Hemuel Spume

"I'll give them Free Glades. Long live the Slave Glades!"

- Hemuel Spume

Hemuel Spume was a main antagonist of books seven and nine of The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. He was the master of the Foundry Glades, a cruel, cold businessman who made his fortunes on slavery.

He carried out Amberfuce's Deepwoods business during the time of Undertown, but when the city was destroyed he took over business after he was reunited with Amberfuce. Hemuel Spume wanted war on the Free Glades and to enslave all their inhabitants.

Biography
Hemuel Spume started in the Deepwoods and became involved in business. He met his partner, Amberfuce, there and they had a hegemonistic plan to conquer everybody's lives in the Edgeand bring everyone under their control. Spume had a formidable army of goblins at his command, and he disliked the Undertowners immensely, believing they had become docile, lazy and greedy from sitting back on their wealth.

The banderbear great escape
Hemuel Spume had enslaved some noble banderbears, peaceful, gentle creatures, which would never harm anyone unless provoked. Varis Lodd, leader of the Librarian knights, was disgusted by this, and she enlisted help of Rook Barkwater and Knuckle the slaughterer to free them. They had to go into the Foundry Glades themselves, which was highly dangerous, in order to rescue the banderbears. However, it seemed too easy - all protection round the Glades had gone, and there were no goblins in sight. Only at the last minute did they realize it was a trap and someone had betrayed them, for wagon covers broke open and hundreds of goblins sprang out, grabbing Varis, and Hemuel Spume came out of the offices, demanding he had Varis captured. The goblins rejoiced that she was taken, but then they were shot at by Knuckle and fled. Hemuel narrowly missed being shot himself, but he fled back to a safe place. He raged as the banderbears were led into the Deepwoods to safety but he said "Forget the banderbears, it's Lodd we're after!" and then he was only stopped when a goblin was about to skewer a banderbear, and Rook swept in and took the arrow himself. It was poisoned and he had a fever, but Rook survived.

The Glade Eater
Amberfuce and some treacherous, greedy sky pirates arrived at the Foundry Glade, where Amberfuce had convinced the pirates that for them risking their lives to carry him to safety at the Glade, Hemuel Spume would reap the rewards for them, making them furnace masters. When he met Amberfuce, Spume was delighted to see him after almost fifty years, and convinced him to come to his office. But the pirates complained about their reward, and Hemuel Spume asked Amberfuce what lies he had been telling them about them being furnace masters. Amberfuce said he had a word for the pirates, "goodbye" and then Hemuel Spume grinned and said "Some do very well here if they work hard." He then had the pirates enslaved and taken to the furnaces.

Amberfuce then showed Hemuel Spume what he had bought from Undertown: as Vox Verlix's right-hand waif, he had had access to all his secrets. Amberfuce gave a delighted Hemuel Spume Vox's newest and last project, the Glade Eater. He said everybody knew about the Great Mire Road, the Tower of Night and the Sanctaphrax Forest, but that they were only parts of Vox's mind and inventions. The Glade Eater was one of many of his inventions and one he worked on right before he, Vox, died. The Glade Eater was a large tank, with flame throwers and cogs, which would devour trees and incinerate vegetation, thus creating a whole new Foundry Glade.

The Freeglader War
Hemuel Spume allied with the warmongering goblin clan chiefs to commence the Freeglader War. He himself went in the front line in the first Glade Eater, which goblins had laboured to create in their furnaces. Hemuel Spume burned many trees and devastated New Undertown. He was angry, though, that the inhabitants all ran away and hid because they knew of the attack. When he was confronted by the sky pirates, freedom-fighter ghosts of Undertown and the Undertowners, he got even angrier. When the banderbears joined the battle, that was the final straw. His Glade Eaters were all destroyed and his one was blown up. He was left stranded and yelled at his goblins to "get to the tower" before he himself was shot in the neck with an arrow which killed him.