1: The Crate

Aubentag, 1^st Pflugszeit

So you all met at Frau Koester’s Hostel on the banks of the Daankkanaal in Kriuersmuur in Marienburg, three Imperials and a Wastelander, who looked like he had been sleeping in a hedge. You exchanged stories of how you came to be stuck in this crappy hostel.

You were Kristoff Stolz an old sailor, who was a chantyman on a Nordlander vessel, who had been dumped in town after the captain of his boat had died and been replaced by the son of the boat owner, who didn’t want any old hands left on the boat undermining him. But now Kris was left with no crew papers or references.

There was Frederick van der Wurst who seemed to be above all this, but also appeared a bit dodgy. He said he was interested in setting up some sort of trading network in Marienburg but it didn’t sound like a very legit business.

And there was Maximillian Kopfraum another imperial who said he had been thrown out of the engineering school in Altdorf for blowing up a laboratory in a steam engine experiment gone wrong (who needs safety valves?)

And there was Balden Dred who was the only Wastelander there, and he explained that he lived in the marshes but decided to come to the city because his parents disapproved of his lifestyle there. And you got the impression he had magical powers, maybe, but they didn’t seem very impressive.

You made fun of him for being a bit of a country bumpkin, but he explained that life in the Grootscher Marsh was hard and dangerous because of the man-sized rats, and the one eyed bog daemons, and the bog octopuses. And Fred explained that man-sized rats were just men in rat costumes.

Apart from Fred none of you had very much money at all and over beers you agreed that you needed to earn some cash sooner rather than later, what with the price of the room, and the cost of living in Marienburg.

Fred spoke to Frau Koester who told him about how she had got the money for the hostel from the insurance from her husband who was lost at sea. She told you about the Seaweed Man who dragged people off the wharf to their deaths. She said that if you were into cards there was an old boat down the wharf called the Black Boat which had a lot of gambling. And she told you that if you were looking for work she had a notice board where people posted job offers.

So you went to the notice board and those of you who could read read out the following.

--

Reliable part-time non-guild dockers required to move delicate cargoes on an ad hoc basis. No heavy lifting. Utmost discretion. Good pay. With a view to further jobs at short notice.

Meet outside the Hangman on Drechter Wharf, Doodkanaal, at 7.

--

Damsel in Distress requires strong arms to dispense justice. Fifteen minute’s work for a good day’s pay.

Contact Frau Konigsberg at the Wayward Lad Inn

--

Chain Fight, every Guilstag, Behind the Hangman, Big, big prizes!

--

Lost Cat, grey, last seen Kruiersmuur area, answers to Fluuffy, reward

--

Responsible gang wanted for guard duty, regular work, night shifts only.

See Werner at the Cloos warehouse.

--

Bodyguards required for temporarily embarrassed man about town. Payment will be made at an indeterminate time, guaranteed.

--

You all felt sorry for the cat but decided to check out the job with no heavy lifting, and so went up to the Hangman on Drechter Wharf. On the way, Max was so intent on trying to find the cat he nearly fell off the wharf into the canal.

You saw three people hanging around outside the Hangman, and after talking to them you decided they must be waiting for the same job. So Fred convinced them that this was a different job and gave them directions to the correct one, and they were very grateful for his help.

Then some bloke emerged from the Hangman. He was a bit flash and wore bling, and he was a bit cagey about the work but gave you instructions to go to the Deedesveld graveyard and pick up a crate, and you needed to transport it to the Gold Wharf in Goudberg, where you would be paid for it.

He gave you the use of his yacht, and told you to tie it back up in the same place when you were done. It was a small, yellow, one-masted boat with ‘Rotter’s Independent Trading’ written on the side. Kris gave it a quick inspection and even though it was old and ropey, he deemed it sea-worthy enough.

You were warned not to get to the graveyard until night fell, which sounded a bit spooky. As you sailed down there, Kris gave you all jobs to do aboard the boat even though he could have sailed it on his own easily enough. And you tied up on a jetty at the foot of the graveyard and waited for night to fall, while Balden picked some black roses.

As the sun disappeared you saw a hooded man make his way through the graveyard carrying a small crate. And once he got to the lychgate he set the crate down and hurried back into the graveyard.

You inspected the crate and it looked normal enough but when you picked it up you noticed it was a lot colder than it should have been. Fred decided that he didn’t want to pick it up but gave Balden and Max helpful directions.

You got the crate in the boat easily enough, as promised it wasn’t heavy lifting, and Kris set off for the north islands. You got the vibe that this was not entirely legit and so wondered whether to go directly there straight across the Rijk or take all the side canals. But in the end, after a bit of a circuitous route you got to Goudberg and asked a passing river taxi for directions to the Gold Wharf.

Tying up on the Gold Wharf you saw a couple of figures hanging around obviously waiting for something, and you had a quick, vague chat and decided they were your contacts. One was quite beefy and looked like a trained fighter, and the one you talked to looked a bit like a clerk or academic, but despite scrutinising him quite hard, you didn’t really notice anything remarkable about him.

He handed Fred a couple of gold coins, and as Balden and Max took the crate up and set it on the wharf they both noticed some pinkish liquid leaking from the bottom of the crate which they decided must be blood and water.

As the rest of you were making the exchange, Kris noticed a girl in a red cape walking along the mudflat beneath the wharf, but then she weirdly, suddenly disappeared.

You decided it would be best to leave the area as soon as possible and set sail for the south islands. But as you went, Kris steered along the mudflat to see if he could spot the route the girl took, and though he was sure he followed her route there was no sign of any footprints in the mud, even though the mud was wet.

Before dropping the boat back outside the Hangman you recced the area, and decided no one was waiting for you or keeping an eye on it, so you felt safe to just tie up the boat and head back to the hostel.

Back at the hostel you split the money up, ten shillings each and celebrated by getting a private room between the four of you, for two shillings each, and having some beer and food, and then some more beer.

And before you went to sleep Kris played his whistle to sooth you to sleep, but it didn’t sound very good and someone trying to get to sleep on the ground floor banged on the ceiling to make him stop.