31: Prie

You went back to the mudlark, and paid the berthing charges which were a shilling per foot of boat length per night, which was twenty-eight shillings for the Mudlark.

Konistag 28^th Sigmarzeit

In the morning Max, Dietrich, and Balden went back up to Waldheimer’s with the sword. Balden didn’t really need any persuading to give it up, even though it was obviously very valuable, he was happy with his crappy sword.

Waldheimer was grateful again, and you asked to speak to his clerk regarding selling your cargo, and so he wrote you a letter to give to his clerk at the Waldheimer warehouse.

You went down to the warehouse on Schlaffenstrasse. which was very busy, and presented the letter, and you got the impression that the clerk was doing whatever he could to help you out, and he offered forty-four crowns for your salted fish. This was not quite enough money to cover what you paid for them plus the tax but you decided that it would be the best deal you would get. And you told him that if he needed help in Marienburg he could contact you at Frau Koester’s.

They sent someone down to check out the barrels of fish, but you realised some of the barrels still contained the amber so you had to run back to the Mudlark to get the amber out before they got there. You thought about selling the Waldheimers the ivory but then realised it was the cargo from their own ship, so you decided not to.

Once the fish was unloaded you found a jewellers and tried to get rid of the ivory. Agnes Baum, the jeweller, didn’t really deal with that sort of thing, but offered to buy your amber, and she gave you twenty crowns for it. You thought this was a worthwhile profit for the journey as the fish hadn’t really made you any money. And you thought that the ivory might do better in Marienburg, anyway. And Dietrich paid Agnes two crowns for a big piece of Amethyst.

Then you headed to the Mueller warehouse at the seedier end of the docks. They were a bit careful about letting you in, but once you convinced them that you were from Rotter they showed you the eighteen wheels of cheese covered in red wax, which had already been paid for. You moved the boat up nearer the warehouse and they helped you load the cheese on.

Then you spent ages trying to work out exactly who got what share of the trading fund. And you wondered about taking the wyrdstone to the colleges in Altdorf. Dietrich seemed to think that it would be doing the right thing, although he didn’t really know what the colleges would do with it, or to him for delivering it. But this would put your delivery schedule for the cheese completely out, and Max said that he was wanted in Altdorf for debts, and would rather not risk it.

And Dietrich wondered about going to Kalgrube to check up on Magister Stalborg, and finding out why he was encouraging the trade in wyrdstone. He thought that that would stand him in good stead with his college.

You asked about Kalgrube, the place mentioned in Stalborg’s letter to Waldheimer, and you were told that it was about a day’s journey into the hills, from Prie. And you recalled Prie from your journey up the Reik to Carroburg, it was a day’s sailing back down the river.

You noticed that Carroburg cake was big in Carroburg with everyone seemingly having their own recipe which was better than everyone else’s. And it being served after every meal. You decided to stock up on rations for the return to Marienburg, and you got in a supply of Carroburg cake, as well.

As well as getting bored with carroburg cake, you also got bored of hearing how the Carroburg Greatswords had had their white uniforms dyed red with blood in their defence of the city, which seemed to be the only local legend anyone told.

Angestag 29^th Sigmarzeit

First thing the next morning you were ready to set sail when Greta appeared on the dockside. You weren’t too keen on having her aboard, again, especially Dietrich, but she insisted. She also said that Berta had promised she would get a cut of the amber profits. So you headed back down to Prie with Balden taking the tiller. You reached it in good time after an uneventful day’s sailing.

As you recalled from the upward journey, Prie was a small port used mainly for loading the iron ore and coal from the mines in the nearby Skaag Hills, and everything seemed to be covered in coal dust.

You stayed at the Oar and Ivy and got talking to the landlady Lina Kohlborn and some locals. They weren’t impressed with your Red Abbey cheese as they were more into the local soft cheese.

They said that Kalgrube was less than a day’s travel away, a settlement in the hills that was a hub for the mines. And a convoy of ore and coal travelled down from Kalgrube intermittently, to stay safe from the marauding goat-men. And they said if you wanted to go up there you should probably wait for a convoy, but they couldn’t say when the next one would arrive.

They didn’t know anything about any Celestial wizards, but they said there was talk of lights in the sky in the hills above Kalgrube. And some scholarly type dressed similar to Dietrich, but in white, had travelled through Prie a few weeks before and gone up into the hills, but had not been seen since. And you guessed he could be a white wizard.

You decided that you wouldn’t wait for the convoy but would head up to Kalgrube first thing in the morning.