bard, barding a set of proofing worn as armor. See harness.
barge any rivergoing gastriner.
bargemen workers of rivergoing craft as opposed to vinegaroons, who sail the high seas and work on rams and cargoes. Vinegaroons consider bargemen to be lesser creatures, not as skilled as sailors, and the bargemen resent this strongly. As far as they see it, a boat is a boat, and still needs to be handled well to keep its trim in the water, wherever that water might be.
Barthomæus, Instructor ~ said “bath-o-may-uss”; one of the staff at Madam Opera’s Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls. His main responsibility is to teach the children physical skills such as harundo and swimming and rowing. A retired yardsman, he is not as old as Fransitart or Craumpalin, having arrived at the foundlingery only a couple of years ago.
Bases and Combinations the foundational chemicals from which all scripts (potives and drafts) are begun. Each realm or script has its selection of Bases. For example bezoariac, used in making Cathar’s Treacle, is one of the Bases of the realm known as alembants—scripts used to alter someone’s physique. The most common Base for all realms is water. Combinations are the ways in which both Bases and their resulting scripts might be combined for more potent or varied results.
baskets derogatory term meaning base and unworthy fellows, especially monsters.
Battle of the Gates see Gates, Battle of the ~.
Battle of the Mole see Mole, Battle of the ~.
beast-handlers or, more properly, tractors or feralados; people who feed, clean, bridle, train and control the many beasts used in warfare. They are especially used to care for and control the bolbogis, the dogs-of-war, great gudgeon monsters like the Slothog, keeping them in check with thick chains and carefully applied potives. Tractors lead their beasts into battle, working up their rage with the pricking of goads till they are near the enemy lines. With the enemy close, the beasts are released to storm off into the foe. Occasionally the monsters “malfunction” and turn on their own army, doing great harm till they can be subdued.
belladonna also called pratchigin in the south and sweet-lass in Boschenberg and its lands; a powder made from the root of the deadly nightshade bush. In small doses it is used to relieve stomach complaints. A slightly stronger dose can give a slight uplift to one’s spirits. Too much belladonna, however, can put you into a coma or, even worse, kill you. It is sometimes added to Cathar’s Treacle to help with digestion and make takers feel a bit better about themselves. It is not essential, however, and Cathar’s Treacle works just as well without it.
bells of the watch aboard rams and other watergoing craft, and in any naval college or school, a bell is rung on every half hour of a watch: 8 bells are rung at the beginning of each watch, then 1 bell after the first half hour, 2 bells after an hour, 3 bells after an hour and a half and so on until 8 bells are reached again and a new watch called. Exceptions to this are the two dogwatches, where only 3 bells are rung before ringing out 8 to begin a new watch once more. See watches.
Best Cuts the expensive dishes on a menu; those meals said to be fashionable. The strange thing is that after a few seasons they may well find themselves listed under the Rakes instead, and meals once considered common and cheap make their way back into the Best Cuts. Ah, the vicissitudes of fashion. See Rakes.
bezoriac, bezoariac, besorus one of the Bases; a thickish liquid, usually clear but sometimes straw-colored; used in the making of Cathar’s Treacle and many other scripts that change the way the body functions and also for antidotes.
biggin wooden cup or flask in an oiled leather case, with a lid of the same which fastens shut and helps hold in most of whatever the biggin is holding. For traveling, water- and wineskins or canteens are more common, but a biggin will do over a short journey.
Bill of Fare what we would call a “menu,” fare meaning “food,” bill meaning “list.”
billet-boxes the cheapest accommodation in a wayhouse or hostelry: little more than a cupboard set into a wall containing a cot and some space to store one’s things. They might range as high as four billet-boxes up a wall, with a ladder to access those above the first. Cramped and uncomfortable for anyone over six feet tall.
Billetus, Mister ~ owner and proprietor of the Harefoot Dig, along with his wife Madam Felicitine. He inherited the Dig from some distant part of the family when he was young and single after a short stint as a cooper’s apprentice, and has run the wayhouse ever since.
birchet restorative draft used to reduce swelling and numb pain. Its powerful reaction with the body when first swallowed is thought to help against the rise of a fever as well. See scripts.
black coney pie a pastry made from rabbit meat stewed in a mixture of herbs that makes the flesh go dark—almost black—as it cooks.
boatswain also bosun; standing officer of a vessel, which means he stays with the craft no matter what, whether it is at sea or laid up in ordinary. With the assistance of the boatswain’s mates, he is responsible for bunting (flags), rigging, blocks, cables, anchors, any other ropes or cords, a vessel’s boats, the seamanship of the vinegaroons working the vessel including those under the gastrineer, turning the watches and ensuring the gunwale and sides of his vessel are clean and at all times clear of clotheslines, stray ropes, caulking and any other foreign matter. One of the most learned and experienced sailors on board a vessel, he is paid anywhere from forty-six to sixty sous a year.
bogle(s) the most commonly used term for monsters generally; it can also be used to mean the smaller varieties of monster, those of less than a human’s height, including nuglungs, nimbleschrewds, glamgorns and that white creature Rossamünd sees in the waters of the Humour. Even a small monster is deadly dangerous and very hard to kill. Anyone wishing for a long life will treat even these with a great deal of care.
boobook, boobook owl small white and brown owl with large black eyes and a pleasant woodwind call. It is said that they are mortally afraid of monsters, and so to hear one is a happy sign.
book child any child raised in an orphanage, foundlingery or any other institution for the housing or care of stray or unwanted children. They are called book children because their names are always entered into some kind of book when they arrive at the institution. As a consequence it is customary for the children to take on the family name of “Bookchild” when they grow up and move on, especially if they do not know their original family name.
Bookday the day Madam Opera holds once a year to celebrate the lives of all the foundlings living under the roof of her marine society. One day does all and passes for a kind of birthday, even if the actual date of birth is known. Madam Opera would rather that no child get any lofty ideas about being more special than the others, though she does not enforce this policy on her staff strictly.
bookhouse another name for a foundlingery or a marine society. So named from the book its occupants’ names are written into.
Boschenberg said “bosh-en-burg”; the great city of the people who now call themselves the Hergotts, and who are descended from the fierce tribes that were native to the region, the Bosch, who were eventually conquered by the Empire.The name means “the hill or mount of the Bosch” where, as legend goes, the last of the Bosch made their mighty yet doomed stand before the might of a long-dead emperor’s armies. See Hergoatenbosch and Hergott.
Boschenberger(s) those living in or coming from Boschenberg.
bosun’s whistle or pipe; a whistle with a distinctive three-note call used by a vessel’s boatswain (bosun) to order those under his authority to their respective tasks. In the marine society it is used in much the same way by Master Heddlebulk, piping the children to various tasks. The bells let them know what time it is.
bothersalts popular potive used to drive away monsters. It smells terrible, and even worse to bogles, affecting the mucous membranes, such as inside the nose and throat, and also the eyes, stinging powerfully and even causing (temporary) blindness. There are no flashes or bangs with bothersa
lts, just a puff of the powder and much stumbling and screaming from the victim. One of the remarkable things about them is that even if they get wet, bothersalts will dry back into fine crystals ready for use again, unlike many other repugnants of its kind. This makes them popular among vinegaroons and bargemen and this is why Craumpalin knows how to make them.
bower maid maid who looks after a bower (bedroom) and the bedding, washing and clothing needs of whoever might occupy that room. In the Harefoot Dig, the bower maids simply attend to the ablutions and comforts of the guests staying in their rooms. Bower maids can be privy to some very delicate information, as they serve their masters and mistresses in the most intimate room of the house. Consequently, some bower maids have been forced to betray the master or mistress by bribes, threats or pain, while certain master spies use such a disguise to do their nefarious work.
boxthorn medium to large bush with small dark hardy leaves that grows all about the Soutlands, especially in remoter places. It gets its name from the roughly boxlike shape it gains as it matures, and for the one- to three-inch thorns sticking from trunk, branch and twig. As with all thorny plants, rural folks regard them as ill luck, attracting and hiding monsters. They are thought to be a favorite hidey-hole for bogles and are often pruned and lopped if found growing too near civilization.
Branden Rose, the ~ name by which Europe is known throughout much of the Soutlands, the vast southern lands of the Empire. She has this appellation because she has spent so much time in Brandenbrass that she is mistakenly believed to have originally come from that city.
Brandenbrass enormous city well to the south of Boschenberg, and one of its main rivals for trade and prominence. Situated on the north-western shores of the Grume, Brandenbrass is known for the great size of its navy and the adventurous roving of its sea captains and merchants. Even though it controls very little land, after centuries of strong and enterprising trade Brandenbrass has become a significant power. Its standing army is tiny—no more than three thousand souls, yet such is its wealth and fame that several of the most elite mercenary regiments use Brandenbrass as their headquarters, being granted protected lands—or parks—by the city’s walls to billet and train. This is a convenient and perfectly legal arrangement that gives the city first pick of many thousands of the land’s best soldiers should they ever be needed. At the time of Rossamünd, Brandenbrass is ruled in the Emperor’s name by the Archduke Narsesës and his loyal Cabinet.
Brigandine, the ~ a collection of little kingdoms far to the northeast of the Half-Continent, past Mandalay and Tumbalay, across the Bay of Bells (Sinus Tintinabuline). Each one is ruled by a cunning pirate-king, supremely successful corsairs who have amassed enough wealth and loyal following to establish themselves as minor potentates of their own realms. Some pirate-kings are secretly sponsored by certain states or kingdoms on the understanding that they will leave that state or kingdom’s own vessels alone but freely harry all other shipping. In exchange the sponsoring power allows clandestine access to its own ports and markets, thus allowing a pirate-king or -queen and his or her rascally hoard to flourish.
brigands also called bog-trotters, along with smugglers; robbers, highwaymen and ne’er-do-wells, desperate men living in the semi-wilds and rural lands, looking to waylay passers and rob them, beat them or even murder them. A brigand’s life is tough and usually short, contending with both the officers of Imperial Law (such as the lamplighters) and the monsters that lurk all about them. The best chance a brigand has of surviving is by gathering with others of his or her kind in a violent gang or band, the bigger the better. Such a gang is ruled by the most ruthless of them, and together they can cause a lot of anguish and trouble to both man and monster. If a band of brigands do not have a skold in their midst, they will commonly kidnap one and force him or her to work for them under threat of death—another risk the humble skold has to run. Brigands work hard to keep their dens secret, taking convoluted paths to and from their lairs. For, if a brigand’s den is discovered, or even a hint of it is known to the authorities, they descend upon the murderous band with merciless alacrity. Truly, only the most destitute and desperate would ever venture on a life like this. One of the favorite weapons of brigands for hand-to-hand fights and making threats is the carnarium or “flesh-hook,” such as that used by butchers. It is their distinctive item, almost a badge of the job.
bright-black highly polished black leather; what we would call “patent” leather.
bright-limn lanternlike device used to illuminate homes, streets and ships. Its glow comes from a certain species of phosphorescent algae known as glimbloom or just bloom, which glows very brightly when soaked in a certain soup of chemicals called seltzer. These chemicals cause the algae to glow strongly. When the algae are out of the seltzer, they cease to give off light. The glass panes of a bright-limn are always arranged hexagonally and the stem of bloom hangs off-center, which means that to “turn a bright-limn off,” you simply lay it on the side opposite the stem of bloom, which leaves it out of the seltzer. Gradually it will dim down as the algae dry and become dormant. To “turn” it back on, you stand the bright-limn upright or roll it to its opposite side and very soon it will begin to glow again. The great advantage of a bright-limn is that it has no flame, and so there is no chance of an accident causing some part of the very wooden cities of the Half-Continent to burn down—just a puddly mess and a funny smell. They are also low maintenance, in that there is no wick to trim or oil to change. In fact a bright-limn can be left to glow continuously day and night without any ill effect. The seltzer does, however, slowly go off, changing from a pale yellow to a deep orange; when it is completely bad, it becomes a dirty, toxic green and begins to be harmful to the algae. When the deep orange is turning filthy brown, it is time to change the seltzer.
Brindlestow Bridge, the ~ ancient bridge on the Vestiweg, which crosses a gorge at the bottom of which runs the Pill, a small stream that empties into the swampy lands at the mouth of the Humour. Originally built by the ancient Tutins, the Brindlestow Bridge has been refurbished several times and, as an obvious choke point, is a favorite ambush of the monsters, and even brigands. At least once a season some kind of pugnator has to be sent out to clear the bridge or the road of bogles.
Brindlewood, the ~ or the Brindleshaws; a broad forest of pine and turpentine, beech and myrtle on the hilly southwestern tip of Sulk End (a region known as the Sough). The Vestiweg passes right through it, entering at the northwest corner and joining the Gainway in the forest’s sparse eastern fringes. Though regarded as ditchlands, and largely given over to the monsters, the Brindlewood is tame as ditchlands go and several brave folk still make homes there. These Shawsmen live in lonely manors or dwell in towns such as Herrod’s Hollow—a logging town—to work the nearby sawmill, or Silvernook, and are frequent patrons of the Harefoot Dig.
broadside side of a ram or other vessel of war; also the name for the simultaneous firing of the guns on one side of a ram.
Bucket kitchen boy employed at the Harefoot Dig.Whenever he has a free moment, he likes to play at cards with the other boys working at the Dig.
buff, buff-leather soft, untanned leather, still strong and durable; the type of leather favored by gaulders, making very tough proofing indeed.
“by the precious here and vere” exclamation of surprise, wonder, amazement or exasperation, meaning “by the precious west (here) and east (vere).” In the Half-Continent, although the usual north, south, east and west are more common terms, directions of the compass are given classical names used by great peoples of the past:♦ north = nere, said “near”; also nout, said “nowt”
♦ south = sere, said “seer”; also scut, said “scoot” or sout, said “sowt”
♦ east = vere, said “veer”; also est
♦ west = here, said “heer.”
C
cannon muzzle-loading guns charged with black powder wrapped in cloth or paper canisters and usually solid iron round-shot, fired by a match thro
ugh a primed touchhole or by use of a flintlock mechanism. They come in a range of weights: the small-guns—3, 4, 6 and 9 pounders; the long-guns—12 and 18 pounders; the great-guns—24, 32, 42 pounders; and the siege-guns or cannon-royal—50 and 68 pounders. The numbers denote the approximate weight of the shot fired from the cannon. The guns themselves are much heavier (for example, a 32 pounder weighs between 2 tons and 2¾ tons and is roughly 9 feet 8 inches long). A typical cannon is also called a culverin, long-barreled with a decent range.There is also a stocky short-barreled cannon known as a lombarin or lombard, named after the Lombards of the island of Lombardy who invented it. Though their shorter barrels mean a significant reduction in accuracy, it means that they can fire a much bigger shot of metal than a culverin of the same weight. So, a lombard weighing about 2.8 tons, roughly the same weight of that 32 pounder culverin mentioned earlier, would be a 50 pounder, firing 50 pounder shot. Lombards are more popular on the cruiser class of ram—the frigates and the drag-maulers—where they allow these smaller vessels to blast out a considerably higher “weight of shot,” as it is called, than if they were armed with just culverins. The loss of range is compensated for by the superior agility of these lighter ironclads.
cargo(es) boxlike gastrine vessels that carry goods and even passengers all about the vinegar seas. Cargoes sit much higher out of the water than the low and menacing rams, having two more decks above the water than a ram. All decks are used as hold space, although cargoes do carry a small battery of cannon on the topmost deck. Cargoes move appreciably slower than rams of the same tread of gastrines, which makes them easy prey for pirates and privateers. Consequently they usually travel in convoys with an escort of two or three rams—typically drag-maulers or heavy frigates. The largest cargo, the grand-cargo, is as big as the biggest ram, the main-sovereign, and dwarfs most other vessels, yet it is slow and will not leave a port without a strong escort. These vessels are costly to build in both money and time, and their owners are loath to lose them. Cargoes require about one tenth of the manpower required to work a ram. See gastrines.
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