Grettir and his companions had now been twice thwarted in the search for a Phthet of Ptah, that might open the Void and help him rescue the Rangers and Nickar held in some strange time trap. The first Phthet was in Uskedir and held by some sleeping Demon Prince, who he had been warned by Osiris himself not to wake. The second, taken from the Temple of Ptah in Byzantos, proved to have been used up. There was one more temple of Ptah, revealed to Grettir in his dream, in Lydius. It was believed to be on the other side of the world but no-one knew exactly where.
The subtle mage Paradoxides had a cunning plan. He summoned the Black Swan, a powerful transport demon, (see The Harpies’ Nest – E9b), using an artefact that Grettir held. The Black Swan manifested as a ship and could transport its passengers to any named place in the Astral Realms. Unfortunately, it would not travel between two points on the same plane. To avoid this constraint, Paradoxides had it take them first to Muspellheim. From there he summoned it once more and bade it bring them to Lydius on the Prime Plane. The Black Swan was reluctant and warned him that Lydius was a hostile environment. The wizard insisted.
Lydius was indeed a hostile environment – or at least its approaches in the Astral Realms. The Black Swan and its crew found themsleves beset by demons that flew or swam in the dark sea that manifested as they approached Lydius. They fought back and though they were hard pressed they kept them at bay. Ahead of them they could see what appeared to be a lighthouse upon a small island. It was ringed with a chain of living flesh – a great press of the damned all linking arms and all the while screaming in their torment. Grettir, hardened his heart. He told himself that had they lived better lives they would not be here, and if they were slain again, then perhaps they might be judged differently next time. He stood in the prow, wielding his magic blade, Ice Flame, lopping bodies and limbs. Paradoxides conjured his Vorpal Blade to do likewise. Eventually the chain of flesh parted and the Black Swan sailed through, heading for the lighthouse of Lydius. For this last part of the journey they were pursued by a huge flying demon, that several times tried to land on the ship but was beaten back by the adventurers. They arrived at last in the mundane realm at the gate of a citadel, overlooking a harbour. The Black Swan once more became an amulet around the neck of Paradoxides and they all had wet feet.
Lydius was an icebound ruin of a place. They were greated at the gate by a woman in surprisingly skimpy robes, considering the temperature, who gave her name as Esther. “Welcome to Lydius. Welcome to the Temple of the Shattered Sun.” Grettir bowed. “You seem to be under siege,” he said. “We have been for over 600 years”, she replied and asked of them their business in Lydius. Grettir explained that they were on a quest to obtain Ptah’s favour. She led them inside what proved to be a fortified temple. Esther was a Knight Superior of the Temple of the Shattered Sun, a cult recognisable to Grettir and Ubaron, worshippers of Osiris and Isis respectively, but one which reserved the highest place in its pantheon for Ptah.
They were given as warm a welcome as that chill, austere place could offer and after they had taken refreshment they were invited to a Council. There were thirteen in the Council – all priests and priestesses, but most with the look of warriors as well. At their head was the Cardinal, a priestess in red robes called Rebecca. She asked them what had brought them to Lydius. Grettir gave an account of who they were and explained their mission, showing them the empty Phthet. Rebecca in turn explained that the Temple of the Shattered Sun guarded a Gate between worlds. As long as they stood, they would keep back the hordes of demons that stood beyond and would wreak havoc upon the world if they gained entry – as they had some 600 years past.
Much of her explanation was couched in terms of various entities of the Osiran pantheon. Rebecca could see that Grettir and his friends were plainly of the Forces of Light – for she had seen them fighting the insect hordes of Apshai and the avatar of Ammit, the Eater of Hearts, to arrive here. She went on to say Ptah and his wife Sekhmet were at war with each other – a war that he seemed to be losing – and that this had weakened their defence against the forces of chaos. This had been so for the last 90 years. Though a devotee of Osiris, Grettir found all these names confusing. He could see Ubaron, scribbling furiously, his forehead creased in concentration, equally trying to make sense of it all. However, Rebecca’s speech boiled down to this: she sought their help in securing the Gate; in return The Temple of the Shattered Sun would do its utmost to assist them in their quest. To secure the Gate might take several engagements against the demons that beleaguered them. Grettir looked around his companions. They were all nodding – it was not the first time they had battled demons and gone up against Gods. “Show us the enemy,” said Grettir.
While the Temple of the Shattered Sun prepared the cheerfully named Ship of the Dead for their mission, Grettir and his companions were shown round Lydius and its environs by Esther. It was quite a big island, mostly mountainous, ice-bound and deserted, which offered hunting, mining and natural sources of bitumen. There was a small town huddled between the Temple and the harbour. Apparently it had been much bigger prior to the Breaking. It seemed that despite the leaguer in the Astral Realms, in the mundane world, Lydius was accessible to traders, at least in the warmer years of the cycle. There were ships along the jetties of the harbour, but most seemed to be fishing craft. They ate a lot of salt fish and seaweed.
They were summoned when the ship was ready. Their first challenge was to go out amongst the demons and challenge the great serpent, Apep. It seemed that the Lydians saw this as an analogue of the struggle between Apep and Ra to bring the Dawn. If they could ward off Apep long enough for the priests on the boat to complete a ritual, then this would represent a great victory. Four priests would go with them: Ellia would run the ceremony; Esther would guard her; Miriam would helm the ship; a young priest called Samuel would be lookout and rescue any who fell overboard. Grettir, to his surprise, was given the role of Set. He’d always thought that Set was one of the bad guys, but aparently it was Set that took the lead in battling the serpent.
The Ship of the Dead was not put into the water. Like the Black Swan it manifested as a ship only in the Void between the Astral Realms. As dusk fell there was a ceremony in front of a large congregation. They found themselves afloat on a calm dark sea. They noted a large troll-like creature in their midst with Esther riding upon its shoulders, while Samuel rode a flying beast – which explained his role as rescuer. Paradoxides had prepared each a protection amulet against demons. The Temple supplied a medallion of the Shattered Sun for everyone and a pair of holy javelins inscribed with glyphs that were said to be effective against demons. They soon had an opportunity to try them out, for almost immediately they were beset by demons. The party fought off a giant crocodile and a demonic wasp. They were beaten off as the Ship of the Dead forged onwards.
There was no let up in the onslaught from these minor demons – many in insect form – as their environs changed from the sea to a river. There it was that they encountered Apep – in the form of a huge sea serpent that tried to envelop both the ship and various of its crew in its coils. However, while the others took on the lesser demons, Grettir and Wilf stood in the prow, raining blows from their dwarf-wrought blades down upon the mighty serpent while Samuel on his flying steed buzzed around it casting javelins and magic. The javelins proved a disappointment. The glyphs might be potent against Apep, but the javelins could not pierce its thick hide. Wilf was stunned and went down. It spat at Samuel, forcing him to disengage, but it could not get past Grettir. Apep circled the ship, looking for a weak point, and attacked once more. This time it was Jason that joined Grettir to repulse this Epitome of Evil. Eventually they were able to heave it over the side, its flanks streaming with ichor. They looked up to the horizon and they could see the rosy light of dawn shining along the river ahead of them. The demonic onslaught faltered. The ritual was completed and the victory was theirs.
They returned to the Temple of the Shattered Sun amid scenes of great jubilation. They had completed the ritual of the Sun for the first time in 90 years. A blow had been struck against evil. Grettir and his friends were lauded as heroes and allies and given the freedom of the city. (Grettir, ever the pragmatist, said that the javelins were pretty useless and that they should put their inscriptions on something with better armour-piercing qualities. He suggested angons or perhaps crossbow bolts.)
G-16
OE Date: April 695
Characters: Grettir, Paradoxides, Ubaron, Wilf, Jason NPCs: Kolgrim, Rebecca, Esther, Ellia, Miriam, Samuel
Real World: October 2009; Where: Surbiton
See also Ubaron’s Diaries