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Malazan Wiki

Lurma Spilibus, an inhabitant of Farrog also known as 'The Fingers',[1] was one of the six thieves who comprised the group known as the Famous/Infamous 'Party of Five'. Lurma--like all the 'Party of Five' members--also belonged to the Farrog Thieves' Guild. Lurma's specialties were lock-picking, purse-snatching and basic reconnoitering. She had a mass of curly, red hair which she wore messily piled high on the top of her head. She had a triangular face notable for both eyes being permanently inwardly crossed, giving her a perpetual "crazed" squint[2] and a seeming inability to walk in a straight line.[3][4]

Lurma habitually[5] had a chewed wad of Prazzn bulging in one cheek or the other.[2]

In The Fiends of Nightmaria[]

Lurma Spilibus and the rest of the 'Party of Five' had been called to meet together at "Pink's Tavern" by their de facto leader, Plaintly Grasp. As it turned out, Mistress Dam Loudly Heer, the Head of the Thieves' Guild, had been arrested two days previously on the orders of the new King of Farrog, the usurper, regicide, and necromancer, Bauchelain the First, and imprisoned within the Royal Palace of Farrog. After a discussion in which Lurma actively participated, it was decided that the 'Party of Five' would that very night infiltrate the Royal Palace, find the Guild Head, and rescue her.[2]

The 'Party of Five's attempt to scale the palace wall left Le Groutt wounded and Mortari seemingly brain damaged before Lurma picked the lock of an unguarded old postern gate. The two injured men were greatly helped by Lurma's potent magical healing unguent which Plaintly Grasp forced her to give over.[6][7] As the sextet moved further and further into the depths of the Royal Palace, they experienced a variety of "alarums and excursions", including an encounter with a masturbating ape-like demon possessed by the Indifferent God.[5][8] An unexpected meeting with a group of escaping prisoners--Apto Canavalian, Brash Phluster, Steck Marynd, Tulgord Vise, Tiny Chanter, Flea Chanter, and Midge Chanter guided by Seneschal Shartorial Infelance--turned into a brief brawl before the 'Party of Five' could push onwards.[4]

During Lurma's various reconnaissances and interactions with her fellows, it became clear that because of her severely crossed eyes, Lurma lacked normal binocular vision and tended--at least momentarily--not only to see single objects as exact doubles,[9][1] but also to miss making physical contact with objects[7] or people because they were not quite in the place that they appeared to be to her faulty eyesight.[1]

Finally stumbling into Korbal Broach's Chamber of Collections, they encountered Bauchelain's partner in his guise as Farrog's new Grand Bishop. Broach was able to help the 'Party of Five' achieve their stated goal of rescuing the Head of the Thieves Guild by presenting them with Dam Loudly Heer's severed head. Unphased, Plaintly Grasp triumphantly pointed out to her fellow thieves, "That's how it goes on a mission like this one... Nothing seems to go as planned and then, all of a sudden, it's mission accomplished!" In the rush to escape the palace, Lurma misjudged the location of a doorway and knocked herself unconscious running into a wall. The brawny Barunko was forced to carry her as well as Le Groutt and Mortari, who were similarly indisposed.[1]

The 'Party of Five' then managed to retrace their steps through the Royal Palace back to the postern gate by which they had originally entered. By this time Lurma was awake once more.[3] Returning to the city streets, the band unexpectedly found that chaos reigned in the streets of Farrog. Bauchelain and Korbal Broach had blindly provoked a war with neighbouring Nightmaria and that Imperial Kingdom had sent its overwhelming military forces in response. To clear their escape route to the city's gate, the two necromancers unleashed a horde of undead on their own citizens.[10][11]

Ducking the undead, which included Dam Loudly Heer's headless corpse, the 'Party of Five' desperately searched for a place of safety for themselves with Plaintly Grasp picking the lock of a passing carriage's storage trap. Crawling inside, they were surprised to discover it filled with an immense treasure. It was only once they were all safely inside sitting in utter darkness that they realised they could no longer find their way out.[12] They had unwittingly found their way into the carriage of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach and the Warren where the necromancers kept their endless treasure. There was no way out and something else was trapped inside with them.[12][11]

Trivia[]

The medical term for Lurma Spilibus' inwardly crossed-eyes is strabismus - the symptoms of which would indeed help explain the visual and behavioral eccentricities[9][3] that Lurma displayed in The Fiends of Nightmaria.[13]

Notes and references[]