Le Groutt

Le Groutt [leh GROWT],(Melo)Dramatic Reading and Discussion - Fiends of Nightmaria with Steven Erikson and Philip Chase - A Critical Dragon - As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 11:10 and 16:10 an inhabitant of Farrog, was one of the six thieves who made up the group known as the Famous/Infamous 'Party of Five'. Le Groutt - like all the 'Party of Five' members - also belonged to the Farrog Thieves' Guild. Le Groutt worked closely with a partner, Mortari. The two partners were master burglarsThe Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 2 and second story men.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 6The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 12 
Le Groutt was "swarthy and snaggle-toothed" and he had a broad grin which was full of large, yellow teeth. There was something about this grin which could give the recipient the impression that Le Groutt was witless. Le Groutt had the habit of bobbing his head up and down as he carefully scanned his surroundings - "...assessing walls, railings, ledges..." and so on for how hard they would be to climb successfully.
==In The Fiends of Nightmaria==
Le Groutt and the rest of the 'Party of Five' were called to 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 discussion over ale at "Pink's", it was decided that the 'Party of Five' would that same night infiltrate the Palace, find the Guild Head, and rescue her.
When the 'Party of Five' arrived outside the Royal Palace that evening, the high, spiked palace walls proved the first obstacle. Barunko attempted to throw Le Groutt and Mortari to the top of the wall, nearly braining Mortari against the wall's stone and impaling Le Groutt's left thigh upon one of the wall's spikes. Lurma Spilibus's potent healing unguent enabled Le Groutt to walk again before the group instead entered the palace via an unguarded old postern gate.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 8
Inside the walls, as the 'Party of Five' prepared to venture down a rough staircase into the depths of the Royal Palace, Le Groutt prepared to take point as directed by Plaintly Grasp. In preparation, the master burglar made sure that he had available his "coil of rope", his "ball o'wax", and his "Cloak of Blending" (i.e., a "dusty poncho"). As he led the band deeper and deeper down into the Royal Palace, Le Groutt had in one hand his only candle--a mere stump--and in the other hand his coil of rope. Presently, Le Groutt came across a side passage that was heading in the direction that Plaintly Grasp felt was the most likely to take the band to their Mistress. Le Groutt soon began squabbling with other thieves over the size of his cut relative to the amount of scouting he was performing.
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. The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 12The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 23 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.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 17
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, Barunko mistakenly knocked Le Groutt unconscious with a blow to the head and was forced to carry him as well as Lurma Spilibus and Mortari, who were similarly indisposed.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 18
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 Le Groutt was awake once more, but his jaw was left unhinged and unable to close correctly.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 22 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.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 16The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 21
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.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 26 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.
==Trivia==
The names of Le Groutt and Mortari are references to grout and mortar, respectively.(Melo)Dramatic Reading and Discussion - Fiends of Nightmaria with Steven Erikson and Philip Chase - A Critical Dragon - See 16:10
==Notes and references==
Category:Males
Category:Thieves