| Haltmire | |
|---|---|
| |
| Part of | Paucitine Conduit Vermis |
| Type | Bastion-house |
| Commander | Unnamed Warden-General |
| Affiliations | Imperial Lamplighters |
| Appearances | Lamplighter |
Haltmire is a bastion-house that is the last fortification on the Conduit Vermis before it enters the Ichormeer. As it is the strongest outpost on the Frugelle and possesses the largest force, Haltmire is the seat of the Warden-General, second in rank only to the Lamplighter-Marshal and commander of the eastern section of the Wormway. The lamplighters stationed here are nicknamed "Limpers".
Supplies for this area are usually brought up from Hurdling Migh, the nearest town of consequence, and Haltmire serves as a source of supply to the cothouses west of it.
History[]
Haltmire was originally constructed to serve as a storehouse, dormitory, and fortress for the engineers and labourers who were constructing the Conduit Vermis through the Ichormeer. Because of its proximity to such a powerfully threwdish region, it was built to provide a permanent lodgement and has attained a reputation for being as impregnable as Winstermill, although it is not as large.
As with most cothouses, the fortress' garrison is currently understrength at 45 pediteers, two skolds and ten lamplighters. Though no lahzars are currently assigned to the "ignoble end of the road", Haltmire once possessed a fulgar who was lost some time ago during a failed rescue attempt into the Ichormeer.
Plot[]
Haltmire was first mentioned when the prentice-lighters of Q Hesiod Gæta discussed their future billets while preparing for the day at Wellnigh House.[1] After Cripplebolt was besieged by monsters, a force from Haltmire was able to lift the siege.[2] When Rossamünd Bookchild and Threnody arrived at Bleakhall, the major-of-house and lamplighter-captain were meeting with the warden-general at Haltmire, so they reported to an altern-lighter instead.[3]
After they took up their billet at Wormstool, their fellow lamplighters would boast to the Haltmire lantern-watch that they were better because they had a wit. After a brief stop at Wormstool to check up on Rossamünd, Europe headed on to Haltmire "to solve problems for the Warden-General."[4] The fall of Wormstool cut Haltmire off from the rest of the Conduit Vermis and put the fortress in a precarious position as lamplighting was suspended all the way from the fortress to Bleak Lynche.[5]
Trivia[]
The fortress' name is a portmanteau of the words "halt" and "mire", suggesting its role and intention.