Vengri’s Volunteers
Hailing from Barak Nufkhazid, the Vengri’s Volunteers, or just Volunteers for short, are a crew of Kharadron Overlord pirates. The Volunteers are the highest grossing, most decorated crew in Barak Nufkhazid, which is quite a feat considering the skyports main “work” is piracy. Whilst the port has existed since the age of Chaos, Vengri’s Volunteers are a relatively new crew, although the crew that they originated from was one of the oldest pirate crews in the skyport.
Origins of the Volunteers
The Volunteers came forth from a crew that was known as the Thorndin Raiders. This crew was one of the eldest crews in Barak Nufkhazid, but were also notorious as pirates that did not respect the Pirate Code and had no honour amongst thieves. These pirates would kidnap, enslave, murder and steal with little regard for authority. They were feared, even amongst the most hardened criminals in Barak Nufkhazid. A little while ago, there was a mutiny, led by the now Captain, Vengri Steeldeck. It is rumoured she was rescued from captivity by the Thorndin Raiders, only to work as a slave for them. She proved her worth though and slowly worked her way up, until she was the First mate to Captain Thorndin. From there, she set up a mutiny together with the leader of the then slaves: a gloomspite git known as Stiknog Smoofmouf. This charismatic grot is well known for his business mindset, his ability to sell anything to anyone. The grot had become the defacto leader amongst the slaves and had caused plenty of riots and headaches for the crew. Yet, they were not able to get rid of him, as this would only cause more trouble with the slaves. After the mutiny, Stiknog was made First mate to Captain Vengri, after she was voted by the new crew. The new crew, renamed to Vengri’s Volunteers at first only consisted of the former slaves of the Thorndin Raiders, who all volunteered to join Vengri on her conquest to become to became a prominent pirate admiral and this led to the name of Volunteers.
Life as a Volunteer
As people started dying during dangerous missions, the need for new crewmates grew. Since then, most Volunteers are handpicked by Vengri and often come from the streets of Barak Nufkhazid. To be picked to work for Vengri’s Volunteers is one of the greatest honours amongst the pirates of Barak Nufkhazid. At the start of the Volunteers, only as much as 30% of the crew consisted of duardin, since most slaves were from other races. New volunteers aren’t always duardin, sometimes new recruits can come from cities of sigmar or other settlements but slowly the crew has slowly grown into a majority of duardin, with only 10% of the crew now consisting of non duardin and very little of the former slaves are left in the crew.
The crew is one of the most famed pirate crews within Barak Nufkhazid, having brought in the most aethergold of any crew. How the crew has gotten this experienced at piracy is up for debate. Some say it is because Vengri Steeldeck is magically blessed, but the most probable reason is the strict discipline and training regime that is maintained by Vengri. Almost every crewmember would die for their Captain and consider her a saviour from the slums, slavery and poverty.
Being one of the richest and most respected crews within Barak Nufkhazid has a lot of advantages. The crew has one of the highest living standards of any crew, always eating and drinking well. They often get discounted prices at certain establishments and even get first dibs on certain goods that arrive on the skyport. Yet, the Volunteers do not get into fights or cause any trouble that can stain the crews reputation. If that is out of fear or honour for Vengri, is up for debate. The few former slaves that still serve the Volunteers are renowned as legends on their own, each of them being some of the richest and most well respected pirates in the skyport. Yet, only a handful of them remain and they consider themselves a dying race.
Vengri Steeldeck, admiral of renown
Vengri Steeldeck herself is a mysterious figure on her own. Rarely seen without her helmet, Vengri only leaves her ship to meet with the Lords of Thievery. In very rare cases, she can be seen buying gems from the local merchants, which she displays in cases within her captain’s quarters. Vengri is a mythical figure in Barak Nufkhazid, countless rumours and legends surrounding her. It is said that she was rescued by the Thorndin Raiders from captivity at the hands of chaos, only to work as slave for them. It is said she always wears her helmet because her face was horribly scarred during her time in captivity. Even when she appears without a helmet, her face is always covered with a scarf or cowl. Vengri is a sombre duardin and a serious control freak. She demands absolute discipline from her crew and inspects every ship herself to make sure it is up to her standard. Being scolded by her at least once is considered an entrance ritual for the Volunteers and something you should get used to, since she is hard to please. Still, at times, when surrounded by friends and booze, she can soften up, exposing a joyful version of herself, which she has seemingly walled off from the world.
Vengri’s revenge
Vengri spends most of her time on board of the fleet’s flagship, named Vengri’s Revenge. This ancient vessel is one of the earliest models of Arkanaut Ironclads and has served Barak Nufkhazid since its earliest days. The ancient ship has been repaired and modified countless times and carries countless battle scars. Yet, the ship keeps functioning and there is a myth amongst the pirates of Barack Nufkhazid that the ship was made by Grungni himself. Of course those are just rumours. The ship is one of the most heavily armed ships of Barak Nufkhazid and at times has been the sole reason that the skyport was saved from destruction. To receive a broadside from the cannons aboard is a death sentence for most smaller airships and the sight of the ship alone is enough to scare most merchants into surrendering. Despite its massive firepower, the ship, like many ships belonging to the pirates of Barak Nufkhazid, is surprisingly fast, able to keep up and overtake most other Ironclads. This is thanks to the Barak Nufkhazid endrineers, who have optimised the use of lightweight materials to be able to make some of the fastest ships possible. This does cost some durability, but if a ship is incapable of catching up to other ships, it is impossible to board and privateer ships, so it is a price the pirates are willing to pay.
The Volunteers work
Altho the crew mostly engages in piracy, they gladly take other jobs from all kinds of contractors and are particularly fond of smuggling. Vengri herself is also very quick to assist those in need, often risking her own life and that of the crew to save cities of sigmar from chaos or other dangerous threats. Unlike some Captains, Vengri doesn’t lead from behind a desk, always ready to stand with her crew, her trusty cutlass at the ready. At rare times, Vengri herself takes her crew on certain expeditions for her personal needs. Sometimes these are treasures or favours to old friends, but a couple of times the Volunteers have gone on missions that seem to have no real purpose. Even though they are not paid for these, most of the crew volunteer to join Vengri on these, as loot is sure to be found coincidentally and many of the crew wish to earn the favour of their admiral.
