So, I wanted to create some fluff for my army. Unfortunately there wasn't that much time for it to grow because of the End Times but at least there will be a beginning and an end. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the story of the Marienburg Madmen:
The Marienburg Madmen
No-one knew who the were or where they came from but everyone ha heard the rumours of how they came to be. It all started a foggy morning in the great port of Marienburg. The dock master was watching the horizon when he suddenly saw a shadow approaching the shadow turned out to be a ship with masts tall as the sky and a sleek hull painted the brightest red. It was approaching fast. Too fast, the dock master thought before reacting and throwing himself of the pier, thus avoid being smashed by the prow of the ship which buried itself deep in the pier with a mighty crash. By the time the dock master had crawled back on land a huge crowd had gathered led by the captain of the city watch and two dozen armed men. The captain hailed the ship but since there was no answer he led his men aboard. The figurehead, a carved devil with a pair of dice in one hand and a three-pronged pitchfork in the other, grinned at him viciously. A mysterious rumbling sound echoed from the rigging, sending chills down the spines of the onlookers. Once aboard the watch found three things, about a hundred unconscious men and women, the ships cargo consisting of a lizard bigger than a horse, three fully grown demigryphs, two hatchlings. Their cages had broken and they were all happily snacking on what looked like the remains of a horse. They also realized that the interior of the hull was much bigger on the inside. The members of the watch quietly backed up the ladder to the deck and instead focused on the crew. The mysterious rumbling however, turned out to be nothing else than a huge oranged-furred ape snoring in the crow's nest.
The crew wasn't of much help of solving the mystery of the sudden appearance of the ship. No-one had any clear recollection of where they had sailed from or where they were going. Some barely even remembered their names. In the end the Ruling Council decided that they had to work of their debt for the destroyed pier. Being able-bodied men and women they were put to contract as mercenaries, fighting Marienburg's battles, that is for anyone willing to pay with nine tenths going to the city coffers, all over both the Old World and the New. To keep them in line and to watch for any sign of corruption they were put under the watchful eye of Isabella von Karnau, a Sigmarite preacher and warrior priest. This was a deal that their leader, an eccentric man called Otto who got the position solely by being the one who was pushed forward when the Captain of the Watch asked who was in charge, both accepted and enjoyed. Especially when he found out he could pick a fight with pretty much anyone as long as there was "evidence" of heresy.
Over the years the crew of the Lucky Devil or the Marienburg Madmen as they were called grew along with their reputation as fierce and loyal warriors who took good plunder. Men and women from all over came to join them. Some died, some stayed long enough to make themselves rich and some fought on. In the misty mountains of Bretonnia they captured a magnificent Pegasus who was about to eat a young nobleman and his three servants, all five of them eventually joined the crew. From Nuln came engineers who had heard of the mysterious machinery and magnificent weaponry found deep in the hold of the "Devil", a Dwarven runesmith and his apprentice joined merely on the promise that could keep what they took. In the deep south of Araby there was a commotion when to of the men slain in a fight against the terrible undead suddenly rose from their own funeral pyres and asked what the fuzz was all about. Since the only complication was that they were now unable to hold their drink they were allowed to stay. The same went for the huge rat that was found rummaging through the baggage train on a stop-over in Middenheim. When fighting goblins in the Drachenwald they realized their numbers had grown unexpectedly one morning during roll-call. The newest member was short, had a distinct greenish skin-tone and smelled faintly of fungi. Turned out at least one of the goblins had realized where the wind was blowing and decided it if you can't beat them with hundreds of poisonous darts, you might as well join them.
Perhaps the strangest member is Dingbat the Displaced, a huge ork who was found sleeping in the middle of the camp, a bright red squig for a pillow and a squighound fast asleep on his chest, while the Madmen were campaigning the Border Princes.
When he awoke he simply exclaimed "Oi, I ken fight with youz 'umiez or againzt youz 'umies. Youz decidez" before burping loudly and the rolling over to fall asleep once more. The crew thought "why the hell not" and kept both him and his squig creatures.
Despite their success as sellswords the Madmen were still not satisfied. They all felt that something was wrong with the world and even though it was very familiar to most of them they still couldn't shake the feeling that they simply didn't belong there. When they weren't fighting campaigns they all work tirelessly on their beloved ship to get her seaworthy once more. They knew that a storm was coming and that storms are best ridden out at sea and not endured trapped in port. The only question was if they would be ready when the time came.
