The Kharadron Overlords are well known for the honour and valour of their airship captains, but few have earned as much infamy as Drekki Flynt – the notorious adventurer, swashbuckler, and all-round pain in the endrin. After causing no end of legal and literal headaches in The Arkanaut’s Oath, Flynt is back on another daring quest in The Ghosts of Barak-Minoz by Guy Haley – coming to pre-order this weekend.
Before his journey can begin, however, he’s got quite a few disgruntled acquaintances eager to bring a case against him. So many, in fact, that our resident Codewright has elected to save time – which is, after all, money – by addressing his newest client’s many and perfectly legal actions in a public article.* We owe him for last time, and the Kharadron always collect…
Dear Codewright,
A brawl between rowdy arkanauts – one accompanied by an ogor, no less! – laid utter waste to my poor tavern the other week. The fight was broken up by a Grundstok patrol, and though I’ve made repairs, those responsible have yet to fork up any compensation whatsoever.
I know the crews of errant privateer vessels can be hard to nail down, but in this case the captain yelled “You’ll never catch me! I’m Drekki Flynt!” as he flew away, which seems pretty damned clear. I’ve not seen a penny out of the Grundcorps, either, and they’ve no excuse. What are you going to do to settle all this?
–Bothered Bavardian
You have my fullest sympathies for the emotional – and more importantly, financial – distress that this situation has placed you in. However, I’m afraid that your testimony with regards to the vandal’s identity amounts to little more than reckless hearsay. To paraphrase my client’s own words, any dashingly handsome duardin with a well-groomed beard and razor wit can claim to be Drekki Flynt – that does not make them so.
While I advised my client to file an immediate countersuit for libellous damages to reputation, his generous heart has moved him to instead suggest a private, out-of-court settlement, tied to a perfectly standard non-disclosure agreement.
As for your separate claim against the Grundcorps, I would ordinarily be happy to supply you with legal services for the pursuance of owed reparations. Alas, recent trouble within the Copper Quarter has required I hire some of these selfsame soldiers to protect my offices, and they are presently reminding me of the extremely valuable service they provide. So much so that I must deem it unwise to place myself within contravention of the Artycles of Justice by causing monetary distress to a partner under contract.
I would therefore recommend you maintain your claim for expenses for at least 28 more days, until someone is able to process your query without aethershot rifles pointed at their furniture.
Dear Codewright,
Ever since that bleedin’ duardin skyvessel – the Aleslinger, or the Aelfsong, or whatever – made a name for itself causing trouble around town, other Kharadron traders have been pulling the same tricks and dodging the proper docks to avoid paying port fees! That Drekki Flynt is a menace, and he’s inspiring other menaces! I may not know your fancy-pants code, but I’m pretty sure it says something about following the proper port rules. You need to do something about them!
–Brassed Off in BastionFirstly, allow me to reassure readers that my client is not to blame for this issue. His vessel is officially registered as the Aelsling, so the complainant is clearly engaged in frivolous misidentification. On a separate note, my client also wishes to make it clear that Aelsling‘s title is completely unrelated to Captain Aelsling Rogisdottr, a rival privateer who is, quote, “the most glorious creature in all the Skyshoals”, and who will, um, definitely come back around to his charms sooner or later.
As for your own troubles, the Kharadron Code, as the name might suggest, concerns matters of Kharadron provenance and behaviour. It thus has no direct legal bearing in the ports of umgi cities, leaving me powerless to help you. How unfortunate! I must insist you instead direct any complaints toward Bastion’s own customs officials and inspection-mages, who are clearly remiss in their duties.
Be reminded, however, that any visiting Kharadron traders have due cause to invoke Artycle 2, Point 26 – declaring that excessive rates of taxation and duty constitute a threat to their profit – and are fully within their rights to respond with force. That they have chosen to avoid your port rather than blow it to pieces should be considered a compliment of the highest order! I hear the Portsisle Docks are an architectural marvel, and their ruin would be sorely regrettable.
Dear Codewright,
My grot-fleet ‘ad a right good scrap with one o’ them sky-stunty ships wot thought they could nick some shinies we ‘ad dibs on. We nearly got ‘em, too – was droppin’ squigs on the deck an’ everything – but they got away. Still, dat means we basically won da fight, right? An’ if we won da fight, dat means we get da loot, right? An’ if we get da loot, dat means da fly-boat is ours by rights – right?! Drekki Flynt’s gotta pay his dues to Kaptin Blackheart – if dat even is who I am, bein’ a mysterious pirate an’ all.
–Kaptin of Kunnin’
What? Absolutely not. How did you even get this address? Or learn to write, come to that?
Artycle 7 – the Rights of Ownership – clearly states that possession of a skyfarer’s property can only be transferred following shipwreck salvage or the proper exchange of notarised documents, unless invoking Point 5 wherein a sufficiently large barrel of strong liquor may be designated as free salvage for purposes of… why am I even explaining this to you?
Dear Codewright,
I’m an arkanaut by trade and vocation, proud to serve aboard a skyvessel I shan’t specifically name here. It’s come to the crew’s attention that our old, sorely-missed signaller, who we all thought was lost to the clouds, is alive and well. Now, we’re all very grateful to Drekki our captain for tracking him down, don’t get me wrong, but his shares and property have already been allocated amongst the lads, fair and proper. Plus, his Chamonite crystal decanter looks much better on my mantle. Is the Contract of Distribution – which I might add was fully signed and sealed – now null and void?
–Concerned of Chamon
This is a simple matter, and one thoroughly addressed by the Code, as it is hardly uncommon for poorly-secured arkanauts and intrepid endrinriggers to disappear from their decks in stormy skies. Here we consult time-honoured rulings on Artycle 7, specifically aspects regarding claims of salvage. When your crewmate died – or rather, when he was declared legally dead, which is the most important kind of death – his personal property fell under the auspices of inheritance law, and thus immediately became cargo addressed to his designated beneficiaries.
Assuming he lacked such beneficiaries, your captain was within his rights to treat these items as unclaimed salvage, and distribute them appropriately in the form of shares. My client also wishes to inform you that he knows exactly who you are, you light-fingered skaz, and that decanter had better be in his cabin by cast-off.
To conclude, while the newly-returned owner may elect to seek compensation under Footnote 12 of Point 4, this is unlikely to amount to much. With that in mind, let me congratulate you on the happy return of your crewmate! If one is to believe the tales of Captain Flynt – which he persists in sending to my office – they will surely have the opportunity to make back their lost fortune, or at least perish properly before destitution becomes an issue.
With a trail of legal issues left within the wake of his first book, Drekki Flynt’s second feature novel is sure to bring up plenty of its own. An adventurer can’t always concern themselves with the whole matter of the law, after all, and no rule is important enough to get in the way of some good treasure.
The Ghosts of Barak-Minoz is up for a two-week pre-order this Saturday, alongside a wealth of other novels as part of the Black Library Celebration. Make sure to join us then and step aboard for the latest voyage of the Aelsling!
* An entirely permissible pre-trial practice under Artycle 486, Point 4, Section 5, Amendment 16, Sub-amendment 8b, Footnote 12, vis: “Kharadron Code Artycles invented by Warhammer Community writers in order to promote Black Library releases by way of meta-textual reference humour”.
