Amby Bole

High Marshal Amby Bole was one of the infamous Bole brothers and a retired member of the Mott Irregulars who became a newfound shareholder of the Trygalle Trade Guild.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.248Toll the Hounds, Dramatis Personae Barely out of their teens,Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.515 Amby and his brother, fellow retired High Marshal Jula Bole, shared a love interest in Precious Thimble, their comrade during the Genabackis Campaign against the Malazans. The two brothers made blatant plays for Precious' affection, hoping their transparent displays of courage, generosity, and selflessness would win her favour.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.508 The swamp witch played the two against each other with no intention of choosing between them.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US TPB p.203-204 They served as protection from unwanted male attention and their never-ending rivalry meant she never had to choose between them.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.514-515 
The two brothers looked much alike, sharing the same facial expressions, the same tone of voice, and the same stride.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.276
Amby made sure to stay away from important people--excepting Precious--as important people had a tendency to draw fire. Standing too close to them was never healthy. Back when he was a runt fighting the Malazans, he had seen the heads explode and the hearts burst of those who did not heed this advice.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.508 
He was illiterate, although he carried a stack of what he claimed was correspondence with Precious Thimble in one of his moccasins.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.509 He had long, knobby toes.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.504
==In Toll the Hounds== 
Precious Thimble, Amby Bole, and Jula Bole found themselves in Darujhistan where Precious decided on a whim to sign up as a shareholder with the Trygalle Trade Guild. The two Bole brothers, vying for her affection, signed up as well in order to stay with her.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US TPB p.203-204Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.515 Along with fellow newcomer Gruntle, they were assigned to the crew of Master Quell, who had lost five shareholders in his most recent venture.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.241 Their first job with Master Quell was to transport Mappo Runt from Darujhistan to Lether. Quell brought Precious and Mappo inside the carriage to talk during their journey while the two Boles were assigned to the carriage's exterior stern. Shareholder Faint found the swamp witch's obvious manipulation of her two companions cruel beyond all reason.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US SFBC p.277-278 
The Guild carriage first passed into Hood's realm where they were unexpectedly overwhelmed by a hostile army of the dead. Amby was thrown from the carriage and would have been lost but for Jula reeling him in by the tether Amby attached to his foot. When he reappeared, Amby wore a strange grin on his face and was missing one of his moccasins. When Jula told him he could not believe that he had gone and saved Amby, the latter agreed that he would not have done it had it been the other way round. They then embarked on an argument as to who had impressed Precious Thimble the most during the fight, whether Jula had been deliberately stealing Amby's moccasin which he said Amby had stolen from him in the first place, all the while citing swamp law at each other until the argument got so ridiculous they both burst out laughing.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, UK HB p.459-461 
Unable to find the exit gate, Quell hastily brought them to a small tropical island (where it was realized their carriage had inadvertently picked up the undead Cartographer in its wake). The mage then returned to Hood's realm with Gruntle as his escort in an attempt to learn what was happening. They learned from the shade of Toc the Younger that Hood's realm was now sealed to the living. An undead dragon burst from the ground as Quell opened a return portal, following them back to the island before flying away.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US TPB p.415-417Toll the Hounds, Chapter 14, US TPB p.455-457 Precious Thimble feared she had gone too far taking them on this dangerous journey. If one of the Boles should die, it would upset the safety of their precarious relationship.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.515-516
Master Quell took them off the island through Mael's realm, riding heaving waves amidst a furious storm.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 13, US SFBC p.513-514Toll the Hounds, Chapter 14, US SFBC p.579-581Toll the Hounds, Chapter 16, US SFBC p.658-659 Arriving at the shores of a southern Genabackis island, the carriage raced to the top of an immense wave to crash into a cliffside village before it could be dashed onto the rocks below. The carriage was shattered, sending driver Glanno Tarp, Cartographer, and the horses careening away. The shareholders found themselves in Reach of Woe, a community of Wreckers plagued by a curse that turned their young women into bloodthirsty Tralka Vonan. Three Tralka Vonan were awakened by the noise of the crash, forcing Mappo and the shareholders to barricade themselves in a tavern, while the villagers locked themselves in the tavern's basement. Jula and Amby guarded one of the tavern's windows alongside Faint. Gruntle killed two of the creatures, while Reccanto Ilk accidentally killed the other. Afterwards, Precious Thimble was relieved to see Amby and Jula unharmed, but she felt uneasy as they did not seem to pay her as much attention anymore as she was used to. Faint asked for volunteers to seek out Glanno Tarp, although she declined to join them. Gruntle, Jula, and Amby found the driver lying in a corral with his legs broken near Cartographer, who was still tied to a carriage wheel.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 16, US SFBC p.659-664Toll the Hounds, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.740-742
Meanwhile Quell, Precious Thimble, and Mappo went to confer with the village Provost, Bedusk Pall Kovuss Agape, who they soon discovered was a Jaghut and the originator of the curse. After burying his wife years earlier, the Jaghut had been elected Provost by the village to ameliorate his grief. He soon fell in a love with a village girl who spurned his advances. In a rage, he placed a curse on the village that turned any woman of childbearing age who was without children into a Tralka Vonan. Recognising Precious Thimble, Sweetest Sufferance, and Faint were in danger, Quell allowed them to leave for the next village while the male shareholders repaired the carriage.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.742-749Toll the Hounds, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.820-821
The Provost's wife was not, in fact, dead. He had buried her alive near the cliff and she had been freed from her "grave" when it collapsed into the sea. She emerged from the water determined to destroy the village of wreckers, who preyed on passing ships. Quell saw the opportunity to negotiate an end to the curse which was almost upended when Jula and Amby Bole attacked the woman. The others were amazed to see that the brothers not only defied the Jaghut's magic but even managed to pin her down. Threatening to cut off their heads, Gruntle was able to dissuade the Boles from killing the 'Swamp witch' in return for her help. The Jaghut said the curse would end when her husband was dead and she stalked off to confront him.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 18, US SFBC p.750-756Toll the Hounds, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.823
Makeshift repairs completed, the male shareholders retrieved their female colleagues, but the Jaghuts' sorcerous battle soon threatened to engulf the entire island. Cartographer drew a map in the dirt that would serve as a gate to allow them to quickly escape. With misgivings, Quell invested it with his power to activate it.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 20, US SFBC p.820-823 The gate brought them to the Warren inside Dragnipur where the army of Hood's dead fought a war with Chaos. Glanno slammed on the breaks sending Amby and Jula tumbling into the mud, clasped together like lovers. Quell immediately realised they had been duped as Hood chided Cartographer for being late. The god sent the Guild caravan away with Cartographer as their guide and Hood's Herald, Toc the Younger, following in their wake.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.957-959 They were last shown passing through the primeval world where Picker's spirit was lost.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.970
==In Dust of Dreams==
When their Trygalle Guild carriage was attacked by a Shi'Gal Assassin in Lether, Amby and his brother displayed amazing strength. Using primarily their bare fists they were able to beat back a K'Chain Che'Malle easily four times their size.Dust of Dreams, Chapter 20, US HC p.661
==In The Crippled God==
After the death of his brother, Amby's infatuation for Precious Thimble dissipated.The Crippled God, Chapter 2, US HC p.44 Amby was identified by Olar Ethil as a Jhag Bolead,The Crippled God, Chapter 2, US HC p.46 which implied that he and the other Bole brothers were of half-blood Jaghut lineage. 
Amby Bole was pivotal in helping to save Brys Beddict (along with Faint and Aranict) at the Battle of the Spire in Kolanse.The Crippled God' Chapter 23, US HC p.735-737
==Notes and references==
Category:Males
Category:Mott Irregulars
Category:Trygalle Trade Guild