Petrumh is an elderly human who frequents the Queen's Row Inn at Malac's Cross in Betrayal at Krondor. She can first be encountered in Chapter 1.
Chapter 1
Petrumh is excited to see the party, hoping the Prince has sent them in answer to her petitions, but refuses to speak to them while an "elf" is in their company. Gorath retreats to allow them privacy, and Petrumh explains that something must be done in Sethanon, for terrible faerie lights have been seen in the Dimwood and calamity always follows. When challenged, she states that she has seen the lights herself and that they accompanied the death of her husband. The party promises to do what they can. If they return to her without bringing enough Krondorian Lancers to solve the problem, she declines to interact.
Chapter 2
She sees James's party coming and mistakes him for someone else, laughing that the "rascal" must have snatched the clothes of a marquis to impersonate him. She complains that "James" had gained money but she herself has had nothing since Jack died. She asks what he is doing with an elf, as they bring bad luck, saying that they killed Jack and are stirring up all trouble in Sethanon.
It takes some time to convince her that James is not the person she has mistaken him for, but given some Rations, she says that she last saw Lysle heading towards Lyton to meet some gentlemen there.
Chapter 6
The party can encounter Petrumh on the road between Malac's Cross and Darkmoor. Surprised to see them on the road, she warns them against going to Malac's Cross, announcing that the snakemen currently besieging the city are an extension of the evils brewing near Sethanon and a result of Abbot Graves betraying his people. Assured by Owyn that Gorath had nothing to do with the problem, she advises them to help the townspeople present Graves's head to the monsters, who have promised to leave everyone alive if he is surrendered to them. Owyn doubts that monsters would be satisfied with killing one Abbot, but Petrumh realizes that she has left her Cask of Ale at the Queen's Row Inn and will have nothing to drink in Darkmoor, and begs the "brave, courageous boys" to retrieve it and bring it to her friend Ulam's house there.
Petrumh subsequently answers the door at Ulam's home with a broken-toothed smile. If the party has no cask for her, she disappointedly turns back into the house to continue preparing something for Ulam to eat. If the party has a Cask of Ale and chooses to hand it over, she praises them excitedly and asks Ulam for the items she set aside to compensate them for their trouble. They receive some Picklocks and Fadamor's Formula, and Petrumh, ruefully apologizing for Ulam's audible warning not to let strangers into the house, thanks them again as they leave.
Krondor: The Betrayal
Petrumh, a ragged old woman with squinting vision, has been "a little crazy" since her husband Jack died in a fire, claiming that elves murdered him and have been causing all the recent troubles near Sethanon. Most locals in Malac's Cross are willing to feed her and allow her to sleep in their barns. She is fond of Lysle Riggers, though aware of his knack for trouble, and tells everyone that she is his gran.
Slipping into the Queen's Row Inn one night, she mistakes James for Lysle, surprised at the rich fabric of his clothes and that he has not left for Lyton yet. When corrected, she initially takes "James" for a pseudonym and fondly reminisces about scams Lysle has run in the past, such as chewing soap to foam at the mouth and collect alms from the gullible. She asks "Lysle" to buy her some food, but is taken aback to notice Gorath, scolding James for not knowing that elves were bad luck and the source of many local troubles. Finally, seeing that James is unaware of the local situation, she realizes that he is not Lysle and weakly slaps his shoulder, accusing him of being an evil fairy who has stolen Lysle's form to trick her. James continues to protest her accusations and she is eventually mollified, admitting that he doesn't look evil but resembles Lysle closely enough to be his twin. After letting the party know that Lysle left a few days ago to meet a gentleman in Lyton and doubting this contact was actually a gentleman, Petrumh is seated in a corner with her meal and digs in without looking up again. A few days later, the party mentions her to Lysle and learns more about her from him.[1]
Trivia
- In the game, Petrumh guesses that "Lysle" must have stolen his rich clothing from a marquis, while in the book, she guesses that he stole them from a baron.
- Raymond E. Feist wrote that he did not include the "Quest for Ale" subplot in the game's novelization, judging that it would destroy the tension of the story. While he did not specify which of the game's two ale quests he was referring to, neither was included in the book.[2]