Foundling (34 page)

Axles, the ~
the mighty
rivergates
that guard the northern and southern entrances of the
Humour River
as it flows past
Boschenberg
. The northern Axle is known as the Nerid Axle, and the southern the Scutid Axle. Heavily defended with
great-guns
and soldiers, the gates prevent riverine traffic from moving through without paying tolls for cargo and/or passengers, plus a tax for the craft itself. If the master of the vessel does not get the right forms filled in when passing through both Axles, he is likely to be charged twice, once for each
rivergate
. See
rivergates
.

baldric
also called broadstraps, brightly decorated with
mottle
and sometimes even a coat of arms or sigil. Baldrics are the favorite way for most
everymen
to advertise their allegiances. Often a favorite weapon is hung from your baldric. Other similar items of clothing are sashes—made of silk; and cingulum—a more gorgeously decorated variety of baldric worn only in pageants, processions and galas (dances). See
mottle
.

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 bothersalts, 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.