Gore Worms: Disruptive Gastronomy (Wermspittle)

Mmmm Tasty...
A family of clever immigrants have recently discovered a way to convert gore-worms into sausage casings. Their process has tremendous potential to help feed the hordes of refugees and such-like who stand a good chance of starving over the course of the coming winter. So far, only a few close family-friends know about the new sausages, but it is only a matter of time before the local butchers learn about it. Competition among the flesh-peddlers is fierce, especially in the darkest part of winter when preserved supplies dwindle, game is scarce and prices sky-rocket.


The older, established butchers have profited greatly from this situation and they prefer to keep things just the way they are, or if there is going to be any sort of change to the status quo they want to be the ones who are behind it. 


Someone from the family will most likely attempt to hire protection. This could be where the player characters enter into things, or it could be something that one of them overheard while at the Pissing Wyvern or another inn or pub.


It's Just Business
Most non-player mercenaries hired to handle this sort of 'protection' are likely to strike a deal with one or more of the local butchers and skip town. A few of them might blackmail the family first, but as the sausage-makers are refugees from some lowland village that got overrun or destroyed last spring they have very little money, so the mercenaries will probably turn to the butchers who do have money.


Word Leaks Out Like Blood
Once any of the butchers hear about this new sausage-making process most of them will try to keep things quiet so as not to alert any of their competitors, and attempt to strike some sort of a deal with the refugee family. If one of the rival butchers learns that their competition are trying to make a deal with these refugees with some new sausage-recipe or whatever, then they might seek to interfere, make a counter-offer or choose to pre-emptively burn the place down or send in some bully boys or droogs to disrupt the proceedings. This could go in any number of directions, but if the butchers do not get their hands on the sausage-making process by legitimate means such as purchasing it out-right or offering the family some sort of limited partnership or other deal, they will very likely consider resorting to subterfuge, threats, and/or hiring some thugs to steal it before anyone else does the same damn thing. Depending on how things develop, and who learns what and when, there could be a bit of competition among the thieves, bullies and mercenaries sent after the sausage-making process. If someone's nephew gets embarrassed, insulted, severely injured or even killed in the course of this matter that could lead to further complications and escalation, even a possible vendetta or feud.


Secret Recipe
If in the course of the clandestine struggle to secure the secret recipe of the gore-worm sausage casings word leaks out to the refugees in the shanty-camps there are likely to be riots, or at least a good chance for all sorts of fear-mongering, libelous accusations, provocative agitation and even possibly some rioting or violence. Someone might whip up a mob and set them to 'liberating' the sausages. Wild rumors and ignorant speculation will run rampant. Armed gangs might start looking for some warehouse stuffed full of imported sausages. It could get humorous or grim, depending on how bad food-stocks are depleted over the winter and just how desperate some of these folks get.


War of the Weird-Weiners
Should the struggle for the sausage escalate to the point where it attracts the notice of the authorities, then things could get political and potentially even messier. Various unsavory Nobles and petty aristocrats who have lost their lands if not their titles will see an opportunity that they might be tempted to seize upon in order to restore their failing fortunes. The established cliques will of course seek to either gain some perceived advantage or at least deny the same to their rivals. Again, this could escalate along some rather interesting directions depending on who does what to whom, when and who finds out about it. Rumors and innuendos, especially unsubstantiated or deliberately planted ones can be like kerosene tossed into a small fire.