11: The Raid

The session started at about half past six on Konistag 7th Kaltzeit. Everyone was busy preparing for the assault on Triesjaar Island. Zombrie had had a chat with his landlord, and was informed of unruly goings-on at the Kipper the night before. He decided to go down to the Hole to find everyone else.

You told Zombrie that you had been hanging out with Goffman and had learnt a lot about Arabyan stuff, maybe. Thijens told Zombrie that he was no longer required to defend him at the Magistrate’s Court in the morning as Goffman had arranged a young hot-shot lawyer to do the job. Zombrie expressed disappointment.

You all bought various supplies such as quarrels, shot and powder, rope and grappling hooks etc. Thijens told Felix that if he didn’t return in a couple of days then he was to turn Nipper loose. You then went to Daankanaal to meet the army Stubfoot had raised. Stubfoot told Klaus he didn’t particularly want to meet his friends, especially Zombrie, and Klaus got the impression the halfling had something against religion in general.

Klaus inspected his men. There was Jens and Luke, who seemed to know a bit about climbing around and getting in places that they maybe should not. Morton and Paal were clearly just muscle, and Julius stroked his lovely crossbow, lovingly. Stubfoot made it clear that the gang were to take orders from Klaus, but also that they should know that any loot should be brought to him.

You could hear strange noises coming from the boat, the ‘Rebecca’. The one-master was chock full of sheep, fore and aft. The captain, Jacob Foolstar, was very apologetic, but had only ‘borrowed’ the boat and didn’t know it would be loaded. Making the best of a baaad job, Thijens waded through the sheep and did his best to load the carronade.

You cast off and rode the tide out into the Manaanspoort See. After a while you could see the beacon burning above the Triesjaar Island fortress. You sailed past and came about at a distance so as not to attract attention.

Klaus with Jens and Luke went ashore in the row boat while everyone else waited aboard the Rebecca. There were two other small craft tied up at the jetty. They followed the path a short way, then scrambled over the rocks to reach the highest point of the island. From there they could look down on the lowest, rounded, level of the fortress, and across at the square tower. They could see that climbing up the first storey might give them easy access, across the roof, to the tower.

Klaus lead his men to the base of the wall and Jens scaled it and helped the others up. Then using the grappling hooks they climbed up to the top level of the tower. There was a light on within and Klaus took a quick look inside. To his horror, he found himself staring straight into the eyes of a guard.

Wasting little time, Klaus ordered his men in and smashed the door open. The first guard fired a blunderbuss into the night and Klaus took his sword to him. The second guard fired at Klaus too and set off some kind of alarm which made a shrill, loud whistle. Coolly, Jens sliced up the second guard, and the alarm stopped, and then came to Klaus’ aid. Luke was nowhere to be seen.

Between them, Klaus and Jens incapacitated the guard. They had a few moments to survey the guardroom before, without warning, another guard appeared at the foot of the stairs and blew Jens’ face away, killing him instantly. Klaus charged down the stairs and soon had the guard dead. He then went back up to the tower and found Luke, who had avoided all the bloodshed, and convinced him to come on down.

They made their way down a couple of levels of the tower and into the heart of the fortress. At the base of the third set of stairs they confronted Drexol and two Arabyans. The Arabyans rushed at them whilst Drexol fled towards what looked like an indoor garden, or something.

Meanwhile, everyone else, on the boat, decided it was time to come in the front way. They got to the quay and began to make their way up the steep path towards the fortress. Thijens ordered the ship’s captain to stay north of the island and train the carronade on the front doors and await a signal.

Luke and Klaus joined in a desperate fight with the two Arabyans. One of them, Klaus’ opponent, was clearly a very skilled swordsman and seemed to get in two thrusts and attacks for every one Klaus managed. Klaus was injured a couple of times as was Luke, and the fight seemed hopeless. The pair tried to retreat to the main door of the fortress. As Klaus ran he was cut down by a blow to the back of his head, which hurt a lot, and the Arabyan stood over him, perhaps about to make a coup de grace. Luke managed to reach the door and fumbled with the bolt. Eventually he opened the door. As luck would have it the rest of the army were waiting at the main entrance. Thijens burst in and fired a shot at the Arabyan, killing him. On seeing the small army that had arrived, Klaus’ surprisingly nimble opponent quickly fled the way Drexol had gone.

Everyone piled into the complex. Luke sat down in an exhausted heap. Klaus didn’t bother getting up. Everyone spread out and went through the level in an organised fashion. You found a dining area with loads of expensive silverware and some strange, shiny brass doors with a lever type thing. Following Drexol’s exit, Thijens, Haakon, and Julius went through into some weird indoor garden. It was extremely hot and humid and it felt like steam might be being pumped into the place, or something.

Unlike the tower above, much of the construction was strangely curved and airy. One of you compared it to an Elven boat he had seen, or something.

Haakon noticed a very hairy, red-haired Halfling type thing sitting in one of the trees, and tried to entice it down, but it wouldn’t come. Thijens and Julius found four women huddled, frightened in a corner. The large, blond one spoke Wastelander and they were able to learn that Ofra was being held in the cell just up the corridor.

Zombrie had prayed to Ulric over Klaus’ health and he was now ready to try out his newly acquired skills to spring Ofra from her prison. Alas, he could not budge the door and so you all left the poor girl there, for now.

You also pulled the lever next to the brass doors. The mechanism made the doors slide open to reveal a mostly bare brass room, with two levers in the opposite wall. All the time, the steady hum of pumps or machinery or something could be heard.

You made your way down the stairs to the lower level, the noise of the machinery increasing as you went. You left Luke with the women up by the front door, guarding things.

For some reason Zombrie decided to go into the brass room and pull the levers. The room rose a bit, amid the grating of gears and smashed loudly into something above. The levers were arsed about with some more and this time the room began to descend quickly. It went past some doors a few yards below and continued to fall deep into the earth. After some time, Zombrie made out an opening in the rock as it flashed past him, some moments later the room crashed into the ground below.

It seemed as if the room might be damaged. Zombrie had a quick look down a well-cut dwarfen constructed corridor but could make out little. He then heard sinister scurrying noises and quickly began to manipulate the ‘elevator’ to bring him back up again. After some experimentation he managed to get a grasp of the controls of speed and direction and brought it to a slow halt exactly where he had started. Zombrie then brought the elevator down a single level to where he expected his friends to be.

Everyone else piled downstairs. You found rooms full of coal, a large furnace, rooms with strange metal tubes and coils and vessels. It was all very scientific and modern, or something.

Klaus found what looked to be Drexol’s desk, among all the piles of paperwork and stuff these three letters stood out.

10 Beestbaak,

Goudberg.

9th Jahrdrung 2511 IC

My dear Fredrick,

I have noted with great pleasure, your growing interest in the affairs, both ancient and modern, of a certain Arabyan personality. Know that I have researched for many, many years certain of the techniques promised by ancient texts. I have come as close as anyone to know that he is present in the realm of the living and acting through us, his devoted followers.

Know that he can offer you the same gifts he has given me. Know that the Elixir of Life is within our grasp. Know that his devout will take their place at his right hand.

But know, also, that to cross him now, even as his time approaches, will result in the severest, and most eternal retribution.

Yours,

Jozef Visser, fGP

 

10 Beestbaak,

Goudberg.

22 Jahrdrung 2511 IC

My dear Fredrick,

I was fascinated to learn in our recent correspondence of the Shapesh prophesy. Your man Cloos, seems to know what he is about. It is a pity he cannot be trusted. It does not matter, though, his activities and your business are a perfect cover for any dealings we may have.

I recommend you travel to Bel Aliad yourself. That way we can be assured that every possible component for the ritual can be retrieved. Also, you would not want to risk Cloos having a change of heart, or getting closer to the truth.

You may wish to consider picking up some of the local girls. Nagash may have a preference for them. Anyway, The Brotherhood could always find a use for them.

Yours

Jozef Visser, fGP

 

Haaplanggangstraat,

Doodkanaal.

29th Marktag Brauzeit 2511 IC

My dear Fredrick,

I was hoping to greet your return in a grand fashion. Unfortunately things have not worked out exactly as planned. I have had cause to change lodgings. My new address also has a somewhat inconsistent postal service.

Be assured I will make my way to Treisjaar Island in the near future and avail myself of your hospitality. I look forward to seeing with what you have returned.

Yours,

Jozef Visser.

There was also an illustration of ancient Arabyan writing (glyphs or something) with a Wastelander translation written beneath it:

Hail Nagash, Lord in Heaven

Hail Nagash, Lord of Night

Hail Nagash, Eternal Champion of Life

Thijens pointed out that it was thrice invoking a king of Nehekhara and could be what you needed to get past the Ushabti, according to what Goffman’s discerned from 'On the Construction of Immortal Guardians'.

There were some other Elven-built rooms which were decorated in the Arabyan style and seemed to be in use presently.

You also found a room with lots of moving metal parts that was louder than any other. The machinery seemed to be generating its energy from boiling water on the furnace, or something. On a bed in that room was a dwarf, with a glazed look. He was sucking on a pipe and the smell of lotus was in the air. Those of you with experience of the Suiddock ‘Dreaming Houses’ knew there would be little to be gained from interrogating him.

With Zombrie back with you, the complex above ground cleared out, Ofra safe-ish, lots of loot for Stubfoot and his men, you decided to use the elevator and see if you could find the sarcophagus. Zombrie guided you back to the first deep level expertly and you disembarked into a long dwarfen made tunnel. There were a number of lanterns near the lift shaft which you distributed amongst yourselves. After a few hundred feet, you came out into a long room lined on either side with Arabyan looking pillars carved with fearsome looking images of the Nehekharan animal gods.

You made your way through and as you approached the next chamber, Thijens noticed the glyphs that lined the walls, to be the same as the ones that had been translated by Drexol. Thijens went alone into the next room incanting the invocation of Nagash, and sure enough, therein awaited two huge Ushabti constructs. They remained motionless.

Through the Ushabti chamber, Thijens came to a large room with Ofra’s sarcophagus in the centre. Two triangles, in a star shape, had been etched on the floor. At each of the points of the star, a skeleton arrayed in ancient clothes adorned with gold and lapis lazuli, was propped up. Each held one of the Shapesh daggers.

Thijens went back to the corridor and escorted each of the party through the Ushabti chamber, reciting the Nagash thing. Soon you were all in the sarcophagus room, wondering what to do next. It is about midnight on Konistag 7th Kaltzeit