5: Anish-Shaibna

We started the session pretty much on the morning of Marktag 29th Brauzeit. After the excitement of the night before everyone had just gone straight to bed. You all woke up in the morning. The usual breakfast was pretty good but you had your 'reward' from Prof. Gruybaar on your minds.

Klaus went off to meet some shady characters, perhaps, and Johannes continued with his studies, neither taking part in the session.

After a short wait in the reception of the Guild of Physicians building you were shown in to Gruybaar's office, again. He conveyed the guild's gratitude for the destruction of the evil spirit-thing that had been haunting the cellars of the guildhall. He told you that should you ever encounter the despicable Dr.Visser again, his destruction would afford you even more gratitude.

Gruybaar presented you each with 50 Guilder banker’s drafts from the Wertheim und Sohnen bank (including one for Klaus which Zombrie offered to keep on his behalf). He also offered each of you a year’s scholarship at the guild's school of medicine and surgery. Nobody took him up on the offer. As previously discussed, he also presented you with a package of medical supplies that you decided to take to Johannes. You also considered that Johannes might like to enrol in the medical school. He also assured you that should you require it, the guild would be prepared to treat you for free.

The Wertheim und Sohnen bank was just across Drooper Plaatz opposite the guildhall so you went over to cash your cheques. The building was imposing and full of wealthy people and some of you felt a little bit awkward making your way up the polished stone steps. Thijens managed to get a security guard to look after Nips. The 'teller' didn't really know what to do with your papers and asked you to step into a side office. A couple of security guards seemed to shut you into the office.

After a few minutes, a fat, smartly dressed, balding guy came in and introduced himself as Baron Frederick van Klincker. He began to talk about counterfeit 50 Guilder credit notes. The tension rose as some of you began to think you had been fleeced by the Guild of Physicians, or something. Klincker seemed to forget what he had been talking about and had to be reminded. After a tortuous conversation it was made clear(ish) that many counterfeit credit notes had been made and that you were to do something about it. Klincker couldn't give you an example of a forgery or any more information and did not seem very interested in helping you much with your job.

Klincker arranged to meet you at The Duke on the evening of 3rd Kaltzeit to see what you would come up with and to give you your payment (50 Guilders each). He also requested that you sign some papers that Zombrie explained seemed to be just a contract of work. Klincker also assured you that your payment from the Physicians' Guild would be honoured forthwith.

You decided that Klincker had been acting a bit strange. He seemed to alternate between bouts of anxious and tedious bureaucratic cliche and strung-out forgetfulness. But you decided to accept the job offer because the pay was excellent and there didn't seem to be much you could actually do about it. You all got your money in cash. Zombrie had Klaus' money to look after.

Back in the South Islands you heard that the Seaweed Man has taken another victim the previous night. Someone had actually seen it happen and it definitely was the Seaweed Man, or something.

Felix Klugschpirt, the landlord of 'The Hole' made a big show of telling Thijens off for the current infestation of rats, but it seemed to be all for his wife's benefit. Thijens agreed to do some more ratting, and promptly left to go shopping.

Hermann got singled out by some Tilean lowlife, who you later discovered was called Allessio, and told to come and see Benni the Butcher. He complied. Benni seemed to be upset that Zefferetti's death had cost him 8 Guilders a week in unpaid interest on a loan, and the odd piece of quality Tilean cheese (Parleani) and blamed Hermann for the problem. Benni told Hermann that he now owed him 8 Guilders worth of information every week and that this would be paid by telling Allessio (whenever you see him) everything that Rotter has been doing. Hermann agreed. Benni was pleased and gave Hermann a dozen of his finest sausages.

Not having had this much money before in your lives you all dealt with it in different ways. Hermann found a reliable goldsmith, Ragnar the Dwarf's, and deposited most of it there. Thijens and Haakon tried to find some cheap guns but eventually decided they might prove too expensive. Thijens bought some leather armour and put the rest of his money into Ragnar's. Zombrie bought a nice coat of chain mail for 90 Guilders. Yes, ninety, nine zero.

Zombrie decided not to go to work at the temple again and may be having a crisis of faith as the time of his initiation into the cult of Ulric draws ever nearer.

You all knew you had to be at the Raj Imahlia to meet Anand Amraj at dusk but you had plenty of time to waste not doing very much at all really. You got there a bit early but they seemed to be expecting you and you were directed to the alcove at the back of the restaurant for another top meal. Halfway through the meal Anand turned up and told you what he wished you to do. He explained that a business rival had stolen a religious icon from him and that you should get it back. You wanted to know what icon, and he described it as the Anish-Shaibna which left you none the wiser. He pointed out a picture in his office of a female figure with six arms, you can't really mistake it. It would be about two foot high and made of ivory, gold, and jade.

Anand went on to say that he had arranged to distract his rival, Mamood and his men for a while this evening which would give you enough time to take the icon from the temple in the warehouse. Not worried about blatantly stealing religious stuff on behalf of some foreigner who smuggles eyeballs, none of you seem capable of refusing any job offer. One of Anand's men led you to Mamood's warehouse complex which was built rather like a fortress, in fact it used to be a fortress.

After a quick recce where you considered swimming in through a canal that went under the complex or knocking on the door Klaus stylee you decided to climb over the stable block. Hermann scaled the wall easily and used the rope to begin to pull others up. No sooner had he got on to the roof than two large Dobermeister dogs started barking like mad and baying for blood. Zombrie threw them half an onion bhaji, but it didn't really do the trick. He also tried to shoot them with his bow but missed.

Disturbed by the dogs, two meat-headed Indic guards came out and confronted you, one of whom had a blunderbuss. After a brief fire fight where nobody hit anything, Hermann pulled off the coolest move of the campaign so far. He slid down the roof of the stable block and landed on the wagon parked beneath. His momentum was enough to send the wagon rolling into one of the guards crushing him and killing him instantly.

Zombrie then hit something (a dog) for the first time ever, with his bow and for a brief few minutes the whole party had an air of confidence and competence. We knew it couldn't last, though. Hermann was charged by the second guard who caught him with a glancing blow, but Hermann hit back mightily and soon had the guard disarmed and surrendering, while Zombrie shot the other dog. You threw the dogs onto the boat that was tied up inside the complex, threw the dead guard in the canal, and tied up the other guard and took him inside.

You ransacked the offices looking for 'stuff' and the temple. Haakon and Hermann headed up into the tower while Thijens and Zombrie checked out the Warehouse. In some of the rooms above, Haakon and Hermann found a variety of stuff. In the main office there were monkey head icons and elephant head icons which you looted. you also found two large gem-encrusted (you thought) scimitars which Hermann grabbed. In the bedrooms you found a case with two very lovely pistols in, worth a lot of money, no doubt. Haakon also found some strange white powder and Hermann another monkey head icon.

In the warehouse was loads of merchandise, mostly cloth and silk, but behind some crates You found a trap door. You were about to go down but Thijens heard a noise coming from the courtyard. Someone was trying to break down the gates and Thijens decided they could break through at any moment. He and Zombrie made their way down the steps into the basement and shut the trapdoor.

Haakon and Hermann got to the top of the tower and found a device for opening the portcullis that barred the canal, and a huge crossbow that was of no use. Admiring the fine view they also noticed the whole place surrounded by irate looking Indics and a load (I mean a load) of Black Caps, trying to break down the front gate. Comments were made as to how this could have occurred so fast and the possibility that you had been set up was mentioned. Meanwhile it looked like the gates would be bashed in very soon.

Thijens and Zombrie found a strange looking room beneath the warehouse that had to be the temple. As well as exotic imagery and loads of candles, there were a number of statuettes and icons. On a plinth in the centre of the roundish room was the statue that looked very much like the Anish-Shaibna you had been employed to recover. Without stopping to admire the the artistry Zombrie grabbed it and stuffed it in his bag. Thijens grabbed a couple of smaller icons. You made your way further down the passage and found a small chamber with lots of robes and religious crap in. Beyond that the floor of the passage fell away steeply into the filthy waters of the Reik, the flooded passage seemingly your only means of escape.

Hermann decided there was only one thing for it. It would be quicker, as the gate was nearly forced, to jump out of the window of the tower and across to the roof of the warehouse and get in through the skylights. Unfortunately, he mistimed the jump and landed badly on the roof. Hermann slipped down the roof, over the edge and into the canal below. He narrowly missed the courtyard, but took damage from the scimitars in his backpack. Struggling under the weight of his equipment and ill-gotten gains Hermann could have discarded his bag and loot and swum to the surface, instead he couldn't bear to lose his stuff and tried to fight his way to the surface with all his baggage, and those lovely pistols, and the scimitars, and the Blunderbuss!

As Haakon looked on he noticed a few air bubbles float to the surface of the filthy water, and barring a minor miracle, that will be the last anyone sees of Hermann. May Manaan offer up his soul unto Morr.

Haakon still needed to escape and made the vital jump. He got into the warehouse and lowered himself down onto the mezzanine, just as the gates gave way and the Indics and Black Caps flooded into the courtyard. Thijens had been exploring the temple for an alternative exit but couldn't find one, and went back to the warehouse to see if Haakon and Hermann were there. Haakon escaped into the lower level with Thijens closing the trap door behind them.

Meanwhile Zombrie was attempting to walk his way through the flooded passageway. He made his way as best he could, held down by the weight of his armour, but fearing he might run out of breath had to give up and go back.

So we leave you here stuck in the temple beneath the warehouse. The warehouse is full of people you have robbed and officers of the law. The only way out you can find is flooded. Hermann is drifting gently on the currents of the riverbed.