Ib, Pib, and Pob
Ib, Pib, and Pob are three imps in the service of Quellery, an invigilator who directs tactical operations during siege warfare. They function as expendable assets: small, fast creatures sent ahead of the main engagement to provoke defenders into revealing their positions, thereby converting static targets into active ones for the artillery that follows. Their deployment is a calculated trade - the loss of three imps is deemed cheaper than a prolonged, under-supplied bombardment.
The trio appears only during the siege sequence, where Aspel's engines prove mismatched to the task at hand. To cover the operational gap while Aspel recalculates targeting, Quellery sends Ib, Pib, and Pob carrying sigil-marked cloth up toward the walls, where they are cut down by defenders' snipers. A replacement imp, Flob, is introduced for subsequent engagements, though the text does not confirm whether Flob will fare better than the original three. Their brief arc - deployment, death, substitution - illustrates the utilitarian logic governing the invigilator's siege staff, where imps are munitions spent to buy time.
The Group
Composition
The body comprises three imps - Ib, Pib, and Pob - who serve as a named tactical unit under Quellery's command. All three are killed in a single engagement, and the roster is immediately replenished with a single replacement, Flob, for subsequent operations. The text presents the unit as interchangeable at the individual level: Flob is introduced with the explicit framing of a slot to be filled, not a person to be mourned. No rank, internal hierarchy, or division of labour among the three is specified; they are described only as acting together on Quellery's orders.
Purpose & Method
The imps exist to draw the attention of defenders atop besieged walls, making themselves visible targets while carrying sigil-marked cloth. The purpose is diversionary: by provoking the defenders to fire, they convert hidden positions into exposed ones, granting the artillery crews a window to correct and sustain their bombardment. The method is direct exposure - the imps run into the line of fire rather than operating under cover, accepting near-certain death as the cost of a few seconds of enemy attention. - ch 12
Standing
Ib, Pib, and Pob answer to Quellery, who sends them. Their operational role is subordinate to and coordinated with Aspel's siege engines: the imps are deployed specifically because Aspel's equipment, designed for street-clearing rather than sustained bombardment, cannot yet deliver effective fire. The imps thus stand below the engines in the tactical hierarchy - they are the stopgap while the machinery finds its range. No independent authority, grievance, or bargaining position is granted to them; they are ordered into lethal action and replaced when they die. - ch 12
History
Pretenders to the Throne Of God
In this book, Ib, Pib, and Pob are imps in the service of Quellery, deployed as tactical distractions during siege operations. When the first artillery exchange begins, Aspel's engines prove unsuited to the task, having been designed for street-clearing rather than sustained bombardment; to cover the resulting gap while Aspel recalculates targeting, Quellery sends the three imps carrying sigil-marked cloth to draw the attention of defenders atop the walls - ch 12. They are killed by snipers during this operation - ch 12. A replacement imp, Flob, is introduced for subsequent engagements, though the text leaves unresolved whether Flob will survive what follows - ch 12.
Relationships
- Quellery - Master and commanding officer. Quellery decides to deploy the imps, selects their task, and authorises their replacement. The relationship is purely directive: Quellery sends, the imps go. - ch 12
- Aspel - Indirect operational counterpart. The imps' mission exists because Aspel's engines are failing to cover the engagement; their sacrifice buys the time Aspel needs to recalibrate targeting. There is no direct interaction between Aspel and the imps described. - ch 12
- Flob - Successor. Introduced as a replacement imp for subsequent engagements after the deaths of Ib, Pib, and Pob. The text frames Flob as fulfilling the same function, with no indication of distinct personality or agency. - ch 12
Tags
- imps · #conjurer-servants · #bound