Rallick Nom

Rallick Nom, [RAL-lik NAHM]An Evening With Steven Erikson - Nerdaí Irish Nerds - As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 18:13 of House Nom, was an assassin in Ocelot's clan in the Assassins' Guild of Darujhistan. He was a regular of the Phoenix Inn, as were his associates Kruppe, Coll, Crokus, and Murillio.Gardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.xiv
Rallick acted as a mentor to Crokus, regularly proffering advice regarding their similar professions and attempting to keep the boy safe from harm.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.299-300
Torvald Nom was Rallick's cousinToll the Hounds, Chapter 23, UK HB p.844 and he was an uncle of Bellam Nom.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, UK HB p.914
Rallick was described as tall and dark-skinned with long black hair, which was sometimes braided and oiled,Memories of Ice, Chapter 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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.216 
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.231
Rallick fought with a heavy Tjaluk knife in each hand.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.186-187 Among his other weapons was an old-fashioned crossbow.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
== 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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, US HC p.155-156
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.207/208
Rallick warned Crokus to stay away from the Orr Estate.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.236
Kruppe told Baruk that he had not seen Rallick in days.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.249
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.243-246
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.288-294
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 18, US HC p.377-379 
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 21, US HC p.428-437
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.446/450-451
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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.482
== In Memories of Ice==
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.Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
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.Memories of Ice, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.799-800
==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.House of Chains, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.267
==In The Bonehunters==
Ganoes Paran obliquely referred to Rallick Nom when he described once living in the Finnest House with two eternally sleeping houseguests and a Jaghut manservant.The Bonehunters, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.213
== In Toll the Hounds ==
During Rallick's long absence, the Cult of Rallick Nom formed amongst the members of the Darujhistan Assassins' Guild. Some clans raised secret shrines and the majority of the cult's killers switched to using poison in their endeavours, believing Nom had proven its value over sorcery. The Guild's new master, Seba Krafar, sought to outlaw the cult and killed five of its leaders.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.35
Shortly after Vorcan awoke on her own in the Finnest House and escaped, Rallick was kicked awake by Raest. Rallick thought him a demon, but Raest said that appellation better belonged to the one calling itself Vorcan. The Jaghut had no idea how long the pair had lain there healing, but admitted their presence had given him a form of companionship. Rallick thanked the Jaghut when he grumbled over the assassin's lack of gratitude and left the House.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, UK PB p.138-139 He made it all the way to the outside of Coll's estate before concluding such a public return was unwise.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.113 
Instead he sought out Krute of Talient, who informed him of the Assassin's Guild's decimation during the infighting that had led to Seba Krafar's rise to power. Rallick also learned of the cult that had sprung up in his name. Krute gleefully anticipated Rallick's challenge to Krafar's reign, but was disappointed to learn Vorcan had returned as well. Rallick swore Krute to secrecy and inaction for now, but looked forward to what was to come.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.162-164
Approaching the Phoenix Inn, Rallick startled an unfamiliar Cutter lurking suspiciously outside. The two engaged in a quick and furious battle of knife versus knife before Cutter recognised his old friend. Cutter more than held his own, leaving Rallick bleeding with a knife in his shoulder. Rallick was displeased that the obviously skilled Crokus had failed to heed his advice regarding joining the Guild, but it soon became apparent that neither had been active in Darujhistan in some time.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.185-188 Cutter guided the injured Rallick into the Phoenix Inn where Meese rushed to tend him.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.190-191
Krute soon grew tired of Rallick's lack of action on the Guild and accepted Seba Krafar's offer to return after the Guild was decimated by its attack on K'rul's Bar. Rallick tried to buy his retirement from the Guild with six months of coin, but Krute refused, annoyed at his continued secrecy. But he promised to keep Rallick's return secret from the Guild.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.702-704
After Gorlas Vidikas killed Murillio in a duel, he had the body sent to the Phoenix Inn to taunt Murillio's friends.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.697-703/710-713 When Rallick learned Cutter had left to avenge their friend, his first thought was to stop him. But Kruppe convinced the assassin that Cutter was up to the task. Coll's efforts to get drunk saw him curse out Kruppe and come to blows with Rallick Nom until Meese shamed the men into honouring Murillio by attending his interment. Murillio was placed in Coll's family crypt.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.792-794
On the last night of the Gedderone Fête, Seba Krafar led a force of thirty-one assassins against the estate of the mysterious Lady Varada in an attempt to slay her. Rallick Nom assisted in the estate's defence, much to the surprise of Torvald Nom who served as the estate's guard captain. After the assassins were defeated, Lady Varada was revealed as Vorcan Radok. Not only had she anticipated the attack, but she had baited the Guild to draw them out and eliminate them once and for all.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.840/854-858
Torvald begged a bewildered Rallick for forgiveness. For twenty-five years Torvald had been under the impression that Rallick held grudge for stealing Tiserra away from him when they were seven years old. Rallick called him an idiot and insisted he only admired his cousin's relationship. For his part, Torvald Nom told a disbelieving Rallick that Vorcan might care for him much more than as just an employee.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.857-858 
The next morning the two Noms found their young nephew, Bellam, stumbling home from his own eventful evening. They chastised the heir to House Nom for disappearing and forsaking his responsibilities to the family. As the two men escorted him home, they could barely keep straight faces when they swore they had never been so wayward in their own youths.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.997-998
== 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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3
Rallick began his own investigation into what was happening in Darujhistan. He talked to Kruppe but got only confusing answers in response.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 3 He then investigated Baruk's Estate and found it completely trashed by a slim but hefty female.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 5 Rallick visited the Finnest 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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6 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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 7 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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 13
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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 19
He witnessed Leff and Scorch hammer the Legate with bolts from their crossbows, fatally injuring him.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 20 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.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 21
Rallick was re-united with Vorcan.Orb Sceptre Throne, Epilogue
==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.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.215
==Trivia==
Rallick Nom was inspired by the character of Porthos from Alexandre Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers.Discussing Inspiration and Imitation with Malazan Authors Esslemont and Erikson - A Critical Dragon - See 5:30
==Notes and references==
Category:Assassins
Category:Assassins' Guild
Category:Daru
Category:Males