Fog Bound
A silhouette moved slowly, almost invisible in a deep bank of fog that rolled on the Shadowsea. The Gloomwyrm sailed unseen, wearing the fog like a cape wrapped around ragged timbers, jury-rigged masts, and patched sails. This was not a natural weather-phenomenon, the fog was summoned by the shamans working aboard the ship. It curled around the angular vessel like evanescent tentacles of some deep-sea monstrosity, drifting ahead and obscuring her course, as if pushed by the wind.
The pirate ship’s bedraggled appearance was not the result of some disaster or accident. It had not been caught in a terrible storm, or blown off course onto rocks. It was simply the Gloomwyrm’s normal state. The ship was just as dishevelled and ragged as her crew.
The orruk kruleboyz aboard worked in silence, without the need for orders or discussion. The crew were well used to stealthy sailing and most of them knew their profession well. Without skulduggery they would have slim hopes of success in taking prizes. So, like their landlocked kin, subterfuge was always their primary weapon.
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The Gloomwyrms were orruk sky-pirates who hailed from the shadowy ports around
the Penumbral Sea in Ulgu. They liked to lurk in the darkness waiting for
passing ships. They would follow their prey, watching for a mistake that they
could use to their advantage, before pouncing on them, boarding and
overwhelming the crew. But they were not averse to using false signals and
other dirty tricks to lure ships into danger. They would watch their victims
run-aground and shipwreck themselves, then pick-over the wreckage at their
leisure.
When Deffgit caught wind of something brewing on an island in the Ur-River -
there was much talk of several warlords vying for a powerful artefact
called The Fated Blade - he immediately gave the order and the
Gloomwyrm set a course though the shadows to Frørholm.
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I have finished the first batch of Kruleboyz for my Animosity V campaign
warband, to sail with Kommodore Deffgit on the sky-ship Gloomwyrm.
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Jag
Superstitious and spiteful, Jag got annoyed when his dire warnings and portents were ignored but he took great pleasure if they came true.
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Gruk
The youngest and least experienced member of the crew, Gruk was ambitious but very selfish.
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Borgo
He thought he was likely to take over as captain of the ship at some point, most likely when Deffgit made a fatal mistake. Borgo didn't rule-out being the mistake.
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Rognor Deadeyez
The first mate of the Gloomwyrm was a blind Shadowcalla Shaman who had a
kind of “near sense” so he was mostly aware of his surroundings. He could
manipulate shadows, mist and fog, to hide himself, the crew and even the
ship. He could open crude imitations of shadow-paths so the Gloomwyrms could launch ambushes on
their prey, or slip-away silently to escape unexpectedly powerful foes. He
conjured strange noises in the darkness to distract and confuse enemies.
He used a geomantic compass to navigate in the darkness of Ulgu’s shadows. It had no needle to point "north", toward Realm's Edge, like an aetheric compass - it appeared to be a foggy glass bottle with a strange but dim light inside. The navigator had to "feel" the heading it suggested. The compass never took them the same route twice, even if their start point and destination are the same - this is ideal in Ulgu since the landscape seemed to shift and change in confusing, often dangerous, ways.
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The finished members of the warband, so far.
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The next batch of Gloomwyrms are also built:
I also have two Boltboyz kits to build - I don't think I will ever actually use 6 of them at once in a warband, but I'm not going to let that kind of sensible thinking stop me!
