The Finnest House was a young Azath House that grew from the Jaghut Tyrant Raest's Finnest on Lady Simtal's estate in Darujhistan.
Finnest House by Tomas Kucerovsky (Official image)
The Finnest House was described as bearing no architectural similarity to any other edifice in all of Darujhistan. A snaking path of tilted pavestones led to a massive door half buried in shadows beneath an arching branch.[1] The walls were half-stone, half-wood, with vines snaking up the sides and sprawling over the humped ground in the low-walled yard. The few trees in the yard were twisted and leafless, roots bared like bones.[2]
The interior walls of the House were made of uneven stone that resembled tree bark. The floor was covered in rough flagstones and the ceilings were low.[3]
In Gardens of the Moon[]
Adjunct Lorn planted the acorn containing Raest's finnest on Simtal's estate hoping to lure the Tyrant to wreak havoc in Darujhistan. The House began to grow from the spot, but was for a short time impeded by the presence of Rallick Nom, whose skin was infused with otataral powder. Despite this difficulty, the House managed to capture and imprison both Raest and his finnest.[4]
After it had grown into a full-fledged house, Rallick Nom brought an injured Vorcan Radok to the Finnest House to try and escape the Tiste Andii pursuing them. The door of the house opened for Rallick, but did not for the Andii. Korlat, the leader of the pursuers, considered calling her Lord Anomander Rake to destroy the house, but knowing he was weakened, she and her Andii brethren withdrew.[5]
In Memories of Ice[]
Raest became the Guardian of the Finnest House. When Ganoes Paran arrived there in spirit form, the Jaghut revealed that the Azath had chosen Paran as the 'Master of the Deck'. Paran observed Rallick and Vorcan lying by the front door of the House, apparently frozen in time from the moment they had entered two months previous. Raest led Paran six or seven levels down one of the tower stairs into darkness before he reached the limit of his prison. Paran continued on alone and reached a vast concourse of tiles resembling cards in the Deck of Dragons. He found many unrecognisable and thought them to be Lost Houses or forgotten Unaligned. By concentrating on the image carved into different tiles, he was first able to visit the Beast Hold and then observe the sleeping Burn.[3]
After the Siege of Coral, the surviving Bridgeburners used their accumulated back pay to buy and renovate K'rul's Bar. Three weeks in the company of his former subordinates was enough to convince Ganoes Paran to move into the Finnest House with Raest. The Jaghut guardian greeted his new houseguest without enthusiasm.[6]
In The Bonehunters[]
Ganoes Paran obliquely referred to Rallick Nom and Vorcan Radok when he described once living in the Finnest House with two eternally sleeping houseguests and a Jaghut manservant.[7]
In Toll the Hounds[]
Vorcan Radok awoke on her own and escaped the House. Her exit was witnessed by Chillbais, who quickly reported it to his master, Baruk.[8][9] Seeing one of his sleeping guests gone, Raest kicked Rallick Nom awake and asked him to leave.[10]
Picker and Antsy went to the Finnest House to get in touch with Paran and get his advice on their problems with the Darujhistan Assassins' Guild. Raest reluctantly brought them inside and agreed to help in return for a modest request of his own. He took them to one of the House's upper tower floors which allowed Picker to reach out to Paran through the Deck of Dragons. But the Jaghut warned that if her willpower was not strong enough, the Deck would leave her a drooling wreck. Picker was indeed left comatose when a presence within the Deck attempted to consume her soul. While Antsy worried his friend, Raest revealed the price for his help to the incredulous Bridgeburner--an undead white cat.[11]
Dev'ad Anan Tol, a T'lan Imass imprisoned deep within the eldra iron mine by Raest until freed by Harllo, came to Finnest House to seize the Jaghut's throne. But he was captured by the Azath House and pulled down into the ground. Raest had no idea who the angry T'lan Imass with the odd legs was, but noted there would be time for conversation.[12]
Barathol Mekhar and Antsy brought Chaur to the Finnest House as a desperate measure to save him.
In Orb Sceptre Throne[]
Rallick Nom visited the Finnest House, trying to find out more about what was going on. Raest told him that the game was all about bluffs. The T'lan Imass, Dev'ad Anan Tol, was playing cards with Raest while Chaur recovered, sleeping on the floor.[13]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 22, US HC p.456/458
- ↑ Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 24, US HC p.482-483
- ↑ Memories of Ice, Epilogue, US SFBC p.997-998
- ↑ The Bonehunters, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.213
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.36-37/56
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.110-111
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.110-113
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.590-600
- ↑ Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, US SFBC p.930
- ↑ Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 6