Liberty of Gammerbund

*"Gammerbund" redirects here. For the boy with that name, see Whittacre Gammerbund.*

## Liberty of Gammerbund

Whit Gammerbund runs through the hallways of the Liberty.

## General information

### Also known as

* The Liberty
* Saint Whit Gammerbund's Rest Home for the Mentally Chaotic
* The madhouse

## Book information

### Mentioned

*Ghosts of Greenglass House*

The ****L******iberty of Gammerbund** is a walled citadel within Nagspeake that is not governed by the Sovereign City. Many wanted people take up residence in the Liberty, such as Violet Cross. The Liberty of Gammerbund was originally called only '**the Liberty**', but was then named for Whittacre Gammerbund, an early resident of the Liberty.

The Liberty resides atop Whilforber Hill and has been there for a very long time. In other parts of Nagspeake, the Liberty of Gammerbund is thought to be a madhouse and known as '**Saint Whit Gammerbund's Rest Home for the Mentally Chaotic**', or simply '**the madhouse**'. It is often abbreviated as '**the Liberty'** still, or '**Gammerbund'**.

## Information

### *Ghosts of Greenglass House*

When the Waits came to Greenglass House, Milo told Emmett that they had probably come from the monastery or the Liberty. Emmett did not know where this was, and Mrs. Pine told him that he probably knew it as 'Saint Whit Gammerbund's Rest Home for the Mentally Chaotic', at which he exclaimed that they were talking about the madhouse. Mrs. Pine assured him that it was not a madhouse, and that its residents were not crazy, and had varying reasons for choosing to live apart.

Marzana asked about Greenglass House's windows, saying she'd been curious about them. Milo asked if she could see Greenglass House from the Liberty, but she did not have time to answer. Milo later asked Lucky if there were pretty views in the Liberty, and she assured him that there were. He said defensively that he had never been there, then apologized, because that had not been what he had meant. Lucky understood, knowing what most people thought of the Liberty, and additionally that Milo did not think that way. She explained that the Liberty was just like other towns, with good parts and bad. Milo asked if Marzana lived in the Liberty because she did not like people, but then apologized because it was not his business.

Lucky noted that the Liberty was an hour's hike from Greenglass House. Meddy did not think that people from the Liberty left the grounds much, but Milo knew that you could if you wanted, and thought it was possible that Marzana took long walks. When talking about the Waits, Milo thought it seemed too normal that they'd just showed up and had a practice. Lucky thought he had meant that it was too normal for people living in a madhouse, which Milo had not meant. Lucky explained about five hobby horse skulls buried in different places in the Liberty. Milo wondered if Gilawfer had gotten into the Liberty of Gammerbund. Meddy suspected that Lucky was the thief, and Milo wanted to ask each Wait why she lived in the Liberty but couldn't.

Milo asked Marzana how she knew about Greenglass House. She told him that the Liberty did get news from outside, and was a big district. Milo asked her to tell him about the Liberty, which he didn't really understand about, and Marzana suggested he ask Peter Hakelbarend, who would know about how it came to be a city within the city of Nagspeake. Milo asked if the Liberty was was meant to keep people in, not out, at some point, and Marzana said that Peter would know. Milo supposed that a stranger could pretend to be a Liberty resident. Mr. Hakelbarend told a story about the Liberty. He explained that the Liberty had been on the hill as long as the rest of Nagspeake, perhaps longer. It was an area not held by the governors of Nagspeake.

In the story, a boy named Whit Gammerbund arrives at the Liberty hoping for asylum—refuge. Whit was an escaped slave and a smuggler, and was being chased by one of Morvengarde's bounty hunters. The warder, whose job it was to decide who could and could not enter the Liberty, welcomed Whit and granted him asylum. The bounty hunter came in and the warder did not grant him asylum, but the bounty hunter killed the warder and continued past the office, chasing Whit through the halls. Whit did not notice the winding halls of the Liberty, only ran onward, and eventually came upon a mysterious woman who granted him asylum, directed him onward, then unfolded her wings and screamed at the hunter. Whit ran on, the hunter chasing him in a hallway parallel, and came upon a man who approved Whit's passport and sent Whit onward, and used his eyes to freeze the bounty hunter, and his wings to send the hunter sprawling. Whit ran on, with the hunter keeping pace in another hallway. The halls of the Liberty seemed to defy logic, as there could not be something else there, but there was. There was something in the halls that seemed like a light bulb, which baffled Milo as the story took place over a hundred years ago. Whit entered a courtyard and the hunter came too, the hunter looking very old and worn. The lady in the courtyard approved Whit's passport, then informed the hunter that without a passport he could not leave. Whit then discovered he had his own wings, and flew out of the courtyard and into the sky.

Sylvester explained that people thought it was a madhouse because of the other meaning of the word 'asylum'. Mr. Hakelbarend said that the Liberty residents were content to keep it that way, because it kept people out. Mr. Hakelbarend confirmed that Whit became the patron saint of the Liberty of Gammerbund. After the story, Milo realized that he'd learned that not just anyone could disappear into the Liberty, but whoever did was quite untouchable. Marzana explained that she and Mr. Hakelbarend pretended not to be related whenever they left the Liberty, and Meddy theorized that they lived in the Liberty because Mr. Hakelbarend was a wanted man, and they did this to keep Marzana safe. Milo confirmed that many wanted people had probably gone into the Liberty.

Lucky told a story in which she, as a young girl, played hide-and-seek in the Liberty with her friends. While hiding in an abandoned store, she found a hobby horse skull under its floor. Lucky and the skull had talked to each other, and Lucky went to find the Waits for the hobby horse. After having no luck for months, Lucky put the skull on her head and together they went through the Liberty, searching, until they found the carolers, as word had traveled through the Liberty of the girl who walked with the antlered skull, singing carols. Lucky and the skull joined the Waits and went caroling through the Liberty.

Milo told a story about Violet Cross. Deacon and Morvengarde had made it so that any maps not made by them were contraband. Mr. Larven interrupted to say that these rules did not apply in the Liberty of Gammerbund, and so many of Nagspeake's cartographers went to the Liberty and created maps there. Milo wondered if Mr. Hakelbarend had been one of those mapmakers, or had gone to the Liberty to work and never left, or was a smuggler who'd had to go to the Liberty.

Clem insisted that Violet Cross's haul be returned or they would get the law involved. Mr. Larven pointed out that they were citizens of the Liberty, and no law officer could come into the Liberty of Gammerbund after someone for theft, and this was thus a pointless threat. Emmett then revealed that he was a customs agent. Emmett explained that Liberty citizens were only protected from Nagspeake laws when they were in the Liberty.

Milo theorized that Gilawfer had recruited thieves from the more lawless Liberty citizens, but Cantlebone had heard of it and infiltrated the group. Milo explained that Gilawfer must have had a contact in the Liberty—Rob—then recruited two others from the Liberty to help. Mrs. Kirkegrim—now revealed as Violet Cross—explained how her crew had faked their death and she'd wound up in the Liberty. Mrs. Kirkegrim invited Georgie and Clem to come visit her in the Liberty sometime, to their delight. The Waits, except for Rob (whom Emmett had arrested), then left and returned to the Liberty of Gammerbund.

### *The Thief Knot*

Marzana and Nialla watched the neighbors for any sign of anything odd. They thought that someone was going to rob a jewelry store, but he just turned out to be proposing to his girlfriend, and Nialla commented upon how nothing ever happened in the Liberty of Gammerbund. The two then went to Surroyal Books, and Marzana commented upon how twisty all the Liberty streets were. Marzana wondered at how little happened in the town, because most of the people in the Liberty had come for sanctuary because they had been up to something previously, including her mother. Marzana then walked home through twisty streets to her home, Hedgelock Court.

Marzana's family had, apparently, a guest: the customs agent Emmett Syebuck. Emmett explained about the kidnapping of Peony Hyde and how one of his friends thought that the culprit had gone into hiding in the Liberty. Mrs. Hakelbarend eventually agreed to investigate the suspects so that extradition could take place. Emmett did not think that Peony was in the Liberty, as the suspects should know that the Liberty did not tolerate kidnapping. Marzana wondered if Peony truly was in the Liberty, but was not sure how the kidnappers could have gotten her in.

   Marzana noted that the Liberty offered protections that allowed the former members of Violet Cross's crew to still work together on occasion. When the substitute Mr. Otterwill asked the class to keep a secret, they were upset because they were very used to doing that. Emilia showed Marzana and Nialla to Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop, not understanding how they were bored all the time when there were things like that in the Liberty, but Marzana explained that they had not known that there were.

Ciro told about his ancestors, and Marzana realized that his mother was responsible for the makeshift cell phones in the Liberty of Gammerbund. Marzana wondered if Peony Hyde had been brought via the Belowground Transit System. Rob had been directed not to return to the Liberty until Sunday. Rob swore on the honor his warrant, something that always meant someone was being truthful. Mrs. Hakelbarend talked about how everyone always assumed that if someone couldn't be found immediately, they had gone to the Liberty of Gammerbund, but that was often untrue, as the Liberty did not give sanctuary to monsters, and the monsters knew and did not ask.

When Meddy arrived, she commented upon how she was now in the Liberty, as it was her first time there. Marzana asked Mr. Otterwill how he had gotten a job since he was not from the Liberty, and he said he was staying with his great-uncle, Victor Cormorant, who Emilia realized wast he master carrier the Snakebird. Ciro brought his grandfather's plans for various Belowground stations, and they found that there were three stations in the Liberty of Gammerbund: Ottomy Stalls, Horneblende Park, and Cotgrave Wall.

Marzana, J.J., and Meddy took a Liberty bus to Mrs. Agravin's house to check on her, as she was missing. They found that her house was built over the Ottomy Stalls station, and in her apartment they found the missing girl, Peony Hyde, and the Liberty police took care of Peony. A news reporter showed up, having gotten an anonymous tip, which was confusing to Marzana's parents as people in the Liberty valued their privacy.

    Marzana realized that the girl they had rescued had not been Peony Hyde. Peony had, as Marzana's parents had suspected, not been in the Liberty at all. They discovered that it had actually been Tasha Cormorant, the granddaughter of Victor Cormorant. Marzana's group realized that the purpose of the kidnapping had been to get the Hydes out of their house, which was built over an old Belowground station, and went to one of the stations in the Liberty and took the train to that one. They then returned home.

## Physical characteristics

The Liberty of Gammerbund is surrounded by walls. Inside, it is evident that the Liberty has not been well planned. The streets are very windy, and the buildings are all close together and twisty themselves. They are built high, making it so that it gets dark early on the Liberty streets. The Liberty is thick with old, wild iron. The Liberty's only public transportation is old, wide buses that often cannot fit in the twisty streets. In some places, there are pedestrian bridges over lower structures.

## Residents

* Ada/Allie
* Ada Cosset
* Alex Cabot
* Alexander Cabot
* Alex Moody
* Amy Ileck
* Annamaria Gallfreet
* Barnaby
* Bobby
* Caine
* Caton
* Catriona Cotgrave
* Ciro del Olmo
* Coles
* Ed Tivrutsky
* Eddowes
* Eliza Agravin
* Emilia Cabot
* Enza
* Ezra Cormorant
* Griffin
* Harriet
* Henny Unwin
* Hester
* Hickson Blount
* Honora Catharping
* Ilaine Hotson
* J.J. Mowbry
* Jacinthus Beadle
* Jeffrey
* Jimmy Costak
* Katia del Olmo
* Kevin
* Lazaride
* Lewis
* Lila
* Lily
* Loxi Chell
* Lucky Julnissen
* Lucy
* Lula Macready
* Maeve-Alice Cotgrave
* Maria
* Marzana Hakelbarend
* Maurice Cotgrave
* Monty/Murray
* Nadia Cotgrave-Cormorant
* Naz
* Nialla Giddis
* Nicholas Larven
* Oliver Cotgrave
* Ophelia Cotgrave
* Padraig del Olmo
* Palkowick
* Peter
* Peter Hakelbarend
* Pratt
* Rob Gandreider
* Samir
* Simeon Fray
* Snyder
* Songhan del Olmo
* Sopwith
* Sylvester Alforn
* Tasha Cormorant
* Toby Giddis
* Topham
* Turin
* Victor Cormorant
* Violet Cross
* Waltersson
* Whit Gammerbund

## Locations

### Districts

#### The Viaduct

The Viaduct is a part of the Liberty that contains Hedgelock Court. It contains a large bridge that does not seem to bridge anything, and Marzana could not puzzle out since it was made of limestone and granite, not old iron. Crossynge Lane is the Viaduct's Main Street because it is the most direct route across the bridge. It is two and a half miles from Marymead.

#### Pastern Rows

Pastern Rows is a neighborhood that contains the street Pastern Wynd.

#### Whipping Hyde

Whipping Hyde is a neighborhood near the Viaduct. It is an old part of town where the buildings are not built as high or as close together, though the streets are still narrow. In Whipping Hyde, many of the houses have plaques. Hickson Blount was said to have been holed up in Whipping Hyde. Whipping Hyde contains Ottomy Market and the Ottomy Stalls station, and above it the apartment of Mrs. Agravin.

#### Ten Churches

Ten Churches is an old part of the Liberty, with J.J., Nialla, and Ciro's houses nearby.

### Buildings

#### Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop

*See Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop.*

#### Hedgelock Court

Hedgelock Court is the Hakelbarend home, a house in the Viaduct. The house has a few secret entrances and exits, due to Marzana's mother being wanted. The house is very tall. Marzana's room has a window nook, because the previous owner had divided one large bedroom into two small ones, and cut out the corner since there was no good place to put a window. Marzana liked to sit on the window nook, from which she could look out over the Liberty. Hedgelock Court had once been a stately house, having a library and a bellpull. The house has a grandfather clock.

#### Ambrose Bank

Ambrose Bank is a bank at the corner of Cafender Street and Thomasine Street. It has an old iron façade that changes regularly.

#### Hadley Park

Hadley Park is a park in the Liberty that has a bandshell. It is near Reagan's.

#### Reagan's

Reagan's is presumably a restaurant, where picnic dinners are available. It is on a lake and near Hadley Park.

#### High Teashop

The High Teashop is near Crossynge Lane, and presumably in the Viaduct. It has wrought-iron tables outside.

#### Updraft Café

The Updraft Café is near Crossynge Lane, and presumably in the Viaduct. It has green-checked tablecloths on its outdoor tables.

#### Piper Gates Chophouse

The Piper Gates Chophouse is near Crossynge Lane, and presumably in the Viaduct. It has umbrellas over its tables outside.

#### Horneblende Park

*See also: Horneblende Park Station.*

Horneblende Park is a cemetery in the Liberty with a Belowground Transit station in it.

#### Jack's Pies

Jack's Pies is a pizza place in the Liberty, near the Ten Churches neighborhood. There is an old iron clock nearby that Marzana and Nialla use to decide whether they will go to Jack's Pies or Peppermilk.

#### Peppermilk

Peppermilk is a curio shop in the Liberty, near the Ten Churches neighborhood. It sells ice cream. There is an old iron clock nearby that Marzana and Nialla use to decide whether they will go to Jack's Pies or Peppermilk.

### Streets

#### Ottomy Market

Ottomy Market is a market in the Liberty of Gammerbund near Cop-Bone Way, and contains the Belowground Transit station Ottomy Stalls.

#### Cop-Bone Way

Cop-Bone Way is the street where the Ottomy Stalls station, and Mrs. Agravin's apartment atop it, are built. Ottomy Market is also on Cop-Bone Way, as is Cop-Bone Alley.

#### Westing Alley

Westing Alley is a street in the Liberty. It houses Boneash and Sodalime's Glass Museum and Radioactive Teashop, and an old pier. It intersects with Hellbent Street near Surroyal Books. The members of the Thief Knot often passed Westing Alley on their way from Marymead to Surroyal Books.

#### Hellbent Street

Hellbent Street is known for being very twisty, so much so that bikes are not allowed on it because of all the turns. Surroyal Books is on Hellbent Street.

#### Cafender Street

Cafender Street is a street in the Liberty with shops down it. Where it intersects with Thomasine Street stands the Ambrose Bank.

#### Thomasine Street

Thomasine Street is a street in the Liberty. Where it intersects with Cafender Street stands the Ambrose Bank.

#### Wilkens Street

Wilkens Street is a street that intersects with Hellbent Street.

#### Crossynge Lane/Crossynge Street

Crossynge Lane, also called Crossynge Street, is a street in the Viaduct that runs across the Viaduct's random bridge, and is the Viaduct's main street due to it being the most direct and quickest way across the bridge. It is paved in green stones. Sometimes Crossynge Street is very busy with people walking or on bicycles. One of Hedgelock Court's windows looks out onto Crossynge Lane.

#### Pastern Wynd

Pastern Wynd is a street in Pastern Rows. Marymead is located on Pastern Wynd.

#### Eald Brucan Lane

Eald Brucan Lane is a street named for the old brook that used to run underneath it. There is a private dock and pier nearby. Emilia likes to take Eald Brucan Lane when going from Marymead to Surroyal Books, though she does not know how far the lane goes.

## Gallery

**Take a look at our **gallery for Liberty of Gammerbund****.

## Trivia

* The name "Gammerbund" comes from one of the Liberty's early residents, Whittacre Gammerbund, who became the Liberty's patron saint.