2.4
Pirates, Giant Tongues and Bad Actors

30th Kaldezeit IC 2522

The adventurers stand at the top of the wide stairs leading down to the square facing the docks at Delberz. People swarm to and fro across the muddy cobblestones—smelly peasants, gangs of beggars and urchins, teams of stevedores unloading goods from ships. Slop rains down from upstairs windows. Crates and bulky shapes covered with canvas cover the docks that run along the river. A town crier standing by a statue of some past Emperor shouts the day’s news.

duCourt attempts to read a letter he has written to Werner Stoltz back in Middenheim, but is interrupted by a lice-ridden beggar, who accosts Lavarar for money. Lavarar throws him a few pennies but it only seems to encourage him, and while Lavarar is lucky enough to avoid a lasting reminder of his attentions, Bierschtein is not so lucky and gets a bad case of the itches.

The group avoids the attentions of several beggars and run for a pub that Fitzue knows on the waterfront—The Yellow Bucket. Inside, the noise of the docks abates somewhat, and they exchange greetings with the owner, a long-haired fellow in his 40s (with excellent teeth) by the name of Theoderic Bischof. Bierschtein organises a bath and goes out back to rid himself of his new affliction in what turns out to be a filthy bathhouse. Fitzue takes his leave to visit his old teacher of magic, Hieronymous Blitzen, who lives on the outskirts of town.

Fitzue’s visit is non-productive, as he refuses to reveal any specifics about his adventures, and Blitzen’s reaction is to eventually show him the door—their relationship somewhat cooler than when they last met.

Back in the Bucket, duCourt reads the others the letters he has composed—one to Werner Stoltz appraising him of their progress, and another to the last know location of Wolfhart Reise, which is full of threats. Later these are taken to the town’s Temple of Sigmar to be sent off.

To Werner Stoltz: “Your Erudite Holiness,

Yours etc etc”

While drinking the tavern’s hard cider, a bald-headed man in a long black leather coat at the bar suddenly looks strangely at Lavarar and seems to recognise him. He steps forward and greets Lavarar warmly as ‘Eldred’, his cousin, whom he apparently has not seen for some time. Lavarar tries to cover himself by referring to a recent bump on the head, but the fellow—who introduces himself as Gunnar— sits and orders a round of beers. When they arrive he slips something in Lavarar’s drink, makes effusive excuses and leaves. DuCourt tries to follow him but loses him in the crowd.

Lavarar tips out the drink, but a small wax tablet falls to the floor. On it is enscribed ‘Be on your guard, the Ordo Fidelis is watching you. Dock 3, midnight. A friend.’

On the recommendation of various sailors in the pub the adventurers book passage on the Maria Borger, a small riverboat owned by Bernhard Dampfler.

That evening at midnight the adventurers go down to dock three and await ‘Gunnar’. Out of the mist on the river comes the sound of rowlocks, then a lone row boat. Once at the dock a dark-coated figure climbs out of the boat. duCourt confronts him alone initially, but one by one the other members of the party step out of the shadows to ask questions.

It transpires that the man is Gunnar Krauthosen, a witch hunter and member of the Ordo Fidelis, the mysterious organisation the adventurers first heard of in Middenheim. It seems the Ordo, who are dedicated to hunting down the agents of Chaos, have been keeping an eye on the adventurers to judge them as possible members, even though some suspect them of being too ‘mercenary’ to join. duCourt and the adventurers do nothing to dispel this impression, and remain confrontational and independent in their conversation with Krauthosen.

31st Kaldezeit IC 2522

An hour past dawn, and the adventurers are aboard the Maria Borger and sailing south down the River Delb. The day passes without incident as the boat passes various villages and common river traffic.

32nd Kaldezeit IC 2522

Another day of sailing southwards.

33rd Kaldezeit IC 2522

In the afternoon the adventurers spot what appears to be an empty riverboat floating towards the Maria Borger. As it comes close a gang of pirates springs up from concealment, some raining arrowshot upon them as others throw grappling hooks over the Borger’s gunwales. The adventurers get a few effective shots off, including a powerful magic missile from Fitzue, and the pirates try to break off the attack, having obviously encountered more than they bargained for. The boats bump together however, and the adventurers leap on board the pirate riverboat and begin dispatching the hapless attackers. Three escape and swim for shore, though one receives an arrow in his arm as he escapes.

The adventurers tether their newly acquired boat to the Maria Borger and after some haggling, agree to sell it to Dampfler for 200gc down payment and another 230gc once they reach Altdorf.

Later that day, they come across a wrecked and obviously sinking vessel, the Divine Retribution, near the riverbank. Blood stains, a corpse, and scattered coins can be seen on the angled deck. The adventurers draw up to the boat and jump on deck, duCourt heading into the cabin. There he encounters Krauthosen lying amid wrecked furniture. Krauthosen suddenly begins gabbling incoherently, then screaming something about someone deserting him, and the infection taking hold, and that they will not get ‘it’—and horrifically, he suddenly digs his fingers into his chest and pulls it apart, revealing a gaping maw lined with teeth and a huge, slavering tongue which shoots out to grab duCourt. duCourt stumbles backwards out of the cabin and manages to shut the door, but the tongue follows him on deck, slapping about like the giant tentacle of some monstrous aquatic beast.

After a frantic fight the thing that was once Krauthosen is dispatched. The adventurers search the boat and discover a thin rope leading from the cabin window down into the river—pulling it up they find a waterlogged valise that contains a strange wooden half-male, half-female mask.

That evening, they arrive in the small village of Halbherzig, noticing a few vessels at the docks including a gaudily-decorated showboat. While Dampfler and his men busy themselves with the boats, the adventurers repair to the inn, the Shooting Star, and its taproom. There they see various peasants at the tables, a well-dressed Bretonnian fellow playing solitaire with cards, and a group of burly men, three of whom they recognise as the survivors of the pirate encounter. While the others sit up at the bar and get themselves food and drink, duCourt goes to confront them. He plays it cool, taunting them until the men rise with cutlasses drawn, then promptly kills one and beheads another. The survivors run for the door.
Tossing the innkeeper some gold crowns, he joins the others as a tavern girl takes a mop and bucket to clean up the mess.

duCourt chats with the Bretonnian, one Louis-Philippe Cheauteau, and plays a few good-natured hands of cards with him. Fitzue sits at the bar cradling his stew and beer and says nothing. Bierschtein chats with the barmaid.

A bit later, a beautiful woman wearing an emerald-green dress, wih long raven-black hair and skin the colour of fresh cream, enters the bar, looks about and approaches Lavarar. Over a few drinks she reveals that her name is Fran Poppenbutel, and she is recently arrived to be betrothed to a local wine grower. She flirts outrageously, and eventually organises a later clandestine meeting with Lavavar.

After she leaves, a huge irate fellow bursts into the room and accuses Lavarar of flirting with his “beloved little flower,” then suddenly bursts into tears. The adventurers are by now suspecting that this entire sequence of events is a setup, and check on Lavarar’s room, which sure enough has been ransacked.

Finally, a cultured-looking fellow enters, introducing himself as Hermann von Wolkenstein, the leader of a group of players whose showboat is at the docks. He invites the adventurers to a preview performance of his new play Sigmar’s Folly, which he explains is a little controversial for the locals and his wish is to test it out on some cultured folk like the adventurers. They agree to meet him in an hour at his boat.

However they have no intention of doing so. Instead, the adventurers return to their rooms and soon after, when all in the inn have retired, they set up an ambush for the company they expect. Sure enough, in the early hours they hear the footsteps of an invisible visitor, who turns out to be von Wolkenstein creeping about under cover of an invisibility spell. After a short pursuit and the slamming of a couple of doors in true ‘Bretonnian farce’ style, a battle is joined between the adventurers and all of the members of von Wolkenstein’s troupe (including the attractive woman and the huge man) in the back corridor of the inn.

Things go badly for the theatre troupe and the woman is the only survivor. The adventurers truss her up and take her with them down to the troupe’s boat, which they proceed to ransack, and discover evidence that they were all members of a Slaanesh cult.

Suddenly, the proceedings are interrupted by the arrival of the local constabulary. They stand on the dock as the adventurers are caught in the middle of stealing from a boat, covered in blood, with a tied-up hostage. Things don’t look good.