The Floating Bloat is a tavern-boat and smuggling den located off Altdorf's Old Docks. It is run by Ormil Schwarzwasser, a War Chief of the Fish.[1a]
History
The Floating Bloat was constructed by Spee Boatyards.[1b] It was converted to a drinkhouse when Altdorf's aldermen began encouraging tavern-boats as a way of keeping rowdy drunks sequestered from the rest of the city. Although trade on the river is prohibited at night, they carved out a special exemption for tavern-boats, and thus the floating pubs proliferated in Altdorf.[1a]
However, the tavern's original owners made the mistake of anchoring it off the seedy Old Docks. The boat caught the eye of Ormil Schwarzwasser, a smuggler for the Fish. He realized that he could trade under the cover of night without arousing the suspicions of the watch if he did so from a tavern-boat. Schwarzwasser got a crew of Fish together one afternoon. They boarded the Floating Bloat, killed the operators, and sailed out of the river gates. They dumped the bodies outside the city, and returned to the Old Docks the next morning. Since then, Ormil Schwarzwasser has operated the Bloat for the fish.[1a]
Schwarzwasser's location has allowed his smuggling operation to prosper. Since taking the boat, he has risen to the rank of War Chief in the Fish.[1a]
Layout
The Floating Bloat is a 20-yard keel barge with one square-rigged sail. Although it usually sits at anchor, it is still capable of sailing.[1b]
The ship has two levels—the upper deck and the hold. The upper deck includes the bar room and the kitchen, where the cook prepares low-quality food. The hold includes the main cargo hold, a secret hold behind a pile of barrels, and quarters for Schwarzwaser, the cook, and the rest of the Bloat's crew.[1b][1c]
The Floating Bloat is typically anchored near the Ostlander Bridge, just off the Old Docks. In order to reach it, one must pay a ferryman a couple of pennies to row there.[1b]