Thursday 14 March 2024

The Andtor Odyssey, part 4: Path to Glory




When the Cleavermaw and the Swordfysh sailed back into Dead Kraken Cove once more, they had their holds loaded and their pennants flying.

Kaptain Borgoth met them on the quayside in roaring high-spirits. He pushed through the excited crowd of pirates from other ships to greet Mogrum and Krashhart, shaking their hands warmly and slapping them on the back as they quickly summarised their adventures.

The good news further raised his mood and he regaled them with tales: while the two ships were out roving he had also taken the Plunderblade out exploring the nearest islands to the north-west. They had sighted a Dawnbringer Outpost nearby and when night fell they looked into its harbour. They came home with a good deal of loot from the Outpost's stores and left the place ablaze.

The back-and-forth stories of the battle with the Soulblight Gravelord and ransacking the port kept the crews supplied with a steady flow of grog for a week. As usual they all embellished each tale in the telling and retelling with progressively wilder additions each time.

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Over the next few weeks there were several friendly ships who passed by Dead Kraken Cove.

The Cleavermaw spoke the Lockheart:

A green and blue painted, low-flying Ironclad of the Keystone Acquisition Company. The Captain of the ironclad, Kap'n Clink Keyholdr, was a skaven pirate dressed in a collection of vibrant emerald and azure coats and carrying a great latchkey-axe slung over his shoulder. He exchanged news and chit-chat with the Ironfang Fleet for a while but declined an invitation to dine on megalofin steak, suddenly declaring they had "only hove-to to ask the orruks for directions".



The Swordfysh spoke the Iron Kraken:

A steam-powered monitor, that was carrying the Chuglords Fusiliers on a supply mission. The captain shared a bottle of fiery grog with Krashhart and a stew made from steeped Harkraken meat. they discussed other vessels each had seen recently. Meanwhile their crews exchanged trinkets, trophies and wild tales of adventure (and no small amount of grog too).


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