The Foundling's Tale: Factotum Part 40

pignone knitted cap of wool, ungaulded, most commonly worn by sailors and children. Its name is a corruption of a southern word for mushroom.

pilot * person who knows well the lay and threats of a harbor or other body of water, who goes out to vessels, navigating their way through this water to show them the best path through, either by taking the wheel, standing beside the master or captain and instructing them or leading a vessel from the front in some smaller, more nimble craft-usually called pilot boats. * written description of the directions and landmarks to a desired location, often including salient notes on points of interest or danger.

Piltdowners the Pilts, the people of the Piltdowns.

Piltdowns, the ~ both the general region of the once-great nation of the Pilts and also the spreading range of hills along the northwestern coast of the Grume of which the Brandenfells (Wood Hole, the Dells, the Milchfold Leens, Twifold Rise, the Janeswolds-or Underdowns) and Witherfells are a part.

Piltmen collective name of the once-tribal people of the northwest Grumid region. See Pilts, the.

Pilts, the ~ proud, dignified yet rough-living people, the original people of the Grumid regions, driven into the hills by the Tutelarchs, partly conquered by the Burgundians and then the Tutins. They have a strong sense of the wider family, of the inviolate connections of extended kins.h.i.+p, and gathered in large familial groups, which collected into a.s.semblies for protection (mostly against other a.s.semblies).These eventually coagulated into three loose confederacies-or venes-that held (and still hold to this day) themselves distinct from each other yet were governed by a single king (or queen).This king was at first the strongest warlord among them all, but over time became a kind of detached judge and father figure. Their greatest and most tragic king was Oddvicar, who unified the fractious Pilts in their struggle against the Burgundian usurpers, only to finally lose to the princes of Burgundy at the Battle of a.s.sembled Mile (the consequence of which was the resettling of his people in the Piltlaw, a region beyond the Page granted to the defeated foe). Unrecognized by the Haacobin emperors-or the Sceptics before them-the rank of Piltic king remains in Pilt society, obscure, often wretched fellows whose role for their people in current times has become much more one of cultural focus and wishful remembrance. Indeed, in the centuries of occupation, especially since the Tutins, it is common to find somewhat idealized, even maudlin images-usually a cheap etching copy of some proper painting-of their current exiled or reduced king hanging somewhere in a Pilt home. Now an obscure group, the pilts once roamed the whole land from the Grumid sh.o.r.es to Thisterland, from Hergoatenbosch to Haquetaine, and though their king is reduced to mere citizen of the Empire, they still hope one day to rise untrammeled again as their own people. They are reputed to have been monster-wors.h.i.+ppers in times of yore, and this grim reputation clings to them still as a vague distrust in the conquering folk about them.

Piltdowners the Pilts, the people of the Piltdowns.

pipistrelle light onsh.o.r.e winds that make for good sailing of small-sailed vessels such as sloops or brigantines. Their presence is seen as a sign of favor by all seafaring folk, but they are known to be fickle benefactors, turning all too quickly into mortal tempests.

pistoleroes dramatic name for pistoleers, originating from Seville.

planquin-chair or just planquin; an open box set upon long poles to be carried by people or beasts, typically containing a plush seat screened from view by solid doors of wood or elegant drapes.The larger "model" has two seats facing each other and is carried by a larger complement of bearers.

Plume, Gaspard mattern (historian), amateur philosopher and the owner of Orchard Harriet, he is responsible for a revealing and controversial book A Proper Reading of the Great Didic Descendancy, tracing the true lines of the heirs of Dido and Idaho, an exposition that cost several eminent families countenance and brought their standing into general and unwanted scrutiny. As such it caused Gaspard profound and unforeseen social exclusion, and after much distress he was forced to retreat from his high city life to his obscure hinterland abode, becoming in the process an unwitting beacon for other disaffected intellectuals.

Plume, Philemon once energetic count of Windspect Folia and elder brother of Gaspard, who, after the death of his beloved wife at the hands of some pernicious nicker, declined shockingly.Though lord still of Temburly Hall and the countenancy about it, he dwells now in dissipated seclusion in his brother's much humbler crumbling abode, touched-some more sensitive souls might say-after his terrible contact with monster-kind by some special insight into the monstrous.

Pluto Six see Six, Pluto.

Pondsley cheese smooth, soft cheese from the Pondsley region, possessing a pleasantly sharp aftertaste; spreads well upon toast or slices of meat.

pottage fancy exceptionally thick soup made with swollen water-soaked barley or other grain and healthy portions of vegetables in a fish or poultry broth, the best also including chunked meats of various kinds, often marinated in ale or wine.

Pour Clair Brandenard city serving the woodsmen and mines of the northern Brandenfells, built on a wedge of rock at the meeting of two river gorges atop a waterfall; whether the cataract gave the town its name or the town gave it to the cataract none can recall.

Pragmathes Carp see Carp, Pragmathes.

Presage Exemption a doc.u.ment normally granted by a peer, proper employer or agent of government that allows its bearer to avoid being pressed into naval service by a press gang or the crimps.

primmling first monsters to tread the earth, breathe the air and drink the water, coming even before everymen and-as legend would have it-playing a role in the forming of all animals that walk, crawl, fly, swim or slither.

proporium or salt-store, the stockroom of a parts-seller, usually furbished with shrewdly compact storage to make the most of typically limited s.p.a.ce. In them are usually columns of square drawers as deep as a grown man's arm, diminis.h.i.+ng in size as they rise-large, medium, small-with an eye-befuddling array of tiny drawers all along the very top; broad, flat trays arranged with whole dried plants; wood-housed carboys holding toxic and corrosive waters that-with a cunning push-tilt out to be lifted and poured; and retractable racks housing stoppered porcelain beakers of unstable or fragile stuffs.

prosternatin(g), prosternation monster-wors.h.i.+p; from the Tutin word for debasing oneself, and used to refer as much to fictlers and outramorines.

pullet and ramsin broth garlic (ramsin) chicken (pullet) soup, and normally rather heavy on the garlic.

pyet ponce strangely crunchy stew made from magpie cooked slow and long until the bones are chewable.

Q.

quarter five-guise piece, or one quarter of a sequin.

Quillion eminent composer of the first half of the last century, who composed for the Imperial court in the Considine. He is best known for his flowing, intimate pieces for a lone or small collection of players, and though he is long dead, his music has continued in popularity through all manner of fas.h.i.+ons.

quisquillian trifling, small.

R.

Ratio a clown of ancient days reputed to have performed heroic deeds in the defense of his people-soothing a rampaging umbergog-and turning aside a forgotten barbarian king bent on pillage-with his antics.

red hag and both crocidoles very low hand in most Half-Continent card games, though not the lowest. There are four Houses of cards (in descending value): Lairds, Dames, Jacks and Brutes. In each House are two Casts (or sets), red and black, of seven Figures, Figure 1 being the highest, Figure 7 the lowest in value (depending on the game, of course). The Figures, red and black, are as follows: Because playing cards are often hand drawn, their figures can sometimes be of topical events or notable folk of the moment rather than the traditional images. Players generally do not mind what the figures are on the cards, as long as their House and values are clearly marked.

refectry highbrow corruption of "refectory," that is, a place for eating.

rever-man handmade reanimate creature fas.h.i.+oned from bits of corpses of any living creature; the most simple-minded of the walking-dead gudgeons. See Book One and gudgeon(s) in Book Two.

ribauld very heavy firelock musket firing a half-pound ball.The wielder of a ribauld, who requires great strength, is known as a ribauldaquin. The ribauld's advantage is the heavy blow of its shot, which can knock down a foe even armored in the heaviest proofing.

Right of the Open Hand, the ~ also known as the Main Ouvere; calendar clave found on the border between Naimes, Maine and Aufricaine, enduring in its fortress hold of Fontrevault. The calendars' main labors are acts of generosity, and their aplombery is sought as the destination of many of the high-station daughters of the surrounding lands.

roast hart's tongue a most tender cut of meat, individual hart's (female deer) tongues being so small they are often pressed together into a more meaty "loaf." It is a happy day for anyone when hart's tongue is on the board.

Rookwood Saakrahenemus Fyfe see Fyfe, Rookwood Saakrahenemus.

rumspice(s) strong-smelling perfume used by men to ward off the foul airs and bad smells of the street and harbor; what we would call a cologne or aftershave.

S.

sabrine adept(s) also called percerdieres, lehrechtlers or spathidrils; said to be the cousins of the sagaars, originating long ago in some foreign northern land. Revering swordplay as the sagaars revere the dance, some go so far as to almost wors.h.i.+p their swords, ancient therimoirs of forgotten make, though they have no time for devotion to constant motion as the sagaars do. The best of them, those warranted to teach, are known as sabrine magists or master swordplayers, and will gather about them a loose a.s.sociation of adepts, serving together for a common ideal. Almost every sabrine adept is enamored with myths of the supreme vitales-the "ultimate" swords-such as the Gloomsword, whose wounds afflict men with great anguish and darkening of soul; the Spade of Finicule and Hildebrandt, both said to cut through armor and move of their own accord; Erbrechenbrand, reputed to burn constantly with falsefire; and Miserichord, a spiegelsword possessing its own will and held to be fas.h.i.+oned by the blasphemous Cathars out of an entire hollyhop-a rare, near-mythical monster formed of twigs and branches and leaves come alive by the power of the fecund muds-distorted by arts now lost into a weapon. But the most revered is the Alethspadis or Lethspatha or Letsbadis-the Sword of Providence-and though very little is known of it at all, it is said to be able to cleave all, even a being's soul from their marrow.

sagital needlelike; a somewhat technical word used particularly in the discipline of fabercadavery (rever-making) for describing teeth or claws.

salamander(s) catchall name for the more monstrous creatures of the oceans and waterways.

salt-store room of a saumiere where parts and many complete scripts are stored. Poorly made or rundown salt-stores will reek of the items they hold, the absence of any bad odor evidence of a salt-store of shrewd and excellent make kept in admirable repair.

sang egregia one of the set of sanguinary draughts, and said to make a person ignore pain sustained in the stouche.

sanguine user of sanguinary draughts, the most extreme users known as pathicords.

sanguine or sanguinary draughts various alembant concoctions properly called anima furia or cardifuriants that bring upon the imbiber what is commonly called a war-spasm, making them brave, numb to pain, swollen with pa.s.sion and even l.u.s.ting for the fight, the best even rendering a person momentarily immune to the grim talents of a wit. Of those who dare such altering chemistry, there are those few who take it to extremes and make a living from such practice; see brinksmen.

saraband lively, widely known and currently fas.h.i.+onable dance based on a simpler rustic jig of the Patricine hinterlands.

saumiere fancy name for a parts-grinder or salt-seller.

scale ladder whose two posts lean slightly in to each other with inner and outer rungs, the latter being pegs arranged farther apart to allow a person to rapidly descend with controlled drops from one peg to the next.

scandals gossip and rumor pamphlets publis.h.i.+ng lies, exaggerations, hyperbole and just plain unseemly truth. More notable and continental issues include The Wasp and The Scorpion. Made in Brandenbra.s.s, Defamiere is more local, its fame confined to Grumid states. As much as folk might scoff and sniff at such rot, ceaseless demand provides a continuing market.

scarlet(s) lockpick or break-and-enter thief, a contraction of the name lockscarfe.

scarper rat-catcher. Their telltale sweet smell comes from the sickly concoction of sugared fruit juices they smear over their hands and arms to entice a rodent into their grasp. Consequently, scarpers have many nasty infected wounds on their hands.

sciomane(s) more common name for what are technically known as thanatocriths; the name once meant-back in the ancient Phlegmish times-a person who attempted to commune with the dead.

scopp(s) children employed as mercers, waiting at important and useful places ready to take a message anywhere required within the city walls (and even rare adventures beyond-for the right money). Obvious in their frockless suit jackets of white flannel and red pignone cap, they can be seen running all over most major cities of the Grume. Exempted of the restrictions that keep common folk out of governmental edifices, scopps are aided in their essential task by having their very own set of clerks who mark their coming or going and grant them more rapid access into the deeper sanctuaries of power.

scringings also griddled scringings or scringed seethings; fried collection of various edible or partly edible items-the less edible items often including sawdust and boiled bone-most typically ground poor cuts and the dag end of seasonal greens. Heavily seasoned (and spiced, depending on the city or region) and cooked so long it is all very tasty and toothsome.

scruple(s) any smallest denomination of coin of any region.

scupperer ambusher, bandit.

sea-marks buoys.

seclude a nightgown or dressing gown, fas.h.i.+oned especially for women.

seethe to fry; "seethed" means "fried in oil or fat."

seltling increasingly obsolete term for a monster, especially of the landed kind, hags being its equivalent for monsters of the seas and waterways. In these times folk will use the word more in reference to a hand of cards than an example of the real creature.

se'night, sennight seven-night, a week; therefore a sennight pair is a fortnight.

sept(s) collection of fantaisists or false-G.o.d wors.h.i.+ppers who revere a specific false-G.o.d.

sequestury private and protected places run by calendars for the lodging and care of women in threat of ruin or even death. See Book Two.

seven-night paired fortnight; two weeks.

Seven Seven, the ~ one of the more prominent septs in wors.h.i.+p and service of Sucoth, given to human sacrifice and bizarre rituals in the quest to wake and call their chosen false-G.o.d from the deeps. Their full and proper t.i.tle is the Seven Brothers of the Seven-mouthed Lord.

shambleman butcher, and by extension, a surgeon, especially one with scant training or of wicked reputation.

shard-born made or emerged from the muck, the soil; made from poo; a rather offensive term when used by an everyman in reference to an unterman. Fortunately it is a largely forgotten word, known now only by the very old and backward and the bookish.

sheer(s) winching crane.

sibaline flare a signal flare attached to a flighted reed-or piece of cut cane-so that when the flare descends, the reed whistles, ensuring attention is drawn to the flare. The shrill whistling also means a sibaline can be fired even in the broadest day and still be marked.

Signal of Lots, the ~ or simply, the Lots, the Signal Stars said to have determination of the course of chances and mishaps. See the Signal Stars in Book One.

Singular Contract, a ~ also known as a personal a.s.signment or simply a singular; an offer of employment made by a private citizen or organization seeking a teratologist to hunt and claim the prize-money for killing a troublesome nicker. In providing such an offer, the private concern undertakes to pay all monies promised, often securing this with a portion paid up front-known as attainment money or, in the vernacular, ballast. Once a singular has been accepted by a teratologist or teratologist's representative, its acceptance is written up in an ongoing ledger called a count and a description of the job (including as much information on the prize-the monster-as is available) known as a Representation is filled. With this is given a Bill of Attainment (a certificate of acceptance), holding the knave to completing the task or risk paying a fine known as a Fee of Refusal or balker's toll. Provided along with the attainment is a franked Certificate of Recompense or a capital (so called because it is compensatory head-money given in place of a proper prize)-a guarantee by the knavery to reimburse a hireling pugnator should the job prove to be false or lapsed or flitched/jobbed (the monster slain by another teratologist-the first term meaning "by accident," the second "by intent"). Singulars are the private counterpart of the bureaucratic Writs of the Course, that is, official, governmental commissions to slay teratoids. Both can be obtained at a knavery, though singulars, often offering less prize-money, are surprisingly preferred, as typically they are more promptly paid.

siphunculus giant terrible sea-worms that dwell with the kraulschwimmen and false-G.o.ds in the crus.h.i.+ng deeps.

Sippon, Sipponese realm of the Occident, smaller than Nenin yet probably equal in power, a refined culture that has endured and matured over millennia, producing many, many pieces of furniture and fabulary (art) eagerly sought by Haufarine (Half-Continent) collectors. Bom e'do are among the best known of their artifacts in the east.

Six, Pluto the middle daughter of a middle-cla.s.s family who have high hopes for elevation of all their children, sending each to Foursdike Athenaeum to gain a foundation. However, Pluto's use of this excellent start to pursue the life of a fabulist is a great bemus.e.m.e.nt for her family. She lives at Orchard Harriet as much to avoid their disapproval as she does to escape the unwanted advances of a minister in the Archduke's court, gaining work from the city through an agent there while enjoying the peace and beauty of the hills. It is also a place where she might entertain less-than-acceptable musings of the true nature of monsters without fear of reprisal.

Skarfithin Greater Derehund employed as a fighting tykehound and named (though misspelled) after one of the more famous heldins of the historied Hagenards (see Biarge the Beautiful in Book Two).

slaps or parleys common children's games, slaps being a challenge of reflex and tolerance of pain, parleys a kind of "chasey" or "tag"-as we might call it-that involves wrestling too.

slype(s) any hidden pa.s.sage, especially those between walls.

snugman also snugsman; privately hired obstaculars, zealous thieftakers, "bounty hunters," the rougher sort of speculator willing to do any manner of work. See obstacular(s) in Book Two.

song-and-fruit seller street-walking vendors who offer popular tunes and love songs, usually cheap-pressed or hand-copied from stolen scores pinched by sly fingers from rehearsing players. The fruit, as is said, is for throwing during a performance-or eating, if the need takes you, though the quality of the produce normally encourages its use as a projectile rather than sustenance. Some song-and-fruit sellers also carry about a besom and double as crossing sweeps for the tip of extra scruples.

sophisticated term used to describe a script that has soured-gone bad-or lost its virtue-that is, its desired effect.

Soratche clave of calendars seeking to end the blasphemies of ma.s.sacars and other black habilists. See Book Two.

soulettes shoe-proofing, strapped over the arch and ankle to provide extra protection to this vulnerable area, especially by equiteers and other horse-riding folk. Also sometimes called boot-roses, though those of high fas.h.i.+on will hold that these items are distinct from each other.

spandarion the main flag of an empire, realm or state.

spatchc.o.c.k greme spatchc.o.c.k in an olive marinade; this is more common on Patricine or Sedian tables.

spathidril(s) name for both a toxic blade of ancient make and also its wielder, more commonly named a swordist.

speculator private most commonly called sleuths, also speculators, sneaksmen, snugsmen or deductors; fellows offering their cunning, contacts and guile for a fee, to be employed in the discovery or repression of whatever or whomever is desired. Existing almost exclusively in cities, they operate under official license and are often engaged by the more proper authorities as thieftakers. A good sleuth will employ several undersleuths and have a wide a.s.sociation of informants and seeds, even possessing connections in other cities.

spedigraphs what we would call sketches, quick portraits done in chalk or ink, a more recent development on the fas.h.i.+on for silhouettes.

spice aura expensive scented powder-or sweet-puff-used by the well-to-do to block the smell of the street or harbor or other noisome odor.

spittende(s) long pike with barbed tip and a crosspiece to prevent a skewered beast from shoving gorily down the shaft. See Book Two.

sprosslings "second-born," coming after the primmlings in the order of creation.Their numbers include the nuglungs, the ningauns and the most ancient glamgorns, cacoglumbs, brodchin, famuli and all such creatures.

spurn(s) what we would call bodyguards, a "fas.h.i.+on accessory" for any man or woman of station and circ.u.mstance who believes their person is in need of bodily protection.

"Stays of bone!" exclamation of surprise or exasperation, and sometimes of delight.

stickbrown coating applied to iron and steel items that reacts slightly with the surface, making it brown and sealing it against the corrosive action of the vinegar seas. Though it is good for protection against all weathers and conditions, it is used most at sea.

Stillicho ancient actress said to have played to save the slaughter of her city at the hands of the vile Lechemen, dying in her deed but delivering her people from a cruel end. She is now honored as the patroness of all tragedic players.

"A st.i.tch is as good as a strum" ~ used in the way we might say "six of one or half a dozen of another" and meaning quite literally that a wound closed with needle and twine is as good as one sealed with a siccustrumn. Most physicians would probably disagree.

strupleskin p.r.o.nounced "STROO-pull-skin," the word is a corruption of the Lausland term "struplescin" (said "stroop-LESS-chin"), meaning "a woven scab." It is given to one of the most superior siccustrumn known to skolds, one that will do its healing work without the need for bandages, forming a porous plug over a wound that allows for fittest healing. High quant.i.ties of silver in the script-which exists in small traces in even moderately efficacious oppilatives-greatly improves its healing properties but raises the price.

Stumphelhose eminent composer of the previous century whose lively melodies are still very popular among the lower stations.

Sucoth said "SOO-koth," known also as Sucathes, Sucoth the Decayed, the Seven-mouthed Lord, the Swallower of Men, the Great and Terrible Maw, Pseustes ("Liar" or "Slanderer"), the Koprocates (the "Dung-lord"), said to be the most terrible of all the false-G.o.ds, reputed to slumber in the deepest depths of the Gurgis Mange (or Gurgis Magna) and whose rising is held to spell the end of civilization. It was the summoning of Sucoth by the goestes of Phlegm that is said to have brought that once near-almighty race to its ruin. Sucoth is also the least sapient or active of all the false-G.o.ds; indeed, it is comatose, and could be roused only by greater learning than any person currently possesses.The Saccour (the Servants of the Most Low Sucoth) and the Seven Seven, both feared and opposed even by the other septs, relentlessly seek this obscure knowledge, desirous to bring an end to all things and the sweet oblivion of Sucoth's reign.

summerscale, summerscale vigil what we would call summer vacation. See congress.

sunderhallow any monster-either wretchin or lesser beast-that has set itself most earnestly against everymen and any other monster that supports or defends them.