Warhammer 1st Edition Fantasy Role Play

Our usual DM for Dragon Warriors is away for the next couple of weeks so us players have been left to our own devices. We were ready to play a futher Savage Worlds adventure, but after only three of us turned up we decided to join another game put on by Craig (who was the AD&D referee from a year or so back). The three of us joined Craig and two other players (Graham, another of the players from that AD&D campaign was back at the club again) on a fresh new Warhammer FRP game - something I have not played since it was released way back in 1986!

Image used without permission

Warhammer FRP (1^st Edition): 17^th July 2013

The Adventurers

Helga Thorgrimmsdottir – Female Dwarf Ranger (Coachwoman)

Male Elf Rogue (Footpad)

Male Elf Rogue (Smuggler)

Male Human Rogue (Footpad)

Male Human Warrior (Pit fighter)

Potted History

The party of adventurers have known each other for about ten years, and live in a small village just outside of The Empire. A bunch of ne’er-do-wells they were always getting into scrapes until they were taken in by a kindly old gentleman, who gave them lodgings in return for errands run. The old man seems to be an alchemist of sorts; his study usually being off limits to the friends but the occasional glimpse they get through a partially opened door confirms that he studies the chemical goings on of a variety of substances in his plethora of bubbling glass jars and vials full of strange coloured liquids.

A Request from the Alchemist

The adventurers were called together just after breakfast by the old alchemist. He had another errand for them to run. He needed a special chemical (Abelis powder?) brought back from the local town (two and a half days travel time east) and a bunch of small flowers (Litmus) that grew only in deep, dark places, like the mines two days distance but in the opposite direction from the town.

The friends all agreed that travelling outside of their backwater village was always a source of fun, so readily agreed to his request. He gave them a picture of the flowers required, a handful of coin to keep them going and a note of payment to be handed to the apothecary in the local town in exchange for the powder.

The Disused Mine

The party set off for the mines to find the flowers first and were able to get there in good time. The horse and cart they owned allowed them to travel in some comfort until they were but a few hundred yards away from the entrance.

They dismounted from the cart, hobbled the horse, loaded and readied their weapons and set off towards the old mine entrance, Helga leading the way with her blunderbuss as she was the only one who had any mining experience.

The small, twisting overgrown trail led them directly to main entrance that was thoroughly blocked with brambles. Helga, being the smallest of the party, could have slipped through the gaps between the knotted limbs without picking up more than a few scratches, but her taller companions needed assistance, so she used her axe to cut a path for them.

The entrance to the mine showed what lay beyond was an almost impenetrable blackness for the humans at least, so they gathered up as much of the wood cuttings Helga had created and fashioned a few make-shift torches from them.

After the party had gathered their wits, lit the torches and readied their weapons they were ready to advance down into the Stygian depths of the disused mines.

Rats!

The path into the mine led steadily downwards and a variety of side-branches that struck off from the main corridor were explored in turn and found to either double-back onto the main run or were blocked by rock falls or purposely built walls of stone.

After a short time the sharp-eared elves of the party began to hear scratching and rustling noises coming from up ahead. The party reached a crossroads and decided to call a halt whilst they tried to figure out where the sound was coming from.

Unfortunately the noises were heard coming from both sides of the corridor, but before they could make up their minds which way to turn, three large rats the size of dogs pounced upon them. Helga just had time to set off her blunderbuss in their general direction; the noise and fumes causing everyone to jump and search for cover. Luckily the flash and bang of the black powder weapon caused one of the rats to turn tail and scamper off but the other two continued with their attack.

The sharp-eyed Elf footpad transfixed one of the vermin with a shaft from his bow and the pit fighter stepped in and cleaved the final one in two with his sword.

After the brief melee, the party decided to explore the two side tunnels. Both tunnels ended at small caves where the miners of yore had worked the rock surface. One of the caves was empty, but the other contained the rats’ lair. The rat that had run from the noise and flash of the blunderbuss was found cowering in a corner with one of its fellows, but a few swift sword and axe blows made sure that they would not bother the party again.

The Wooden Casket

The group carried on exploring the underground warrens, making sure that no side turning was left unchecked as the flowers could be growing anywhere down there in the gloom. After a few minutes they came across a network of criss-crossing paths and side tunnels. Each was explored in turn but nothing of interest was found until one of the eagle-eyed elves spotted a small piece of wood sticking out from under a pile of rock fall. Helga used her pickaxe to dig it out. It was a small wooden chest.

The lock that held it closed was easily bashed off, but the contents were rather disappointing; a few small pebbles and a load of rock dust. The party decided to empty out the contents onto the floor and were rewarded with a small nugget of copper. This was quickly pocketed, along with a pouchful of the dust and the casket was then hacked apart in case it held a false bottom. The only other thing of value they got from it was the iron surround that ran around the base. Helga picked this up just in case it might come in handy later.

The Undergound Lake

The network of criss-crossing tunnels was soon left behind and the long corridor carried on in its downward direction. After a goodly few yards, the corridor made a right-angled turn to the left before plunging down a steep spiral walkway. This carried on for several revolutions, taking the companions a long way underground by Helga’s reckoning.

The spiral walkway finally opened out into a large cavern which their torches could not light the far end of. They walked into the cavern, keeping to one side in case they missed any side passages, and came upon a body of water lapping at their feet. They quickly tested its depth; it seemed to get deeper at the same rate as the floor of the cavern did. Realising that they would not be able to cross the water equipped as they were, they decided to follow the waterline and carry on their search for side passages on the opposite side of the cavern. Before they got to the other side though, they espied an upturned rowing boat.

The Elf smuggler quickly righted the boat, made sure it was sound to float and began to launch it into the water. As soon as the boat hit the underground lake, a current seemed to snatch away at the vessel. He quickly pulled it back to shore lest it was lost to the party.

Unfortunately there were no oars or paddles to accompany the small craft and it would not fit the entire party into it at one go. It was decided that the smuggler would attempt to ferry each of them across what they presumed was an underground lake one at a time. He just hoped that the current would lead them to dry land on the other side and that there might be a set of oars that would allow him to row back to ferry across the rest of his companions.

…

(Thanks Rod for this diary entry - I had to collect my son from his school trip to Vienna)…

(dwarf leaves)

The smuggler and the fighter climb into the small boat and it starts floating across the flooded cavern. Skittering noises are heard coming from the passageway we came down. It doesn't sound like the dwarf returning. A huge rat bursts out of the tunnel but a swift shot from the elven archer's bow sinks into its body then a mighty swing from the footpad's hammer crushes its skull.

Meanwhile the boat ride is equally eventful. A large wormlike beast with gaping lamprey jaws shoots out of the water and tries to make a meal out of me. Fortunately the mail shirt protects from its teeth and we hack at it while careful not to overturn the boat. It lunges again but can't get past my shield then chomps down on the side of the boat. Holding still for a few seconds gives us time to make well placed blows and I hack the head off. The rest of the body? tentacle? sinks back into the pool. We land at the other side and find three small flowers growing at the back. The smuggler carefully harvests two and feels a little dizzy from handling them with unprotected hands. We recross the lake without incident but realise that we can't get the magical boat out of the cavern without taking it apart, so we abandon it.

Back upstairs we lever our way through the rock collapse with the metal slats. Two small rooms are found behind. One has piles of old clothing and searching turns up 5gc in loose coinage. The second room has two bunks and footlockers. The elves leap to search them and a few more coins are found. We can't see anything more of interest so we head home and arrive without incident.

We give granddad his plants and after a good night's sleep we set off for town. The elves are eager to make good time so despite concerns for the poor horse they opt to travel for much of the day and night with the group sleeping in the wagon by shifts. We meet a trader and cart and barter for a few incidentals. We decline an offer of 6gc for the nugget. The elves contemplate a number of devious tricks but in the end we pay up fairly. The smuggler is content to have a new bow despite its inferior human design.

During the night we meet a rambling drunk or local idiot. He claims to be following a map but it is smeared to illegibility. His ravings include prophesying that war is coming but these seem more the spoutings of the village drunk than a genuine oracular fit. There is some sort of altercation that I'm not clear about and the outlaw elf mercilessly shoots him dead.

The next day we reach town. We find a jeweller/metallurgist who is willing to buy the nugget for 10gc which we accept. Our trip to the alchemist goes smoothly and we obtain a small vial of granddad's mysterious powder. We are cautioned not to handle it or ingest it... perhaps it's not an ingredient for his pile ointment after all. I'm eager to have some time in town so persuade the others that we should 'invest' our 5gc expenses money in drinks, food and a night at the inn. After a pretty good but uneventful night we eat a hearty breakfast and prepare to leave...

40 Knights in 40 Days (Part 4)

Here is the final conroi of Norman Knights.

I have decided to present them a different way around this week - the group shots before the individual shots this time.

Command group...

Norman knights group...

Robert Dux...

 Miniature from Conquest Games

Banner Bearer...

 Miniature from Conquest Games

Musician...

 Miniature from Conquest Games

Champion...

 Miniature from Conquest Games

Norman knights done as crusaders to join their duke on his pilgrimage...

 Miniature from Crusader Miniatures

 Miniature from Gripping Beast

Norman knights...

 Miniature from Conquest Games

 Miniature from Conquest Games

 Miniature from Conquest Games

 Miniature from Conquest Games

That is all of the Normans I have painted for now. As mentioned previously, I may buy another few sets from Crusader Miniatures to fill out the gaps in the first two conrois and then make a start on the infantry to support their lords.

I have also just sorted out a bunch of old Citadel Hobgoblins. I have managed to base and undercoat them so far. Hopefully I should get them up on the blog in the next week or so. I am not sure what to go for after them though. I have nearly finished my old school lead pile (maybe 70-80 to go?), so I may continue with either the eastern looking Hobgoblins, the Night Goblins or my Asgard Dwarfs. Decisions, decisions. I also have hundreds of Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings minis, about twice as many more 15mm medieval stuff, and some few dozen Romans and Celts still to sort out as well as a couple of boxes each of Gripping Beast's Anglo-Saxons and Vikings too, so maybe I will get a move on with some of those too.

Dragon Warriors 2:14

Criggen Varrus (10^th July 2013)

The Dragon Warriors

Aethelfrith – Thane

Sir Erich of Barton – Knight

Hillson – Warlock

Nazir al Khalid – Barbarian

Solaran – Elementalist

Karban Telos – Sorcerer

Mutiny? (Days 40-51 (120-131))

After about a week of travelling by sea under a steady wind, the companions made good headway around the cape and began their journey southwards towards civilisation again. They had cleared Glissom Sound and evaded the pirate hordes of the Bloody Bitch and had begun to show signs of relief when the acting captain advised them that they were running low on water and may need to put in to take on more supplies. This situation was resolved by the magic users putting their heads together and providing some plain food by way of magic.

Unfortunately,  just as they thought they only had a few more days left at sea, a storm arose which lasted two days, during which time they lost their way temporarily. Fortunately, according to their charts and the stars, they had actually made a good distance southwards under the heavy winds. The crew had begun to get a little more nervous now and were often seen huddling together in hushed conversation.

Sir Erich, Solaran and Hillson decided to take the acting captain to one side once the storm had died down to find out what was wrong. They found out that the crew were not happy. They had seen too many strange things happen and had met with too many dire denizens upon the waves; they were basically concerned about the levels of pay they were going to be getting on arrival at port, as even the amount they were promised by the previous captain (which had included danger money) was not enough, as this trip had proven more dangerous than they had ever imagined. Sir Erich and Solaran ran some quick calculations based on the rate of pay that the acting captain said they had been promised by the previous captain, offered the crew an extra 1/3, which was accepted, but came out only marginally out of pocket (by a total of 2 silver florins!).

The ship finally arrived outside the port of Criggen Varrus late on the evening of the twelfth day since they had set out from the Trickster’s cove. There were no pilots available to tow the cog into the harbour until the following morning so the crew and adventurers slept aboard the vessel at sea for one final night.

Criggen Varrus (Day 52 – early morning)

The following morning (day 13 at sea since leaving the cove) the pilot boat made its way out of the harbour towards them. They paid the fee to be towed into a suitable quay and docked with little fuss. The party immediately set about paying the crew for their services, but split the money in two; half now and the final payment the following day when the next full week was up – this was to stop them splitting as soon as they got their money, leaving the adventurers to unload the cargo on their own.

The sailors, overseen by Aethelfrith, Hillson, Sir Erich and Karban, were ordered to unload the cargo onto the dockside whilst Nazir and Solaran headed off to find a cart and warehouse space in which to store it until it was sold. This was quickly accomplished and the cargo was soon stowed away safely at a nearby wharf. The crew were given leave to go ashore, which they all did except for the acting captain and one sailor. They would be given their settlement the following morning when they returned to the ship.

The rest of the day was spent looking for merchants to buy their wares and a buyer for the boat itself.

Bar-room Brawl (evening)

Once everything had been sorted for the rest of the day, the adventurers split into two groups and set about either exploring the town or waiting for the merchants to arrive to sample the wares.

Aethelfrith, Karban and Nazir headed off to the nearest tavern as they had won the toss of the coin as to which group would venture out first. Whilst they were gone, several merchants arrived to take a look at what was stored in the warehouse. After negotiations had taken place, the goods were packed up and taken by cart to an armourer’s storehouse. The party were paid for half of the goods on the promise of the balance the following day; backed up by a notice of good faith.

Meanwhile, the other three had found a suitable drinking establishment and had set to feasting and enjoying themselves with aplomb. Over the course of the evening, Karban had attracted the eye of one of the tavern serving wenches. He thought it was because of his dashing good looks that he had accomplished this feat, but Nazir and Aetheflrith kept him on the right track by mentioning she was only being his best friend because she wanted him to spend more. As proof of this they showed him how she interacted with the rest of the patrons.

Towards the end of the evening, one of the other bar patrons decided he had taken a disliking to Karban and suggested that he left the tavern. Thinking that this might be a fight over the attentions of the bar maid, Karban stood his ground. Nazir and Aethelfrith folded their arms and awaited the outcome of the fracas. The drunken patron swung a punch at Karban but missed, but the wily sorcerer did not. Fists flew between the two assailants and the altercation grew when two bouncers moved in to break the fight up. Unfortunately the drunken thug’s companions decided to join in the fight too and it became a three-way fight between Karban, the thug and three of his cronies, and the bouncers.

Nazir and Aethelfrith decided to make their way out of the bar, signalling to the barmaid that they would call the watch. Karban, realising the attention had somehow slipped away from him, escaped the clutches of both the bouncers and the thugs and made his way outside too.

Upon reaching the street, they found that they had been followed by six more of the rowdy thug’s gang. They prepared to fight as Aethelfrith joined in from the rear after placating the bar maid and calling for the watch.

Not wanting a repeat performance of the last time they were in a street fight back in Glissom, no-one drew their weapons. The fight itself was over very quickly. The drunken yobs were no match for three seasoned adventurers in full armour and two were knocked unconscious very quickly. The rest turned on their heels and ran just as the watch arrived, who just took one look, saw that there was no real issue, shrugged their shoulders and left without a backwards glance.

New Beginnings (Days 53-59)

The following morning, the merchant was good to his word (and written contract) and turned up to pay the remainder of what he owed for the merchandise. He made a deal with Sir Erich to get some plate armour sorted for him, so he adjusted the costs accordingly. The armour would be ready for him in about eight days.

A short while later, all but three of the crew arrived and were fully paid up for the services of the last four weeks. They left without a backwards glance, most likely in the hope that they would never see that particular cog and its owners again. A few hours after that, two more of the crew turned up for their settlement, but that still left one who did not appear.

On the sixth day of carousing (the party had split into two groups – they took it in turns to either look for a buyer for the ship and guard it overnight, or spend the day feasting and drinking as was their wont), Hillson, Sir Erich and Solaran were out on the town. Hillson was approached by a man in the tavern they were frequenting and was offered a drink. Not one to turn down a free beer, he quickly partook of the offer and began to talk to the newcomer. Their conversation slowly got around to the selling of the cargo ship; this man said that he might know of a buyer, so he asked if he could give it the once over before reporting the details to his contacts. The three companions agreed to accompany him to the docks so he could give the ship his careful scrutiny.

Dragon Warriors 2:13

The write-up is a little late this week as real life took over a little. Anyway, here is the next instalment in the Dragon warriors tale...

The Final Chair (3^rd July 2013)

The Dragon Warriors

Aethelfrith – Thane

Sir Erich of Barton – Knight

Hillson – Warlock

Nazir al Khalid – Barbarian

Solaran – Elementalist

Karban Telos – Sorcerer (NPC)

The Chair of the Lyre (Day 39 – morning (119)

Aethelfrith, Hillson, Nazir and Sir Erich returned to the ship again to rest and relay their latest exploits to their companions and crew members. Even though they had only been gone half a day, the fight to the death had taken its toll on the warriors.

They rested up the rest of the day and got in a good night’s sleep before heading back to the halls again. This time though, Solaran decided that they may need more brains to go with the brawn of his fellow adventurers.

Their journey back to the halls was uneventful and so they made their way to the top table again. As Solaran had not sat upon one of the chairs yet, he was unanimously voted to be first upon the Lyre chair. Again, the party were ported through to another plane without harm. This time they arrived in a large circular room with walls filled with scroll shelves. In the middle of the room, facing each other, were two lecterns with books open upon them.

Solaran stepped straight up onto the right side lectern and glanced at the book in front of him. The pages were blank. His puzzled look did not last long as a shadowy form appeared on the pedestal opposite him. The newcomer was young but wore a full beard. He appeared warrior-like but was without weapons.

The new arrival spoke to Solaran and posed him the following riddle…

My words soothe more than any medicine you know,

But still cut deeper than any sword or bow.

It is my verse that shapes all history,

Who are you to challenge me?

Solaran thought about what he could answer to this riddle and quickly spoke the single word “Truth”. A few seconds later the bearded man spoke a second rhyme…

You have no answer to my rhyme,

A challenger who wastes my time.

The elementalist received a sharp shock from the pedestal he was standing upon, which caused him to recoil and step down from the lectern whereupon the riddler faded from view.

Hillson was less fazed by this turn of events than Solaran and confident that he could work out the trick behind this challenge, so he stepped up to the lectern. The bearded warrior reappeared at the pedestal opposite and repeated his rhyme. Hillson waited out the time, listened to the same rebuke and took the zap from the pedestal and waited to see what would happen next. The bearded warrior repeated the original rhyme and Hillson took another bolt of energy, so he too stepped down from the pedestal. He then proceeded to examine the scrolls upon the shelves that were located around the walls of the chamber. He realised they were all written in stanzas and said so to his fellow adventurers. Nazir, who until this time had not spoken a word, said that he had figured out the conundrum and that he should be able to challenge this bearded figure and beat him at his own game as he had attended the university in his home city back in the east where he studied poetry in all its forms.

He stepped up to the plate and the bearded warrior reappeared. He repeated his original rhyme to Nazir, who responded with a rhyme of his own. Impressed, the bearded man responded with a second rhyme but no shock from the pedestal affected Nazir. This battle of wits continued for several minutes before the bearded man conceded defeat and presented Nazir with a picture of a lyre upon the page of the open book in front of him. Nazir made to trace its outline with his fingers but rather than touching a flat page, the lyre began to take form in front of him. Nazir grabbed the fully formed lyre and a misty gateway appeared in place of one of the scroll shelves. The party stepped through the shimmering light back into the main Trickster’s Hall.

Loki’s Chair

When the five adventurers had collated their prizes, they tried to work out what to do with them. Solaran picked up the eye and sat upon Loki’s chair. Rather than get burned immediately, the seat only slowly began to heat up. Solaran stepped off of the seat again, knowing that it would need all of the prizes from the six quests to resolve the puzzle. Hillson grabbed all of the items and placed them upon Loki’s golden plate at his place setting. The golden chair began to glow, so the adventurers sat upon it one at a time and were transported to a new location. This time, they strode into a new hall through a pair of iron bound oaken doors. Eight columns that represented women in a variety of tasks ran down its length and carvings of scenes from Norse mythology graced its walls. At the far end of the hall was a raised dais with a pedestal upon it. Stood upon the pedestal was a beautiful woman with a simple iron pot-helmet placed upon the floor in front of her.

The party approached the woman at the far end of the hall. As they approached the dais they saw that it was inscribed with a variety of runes, but no-one in the party could read them. As the party approached the base of the dais the woman spoke to them. “Heroes, you have found the way through Loki’s door.”  The party engaged her in conversation and found out that she was imprisoned here many years ago (the party gathered this as all of the place names she mentioned were now named something different and the peoples she spoke of no longer existed). They found out that she was a Fomorian named Egrin.

Whilst the party spoke to her, Aethelfrith tried to grab the helmet from the dais but was stopped from doing so by a strange force. Egrin said that she had been imprisoned so long that she wished for her freedom and would reward the party for letting her free. She pointed to a rune and said that if that rune was scratched out she could leave the pedestal and join the real world. Sir Erich, ever the chivalrous knight, scratched away the rune setting her free. She stepped straight down from the dais and made her way to the door without looking at the party. Nazir and Aethlefrith wondered what their prize would be but she ignored their questioning. Nazir stepped in front of her to block her exit, but she cast some kind of charm over him and he became as still as a statue, mesmerised by her beauty.

Meanwhile, Aethefrith was able to block the door and stall her with chat about the lie of the land in the era in which they currently lived. Whilst this conversation was going on, Sir Erich grabbed the helmet from off of the plinth and placed it upon his head. Immediately he began to hear lots of talking emanating from the statues within the hall. When he touched his helmeted head against the pillar of a woman who appeared to be reading a book he could hear her much more clearly. The verse she quoted to him seemed to grant him the power of remembrance; any verse that he heard in future he would be able to remember flawlessly.

Finally, Egrin had decided that she had had enough of the party and forced her way past Aethelfrith. He let her go and ran back to the others gathered around Sir Erich. She shouted at them as she left the halls that her master, Balor of the One Eye, would show them no mercy. He warned them that she had left the hall and that he was worried in case the doors sealed behind her or that, gathered from their conversation, she would steal their ship.

The magical gift bestowed upon Sir Erich proved a more powerful draw to the rest of the party however, and one at a time they too placed the helmet upon their heads, pressed their heads against a pillar and gained a minor boon. Aethlfrith, not one to miss out, also grabbed the helmet in turn and was granted the boon of charming animals. Sir Erich then chanced his luck with another of the statues, but the magical resistance to his attempts and the potential loss of his original boon soon convinced him not to try again.

The Fomorian

They finally listened to Aethelfrith’s pleas of cutting off Egrin before she gained their ship and hurried from Loki’s Hall via the iron bound doors. Upon entering the main hall in the real world, they noticed that Egrin had managed to make her way across it a fair distance. They also noticed that their prizes had disappeared from Loki’s table. They hurried to catch her up, but it was only Aethelfrith’s tracking and observation skills that showed them that she had indeed headed towards their ship.

The party just managed to catch her before she boarded their ship. It was now too late that they realised she was evil and only intent on pursuing her own agenda. When she stepped aboard the cog she ordered the crew to obey her will but they cowered on the fore deck, looking to the adventurers for guidance. Nazir made his way to the aft deck and grabbed the wheel and Aethelfrith grabbed Egrin’s arm to stop her from making her way to the back of the boat and commence taking command.

As soon as Aethelfrith’s hand touched the Fomorian’s arm, she snarled an incantation and an onyx spear appeared in her hand. Aethlfrith made to grab the spear, but a second incantation made the pair of them fade to smoky shades in the eyes of the crew. Aethelfrith also saw that the crew seemed to fade from his eyes and become smoky shades – he was on his own against the Fomorian in their magical cocoon. He quickly drew his magical short sword and stabbed Egrin with it. Egrin calmly cast yet another incantation. A perilous melee erupted. Aethelfrith struck his opponent many more times than she struck him, and he also defended well with his shield, but over time, the magical incantations she threw at him took their toll. He struck the Fomorian warlock with blows that would have felled an ox each time but the devil woman still stood; Aethelfrith began to fear for his life.

The rest of the party could just about make out the fight as it played out and willed their companion to victory, but a final flurry of spells and a blow from her onyx spear pushed Aethelfrith to the floor unconscious. This was not what the party wanted to see, but the spell had finally broken and the Fomorian appeared to them again as a real person. This was the opportunity they had looked for and as they had the fight between Aethelfrith and the Fomorian surrounded at all times they all struck their blows. Sir Erich’s battleaxe, Nazir’s magical morning star and Hillson’s Silent Warrior spell fell upon her without her being able to respond to the flurry of blows, and the next time they all struck her she fell to the floor dead. They quickly tended to Aethelfrith and found he was not dead yet. Karban, who had remained below decks throughout the entire melee came up on deck and ran his magical powers onto Aethelfrith’s wounds, which brought him back from the point of death.

Now that the Trickster’s Halls had been fully investigated and the ship was now fully stocked with provisions for a few more weeks, the party set sail again back into the Glissom Sound and continued upon their journey north around the cape in the hope that they had thrown off pursuit from the Bloody Bitch and her pirates.