffic and 
  watching everything from beneath their black hoods, 
  but this is merely secondary to their primary role. 
  When the Meat Market first arrives in a ghost town, 
  the Phlegyas appear to prospective customers – 
  typically those who show some degree of skill in 
  the necromantic arts – and whisper the name of 
  the ghost town that is hosting the market. 
  The organizer of the Meat Market remains out of 
  sight for its duration, typically remaining within her 
  wagon unless a matter arises that requires her 
  direct attention. While most correctly assume that 
  the market’s leader is a skilled necromancer, most 
  would be surprised to learn that she is also undead. 
  Tamar, as she calls herself, is a stitched-together 
  amalgam of various Nephilim parts that have been 
  combined to create a surprisingly attractive whole. 
  The stitches that criss-cross her body are delicate 
  and careful, and she is quite capable of intelligent 
  speech and independent thought. If there is any 
  flaw in her construction, it is her nonfunctional 
  wings, which hang around her in a tattered shroud 
  of white filigreed flesh. 
  Tamar’s reasons for creating the Meat Market are 
  her own, and she keeps them as secret as every 
  other detail of her past. There have been rumors 
  that she is trying to use the market in an attempt to 
  lure a heretic Nephilim to her side, though whether 
  to welcome or kill him is a matter of debate. Others 
  claim that she is slowly gathering the artifacts of 
  Old Malifaux to her side in preparation for some 
  greater scheme, though what that might be is a 
  matter of even less certainty. 
  Using the Meat Market in your gaMe
  Here are a few suggestions to help you work the 
  Meat Market into one of your sessions. 
  Fated working with the guild
  The Death Marshals have heard rumors of the 
  Meat Market, but their efforts to find the market 
  before it’s packed up and moved on have thus far 
  been doomed to failure. They’ve captured a few 
  solitary Resurrectionists and slain a handful of 
  lurking undead left behind after the market moves 
  on, but they’re still no closer to finding the market 
  and putting a bullet in its leader’s head. Thinking 
  that outside agents might have a better chance of 
  avoiding notice, the Guild contacts the Fated and 
  puts them on surveillance of a Resurrectionist who 
  they believe will be traveling to the market during 
  its next appearance. 
  Fated working with the arcanists
  Many of the Arcanists are keen magicians, and 
  within their ranks there will always be those who 
  seek more power than they already have. If an 
  Arcanist suspects that a valuable Grimoire or a 
  powerful artifact will be offered for sale at the Meat 
  Market, the Fated could be sent to retrieve it… 
  which means convincing a necromancer to lead 
  them to the market and then trying to purchase 
  the item in question before another prospective 
  customer can get to it first. 
  Fated working with the resurrectionists
  Fated who dabble in necromantic magic might be 
  invited to the Meat Market by a Phlegyas who speaks 
  of the wonders for sale in the ghastly market. With 
  such a short warning, however, the Fated will have 
  to scramble to gather enough corpses or rare items 
  to give them purchasing power. Even then, it might 
  end up being a race between the Fated and the 
  Death Marshals, who are determined to shut the 
  market down this time...
  
  1515
  Fated working with the neverborn
  The Neverborn aren’t fond of the undead, and 
  they are even less fond of the idea that one of 
  their own has been transformed into an undead 
  abomination that is actively encouraging the 
  practice of necromancy with her blasphemous 
  marketplace. Tamar would be on the lookout for a 
  pack of Nephilim, but a few humans might be able 
  to sneak in and destroy the abomination before 
  she realizes what’s happening. 
  Fated working with the ten thunders
  The Ten Thunders crave to own a stake in every 
  criminal activity in Malifaux, and their hooks in 
  smuggling, prostitution, and extortion have given 
  them a great deal of influence so far. While the 
  Oyabun finds the very idea of the Meat Market to 
  be loathsome, he is quite interested in learning 
  how Tamar is able to accurately predict how close 
  her pursuers are to locating her. The Fated are sent 
  to the Meat Market to meet with Tamar to see what 
  the Thunders can offer her for this knowledge… 
  and to bring it back with them, one way or another. 
  Fated working with the Gremlins
  A few months back, a Gremlin necromancer got 
  a visit by one of the Phlegyas, which resulted in 
  a whole lot of screaming and panicked shooting 
  before she was able to trap the spirit in an old 
  moonshine jar. She’s asked around a bit since then 
  and has put the spirit of the Phlegyas into one of 
  her dead cousins so that he can lead her to the 
  market, but he only moves when he hears music, 
  and she can’t play more than two notes on a banjo. 
  The Fated will have to dust off their banjos and 
  empty jugs in order to keep the music going and 
  the zombified Gremlin walking towards the Market. 
  Fated working with the outcasts
  For those who live on the fringes of society, a 
  steadfast ally is worth as much as the largest 
  Soulstone. Unfortunately, one of the Fated’s allies 
  has disappeared in search of the Meat Market. The 
  Fated can pick up the trail, but whether they find 
  their ally hale and hearty or hanging from the walls 
  of one of the market’s stalls is yet to be seen. 
   
  Phlegyas
  Might
  2
  Grace
  3
  Speed
  2
  Resilience
  2
  Charm
  -5
  Intellect
  0
  Cunning
  2
  Tenacity
  3
  Enforcer (8), Spirit, Woe
  Defense
  5 (13)
  Walk
  5
  Height
  2
  Initiative
  5 (13)
  Willpower
  5 (13)
  Charge
  6
  Wounds
  7
  Skills: Appraise 1, Barter 2, Centering 2, Evade 3, 
  Intimidate 2, Notice 3, Necromancy 2, Pugilism 3, 
  Scrutiny 4, Toughness 2, Track 3. 
  Incorporeal: This character ignores, and is ignored 
  by, other characters and terrain during any movement. 
  Reduce all damage this character suffers from 
  Shooting and Close Combat attacks by half.
  Terrifying (Living) 11: Enemy Living characters 
  must pass a TN 11 Horror Duel when they end their 
  turn within this character's engagement range or 
  target this character with a harmful action.
  (1)  Tear Apart (Pugilism) 
  AV: 5 (13)  =====Rg: y2  ====== Resist: Df 
  Target suffers 2/3/5 damage. 
  t Expulsion: After damaging, if the target is 
  within the boundaries of the Meat Market, it is 
  teleported 5 miles in a random direction.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Through the Breach/Through the Breach - Articles - Meat Market (Chronicles #20) [_oef_].pdf