- "I wish he were here... So he could kill someone. Anyone. The man's a wonder at simplifying matters."
- ―Murillio, on Rallick Nom
Rallick Nom, [ra-lik nohm] of House Nom, was an assassin in Ocelot's clan in the guild of Darujhistan. He was a regular of the Phoenix Inn, as were his associates Kruppe, Coll, Crokus, and Murillio.[1]
Rallick acted as a mentor to Crokus, regularly proffering advice regarding their similar professions and attempting to keep the boy safe from harm.[2]
Torvald Nom was Rallick's cousin[3] and he was an uncle of Bellam Nom.[4]
Rallick was described as tall and dark-skinned with long black hair, which was sometimes braided and oiled,[5] and a narrow, clean-shaven face. He wore a deep royal purple day cloak which was fastened at the neck by a silver clamshell broach.[6]
Murillio thought that everything about Rallick marked him a killer and that even his wardrobe had all the warmth and vitality of an executioner's uniform. He also described Rallick as having a rigidly geometric brain and on the whole, lacking subtlety.[7]
Among his weapons was an old-fashioned crossbow.[8]
In Gardens of the Moon
Rallick and Murillio plotted to restore their friend Coll to his noble position and wealth, which had been stolen by his wife Lady Simtal. Rallick was set to assassinate Simtal however at the last moment, Oponn interfered and nudged Rallick to kill Councilman Lim, who was on the balcony with her, instead.[9]
Later that night, Ocelot waylaid Rallick outside the Phoenix Inn to inform him that an unknown enemy had begun a war with the Guild killing several of their members. The two agreed that those attacking the Guild might be Malazan Empire Claw. Ocelot told Rallick that he was required to act as bait for a trap they were setting for the attackers.[10]
Rallick warned Crokus to stay away from the Orr Estate.[11]
Kruppe told Baruk that he had not seen Rallick in days.[12]
Rallick met up with Murillio in the grounds of Hinter's Tower. Rallick ambushed Murillio to test his friend's reflexes and was pleased that they were still good, despite good living. The two of them talked about Simtal's Fête, agreed to further Crokus' ambition to become a man of standing and exchanged suspicions about Kruppe.[13]
Rallick was followed from the Phoenix Inn by the Bridgeburners Kalam Mekhar and Quick Ben, who had been ordered to make contact with the Guild. The Guild's trap for the pair fell apart when a dozen Tiste Andii night-hunters attacked the assassins from above. After killing Dashtal, Rallick and Ocelot barely escaped with their lives.[14]
Rallick Nom by Zsoszy
When Rallick discovered that Simtal's lover Turban Orr had contracted Ocelot to assassinate Coll, Rallick tracked his clan leader to K'rul's Belfry. He coated himself with Otataral powder to defeat Ocelot's magic before surprising and killing his superior.[15]
Although Rallick was severely injured by Ocelot, he and Murillio proceeded with the next stage of their plans against Lady Simtal. They attended her Gedderone Fête where Murillio seduced and drew away Simtal while Rallick challenged Turban Orr to a duel and killed him. With her lover and primary sponsor eliminated, Simtal was reduced to a frightened and powerless creature. Murillio left her with an ornamental dagger to end her own life.[16]
Before leaving the party, Rallick was approached by a disguised Vorcan Radok, Mistress of the Assassins' Guild. She informed Rallick that Ocelot's contract against Coll was unsanctioned and that Rallick would face no punishment for the clan leader's death. Vorcan brought Rallick with her to a meeting with the Bridgeburners who negotiated a Guild contract to assassinate the members of the T'orrud Cabal. While Vorcan left to fulfill her part, Rallick was left guarding the slowly expanding stump of the Finnest House because his otataral-infused skin impeded its growth. After the others had left, Rallick called to Crokus who was eavesdropping in the darkness. He tasked Crokus with warning their friend Baruk, a leader of the Cabal.[17]
Rallick was still at the site of the Finnest House when a gravely wounded Vorcan returned from her failed attack on Baruk and Derudan. With vengeful Tiste Andii on her heels, Rallick made the decision to carry her with him inside the Azath House to an uncertain fate.[18]
In Memories of Ice
Rallick Nom by Corporal Nobbs
Two months after the Gedderone Fête, Ganoes Paran unwillingly found himself visiting the Finnest House in spirit form. He discovered two people, seemingly peacefully asleep despite the woman's fresh wounds, just inside the House's front door. Paran recognised them as Rallick and Vorcan. Raest, the House's new guardian, said he found them in their current state and had made no attempt to wake them. He told Paran that the two had been chosen by the House to be servants of the Master of the Deck.[19]
After the Siege of Capustan, Rallick's friends Coll and Murillio discussed the possibility that Coll's former wife, Lady Simtal, had borne him a child. Murillio told Coll that during the two years the former Councilman had spent in a drunken stupor Rallick had spied on his ex-wife. Unfortunately, she had disappeared from the public eye for a few months when any signs of pregnancy would have been obvious.[20]
In House of Chains
When Cutter spoke of Rallick as if he had passed, Cotillion said he suspected there was no need for the use of past tense in Rallick or Vorcan's case. He did not go into further detail.[21]
In Toll the Hounds
Rallick was kicked awake by Raest[22] before Vorcan woke up. He played a minor role in ensuring Vorcan's place in the T'orrud Cabal. Towards the end, his cousin Torvald Nom noted that Vorcan might care for him much more than as just an employee.
In Orb Sceptre Throne
Vorcan, now Rallick's lover, made Rallick promise he would stay out of the mess that was to follow, foreshadowing the return of another Jaghut Tyrant and other elements such as Taya Radok.[23]
Rallick began his own investigation into what was happening in Darujhistan. He talked to Kruppe but got only confusing answers in response.[24] He then investigated Baruk's estate and found it completely trashed by a slim but hefty female.[25] Rallick visited the Azath House on Coll's estate to talk to the Jaghut Raest but the only thing Raest would tell him was that it was a game of bluffs on both sides.[26] Krute and the Assassins' Guild attacked him, thinking he and Vorcan had allied themselves with the Legate and were responsible for taking out guild assassins, but Rallick managed to escape with a bluff that was not his own.[27] He contacted Coll, asking him to keep an eye on the Council as he kept an eye on the Guild itself, resolving to counter the Legate and his activities, somehow with the help of Kruppe who was incognito at the moment.
Rallick had a talk with Topper, stonewalling him when Topper asked him questions looking for information regarding The Eel.[28]
As the Moranth assault on the protective dome surrounding Majesty Hill - i.e., the Orb of the Tyrants - began, Rallick was surprised and attacked by Taya who managed to injure him. However, Rallick more than held his own against her, eventually pushing her off the rooftop of the Great Hall that they had been fighting on.[29]
He witnessed Leff and Scorch hammer the Legate with bolts from their crossbows, fatally injuring him.[30] Rallick then took the mouthpiece of the Legate, Scholar Ebbin to the Azath house, where he entrusted Ebbin to Raest's care, since the Tyrant who had just died still existed as a voice in the scholar's mind.[31]
Rallick was re-united with Vorcan.[32]
History
According to Kruppe, he once saved Rallick's life. The 'boy' as Kruppe called him, severely wounded, was surrounded by several assassins at the back of All Eve's Street and Kruppe supposedly incinerated them into piles of ash. Given that the number of assassins changed from four to six in the telling, the story was likely at least in parts made up.[33]
Notes and references
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.xiv
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.299-300
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, UK HB p.844
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, UK HB p.914
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.216
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.231
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, US HC p.155-156
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.207/208
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.236
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.249
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.243-246
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.288-294
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 18, US HC p.377-379
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 21, US HC p.428-437
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.446/450-451
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.482
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.799-800
- ↑ House of Chains, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.267
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, UK PB, p.138-139
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 5
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 7
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 13
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 19
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 20
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 21
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Epilogue
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.215