Urb

Urb was a city guard Corporal under the command of Sergeant Hellian in the Septarch District of Kartool. He was a large,^[1] uncommonly handsome man^[2] with a perpetually sad-looking round face.^[3]

Urb had joined his local city guard to avoid the dangers of serving in the Malazan Military.^[4] He had known Hellian for a long time and she was the best and only sergeant he ever served under.^[5] He was very fond of her and was always trying to keep her alive.^[6]

In The Bonehunters

Hellian's city guard squad was called by Banaschar to investigate trouble at the Grand Temple of D'rek in Kartool. Upon breaking down the doors, they found everyone inside slaughtered. Banaschar then disappeared, leaving Hellian to predict to Urb that the squad would be in trouble over this and sent off to some trouble spot.^[7] Her prediction proved correct as Hellian, Urb, Touchy, and Brethless soon found themselves forming their own undersized squad in the 9th Company of the 8th Legion in the Malaz 14th Army. Urb once again served as Hellian's corporal.^[8]

Hellian's squad joined the 14th Army after the Battle of Raraku as Adjunct Tavore Paran led her soldiers to Y'Ghatan in pursuit of Leoman and the Army of the Apocalypse. Shortly before the fighting at Y'Ghatan began, Urb admitted feeling "all squishy inside" and visiting the latrine four times since supper.^[4] He also made sure his drunken sergeant had a replacement sword for the one she had traded for a jug of alcohol.^[4]

Adjunct Tavore launched the Last Siege of Y'Ghatan by sending the army's sappers to breach the city's wall under the cover of night. First into the city were the Malazan marines, followed quickly by the heavy and medium infantry. Once inside the city, the Malazans immediately came under attack from swordsmen on the ground and archers in the buildings above them. Hellian rallied the survivors of Sobelone's squad to launch a counterattack using smokers that Touchy and Brethless had illicitly acquired.^[9]

When enough Malazans were engaged in street fighting inside the city, Leoman sprung his trap. The city's olive oil-soaked buildings were set alight and the streets quickly became an inferno. Touchy was ready to give up and die as the flames encircled them, but Hellian forged onwards. They soon joined a mixed group of survivors from Cord's, Fiddler's, and Borduke's squads, who made their way to the Temple of the Queen of Dreams.^[10] Bottle and his rat discovered a tunnel beneath the temple's floor, which they blew open using Brethless' last cracker.^[11] Prior to entering the tunnel, Urb knocked out Hellian with a blow to the jaw as she would not have entered the tunnel otherwise due to her deathly fear of spiders.^[12] Urb was among the small group of soldiers who survived Y'Ghatan by spending three days crawling on their hands and knees through the dark to safety. He dragged his unconscious sergeant along the whole time, occasionally threatening Balgrid, the fat mage in front of him, with his knives whenever Balgrid took too long to move forward.^[13]

Unaware that any had survived, the 14th Army made haste for the Kokakal Sea to embark on Admiral Nok's ships and escape the Bluetongue Plague ravaging Seven Cities. Faradan Sort and Sinn remained behind and discovered the survivors as they crawled from the wreckage.^[14] Captain Sort reorganised the shattered soldiers, promoting Urb to sergeant and placing him in charge of the newly created 13th squad.^[15][16] Hellian was happy to see him go, still bearing a grudge for her aching jaw.^[17] Urb and the others made the long march west, finally catching up to the army on the coast.^[18] Nok's fleet returned the army to Malaz City where the Adjunct met with Empress Laseen.^[19]

In Reaper's Gale

Adjunct Tavore clashed with Empress Laseen at Malaz City and took the Bonehunters rogue, following the Tiste Edur fleet that had ravaged Sepik back to Lether.^[20] Tavore invaded the Letherii Empire, burning her transport vessels on the shoreline and spreading the marines in isolated pairs of squads across thirty leagues of coast. The marines moved forward into the Letherii countryside towards Letheras, the capital, with orders to kill Edur by night and stir the occupied Letherii into rebellion. Each squad had a mage responsible for hiding their presence and confusing their enemies.^[21] Fist Keneb followed in their wake with six squads of marines, while Faradan Sort and Beak attempted to keep lines of communication open between both groups.^[22] Urb's squad during the invasion was short Masan Gilani, who had shifted to Balm's squad amid rumours she was too attracted to Urb to think straight around him.^[2]

Urb's 13th squad:^[23]

• Reem, corporal
• Masan Gilani, marine (reassigned)^[2]
• Bowl, heavy infantry
• Hanno, heavy infantry
• Saltlick, heavy infantry
• Scant, heavy infantry

Urb's squad was paired with Hellian's for the landings. When Bowl was momentarily separated from the rest of the squad in the chaos of the landing, he feared he had been left alone with the drunken sergeant until Urb found him. Urb was disappointed to see Hellian's troops already carting casks of rum.^[24] The two squads remained together and Bowl and Balgrid used magic to cover their tracks.^[25] After defeating a troop of Edur at Boaral Keep they acquired mounts at Hellian's suggestion and pushed hard inland for the capital, fighting from tavern to tavern.^[26] The two squads began taking trophies of ears and fingers and tying them to their belts.^[27]

Contrary to the Adjunct's expectations, the Letherii soldiers did not use the Malazan invasion to turn against their Edur occupiers.^[28][29] When the two squads ambushed sixteen Letherii and four Edur mounted on horseback with Crossbows and munitions, the Letherii veterans recovered more quickly than expected and Hanno had her skull cleaved by a Letherii sword. Urb pulled Hanno's killer from his saddle and struck him with his mailed fist, punching the man's teeth into the back of his skull.^[30] In the aftermath, an inebriated Hellian tried to bed a terrified Urb before being interrupted by Faradan Sort and Beak.^[31]

As the marines neared Letheras fighting became more desperate, although Hellian earned the support of the Letherii slave and Indebted classes by changing tactics to slay the government officials, lawyers, and debt-holders in each village. Urb decorated his beard with one of their severed fingers.^[32] Fiddler and Gesler's squads joined them at a tavern a day's travel from the capital just in time for a force of hundreds of Edur to envelop the village the Malazans occupied.^[33] Bowl was killed in the fighting.^[34] Urb was an exhausted nervous wreck just trying to keep Hellian alive. An Edur lance passed through his shield and pinned his arm to his side as he tried to protect her. Only the healing magic of Mulvan Dreader saved his life.^[35] The Edur were repelled by the arrival of Badan Gruk, Sinter, and Primly's fresh squads.^[36] The new arrivals deferred to Fiddler's seniority, and the former Bridgeburner ordered the marines to hold their position in hopes they would be reinforced by Fist Keneb.^[37] By the time Keneb's forces arrived, thousands of Edur followed in their wake, pushing the gathered Malazans towards the city where the Imperial Brigade awaited.^[38]

Caught between the two armies near Kravos Hill, the 800 remaining Malazans^[39] were forced to huddle under Beak's protective spell when the Letherii mages cast a deadly ritual of Chaos upon them and the Edur. The spell was broken, but the hair of all those under Beak's protection turned white. The Edur abandoned the field after their allies' betrayal, and the shaken Imperial Brigade withdrew to meet Adjunct Tavore's more threatening main force as it disembarked from the Lether River.^[40]

Keneb marched on Letheras thinking the marines deserved to be the first to enter the capital.^[41] After the marines found a hidden entrance beneath the wall, Urb, Hellian, Fiddler, and Gesler's squads were sent into the city to cause trouble while the remaining marines opened the city's west gate to Tavore's infantry. Hellian's squad quickly disappeared into a local tavern and Urb was tasked with finding them.^[42] After the main force of Malazans entered the city, the City Garrison surrendered and the city fell.^[43]

In Dust of Dreams

(Information needed)

In The Crippled God

During the final battle of the Malazan marines and Hedge's Bridgeburners at which they defended the Crippled God, Urb at last confessed his love for Hellian,^[44] to which she responded enthusiastically.^[45] Both Urb and Hellian were amongst those who survived the battle.^[46]

Notes and references