28: The Reik Stuff


Guiltag 20th Sigmarzeit

So you sailed back to Marienburg. Both Rolf and Max lost consciousness on the way back and you managed to get them to Frau Koester’s. And you thought that Rolf might need to visit Marit at the temple of Shallya. Dietrich burned the magical scroll and the dubious artefacts that you had taken from Hermann Dahl.

Then you went to the Hangman to break the news to Rotter that his boat had a new eight-legged crew. Rotter was a bit angry about it, and explained he needed it to pick up a cargo in Carroburg. And that as you were now his first choice crew you should go up there on the Mudlark, his crappy boat, and do the job. He even said that you’d be free to take whatever cargo you wanted on the outward journey to see if you could make some money on it.

The job was to pick up a load of Red Abbey cheese (a tasty and crumbly Grevenfeld, characterised by its reddish hue). He said there would be fifteen to twenty wheels, which would cost a guilder each. And it would take seven or eight days to get there. You had to pick them up from Kurt Mueller at Mueller’s Warehouse.

Angestag 21st Sigmarzeit

So the next day you started early and went up to Handelaarmarkt and bought twenty barrels of salted fish for forty guilders. And you managed to persuade the merchant to throw in two extra barrels for free. Then you bought a load of plain rations which you thought would be enough to get you to Carroburg.

While you were chatting to Rotter about the journey, Berta noticed someone keeping an eye on the Mudlark and then talking to two other dodgy looking fellows about it.

Then when Balden went to the bar, some bloke asked him to come out the back for a chat about a business opportunity. Balden was a bit worried about it and so went back to the table. But you convinced him to see what the man wanted, and Berta sneaked out the front, and then round the back of the Hangman, to keep an eye on Balden.

The man, who Berta recognised as one of the ones who had been scoping out your boat, asked Balden to keep a detailed log of your journey and to hand it over to him when you got back, and he would pay eight guilders for it, and not tell Rotter about it. Balden said he would do it. As captain (kind of) of the Mudlark, he had to write a log on the journey, anyway. And he told the rest of you what had happened, but Berta warned him not to bother telling Rotter.

You asked Rotter about the people checking out his boat, and he said that you could deal with them however you wanted, but to make sure it didn’t come back to you, or him.

So you set off up the Reik and had a pretty uneventful first day’s voyage, although you were concerned that your small boat could have been a little bit over-loaded. You stopped at Rijker’s Bend, which was a small fishing village but a popular place for river traffic to moor and spend the night.

You spoke to the crew of a big grain carrier who told you that the best places to stay in Carroburg were the Hope and Anchor and the Mermaid’s Tail. And they said that there were rumours of river pirates upstream and little boats like yours should beware. Although they said you had quite a big crew so you might not need to worry.

Festag 22nd Sigmarzeit

After another day of pretty uneventful sailing, with Balden proving to be a reliable pilot, the interminable marshland gave way to more pleasant countryside. You entered imperial waters and stopped at the Reaver’s Reach. This was a large inn that catered to lots of river traffic with (not very good) entertainment. And there seemed to be some trading going on, as well. You decided to go for a meal and some of you paid to sleep in the Reach as it was a bit more comfortable than your small boat.

You heard more rumours about river pirates and so you found two other similarly small boats, the Grismarie and the Tench, heading your way and arranged to travel with them.

Wellentag 23nd Sigmarzeit

But first thing in the morning some lady calling herself Greta Weiss boarded your boat and began to make herself at home. And when you demanded to know who she was, she seemed to be surprised that you weren’t aware of her, and said that Rotter always gave her free passage.

You weren’t sure about her, but she described Rotter pretty accurately, so she definitely knew of him. She was dressed pretty nondescriptly like you average smart Marienburger or Altdorfer citizen. You disagreed about whether to let her travel with you, but in the end, mostly because of Berta and Heinrich, you gave her the benefit of the doubt. But you resolved to keep a close eye on her.

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