Elric: Inception in the Dreaming City
Elric is based off Michael Moorcocks titular novels and describe a baroque and evocative fantasy world of albino sorcerors, soul-stealing black Runeswords, Chaos gods, decaying empires and dreaming dragons in a time of change. I havent read the novels (the prose is too florid and the anti-hero protagonist too emo), but Lawrence Whitakers campaign book is fantastic and inspired me to run. So this is a game for people who havent read the Elric books and is based off the interesting elements. Canon isnt being observed, nor will the characters of the books appear. All I'm using is the setting for your heroes to save, destroy or resolve. If you love the books, this is probably not the game for you!
Background-
History moves in great cycles. Before this cycle, different forms of bipedal life ruled the earth - named the Doomed Folk, they forged 2 mighty runeswords- Stormbringer and Mournblade to battle the Dead Gods. That battle ended their world-cycle, though some eternal forces like the Dragons, Tanelorn and Courts of Law and Chaos survived - as did the 2 runeblades, prophecised to end this cycle of the world too.
In this cycle, the cruel and decadent Bright Empire of Melnibone has dominated the world for ten thousand years! Tall and elegant, the non-quite-human Melniboneans are a long lived and cultured race, whose long alliance with Arioch, and the demon-gods of the Courts of Chaos has led them to cruel tastes - making art of torture and pain, and subjugating and enslaving the human races of the world to labour and die for their pleasure. They achieved their power through mighty sorcery, mastering dreamwalking and dragon taming and their Pacts with various elementals, spirits and demons and their possession of the runeswords.
However, the Bright Empire had exhausted itself in a war against the Joinings and animal Meldings of the foul Dharzi and its Melnibonean overseers and governors have abandoned their duties as colonial overlords and returned to the capital city of Imryrr on the Dreaming Isle (known as the Dragon Isle to some) where decadent drug-fuelled parties, orgies and pageants of pain and torture and lengthy journeys into Dream from magical dream-couches now consume the Melniboneans. The Young Kingdoms of Man now cast off the authority of the decaying Bright Empire (still mighty with its golden Battlebarges and Dragon Princes who might still be able to wake the hundreds of immortal dragons sleeping in caves under Imryrr) and assert their independence and the manifest destiny of the human race.
The Young Kingdoms are a varied lot - some like Vilmar have embraced the Church of Law- worshipping strict and severe deities who reward conformity, obedience and science in contrast to the wild and reckless Chaos Lords of Melnibone. Others like the merchants and sailors of the Purple Towns explore and trade throughout the world, free at last to travel the seas. But in the north, the vile sorcerors of the Island of Pan Tang seek to supplant Melnibone by imitating its way to power- worshipping and pacting with Chaos, launching dreadful demonoc piratical raids and closing the seas with their Dread Fleet.
As ever, Law and Chaos struggle for dominance over the earth - neither side is 'Good' or 'Evil' (though their fervent worshippers would claim so), but for man to prosper its best if some sort of Cosmic Balance is maintained with neither faction becoming too dominant. Champions of the Balance appear and disappear throughout the Young Kingdoms and the strange worlds beyond and in dreams.
Run using the Heroquest 2 system and MRQII Elric of Melnibone setting.
Week 1 of 3
The characters meet in an Inn on the Isle of Purple Towns- hired by Malastair the Merchant Prince- a one-eyed and prosperous looking seadog. He has summoned the following-
Sadic The Dreamthief: this Wanderer of the Million Spheres is a dreamthief par excellence, who cannot resist a challenge. She is small, unobtrusive, dark clad and always carries her dreamstaff.
Avon Astran- a Champion of the White Lord of Justice, Donblas, he appears to be a young and unscarred Conan-esque warrior wielding the rune-marked Hammer of Law. He must have been named after the mighty champion who led the city of Kells in rebellion against the Bright Empire 200 years ago.
Cymoreal the Half-Dragon - this half-Melnibonean is a famed mercenary in the Young Kingdoms, strangely skilled in the Dragon Lord combat style. He is said to be exiled from the Dreaming City where his father was a great noble and Dragon Prince. He fights with a 2m long spear, or a 4m long dragon-lance which he stores in an extradimensional bag.
Yah Chiang, a famed alchemist and sorceror from the Unknown East, he is reputed to brew dreamtea and other potions.
Malastair explains their mission "As you may know from legend, it is said that 2 terrible, black runeswords were forged in the past world by the Doomed Folk to slay the Dead Gods. As their names attest, they were successful, and from that apocalypse the previous cycle of existence ended and ours began- the only survivors being the runeswords, the immortal Dragons and the Eternal City of Tanelorn.
Now it is said that the Age of the Young Kingdoms is to end too, and prophecy says that it will happen when the runeswords are unsheathed in the Last Battle....but... if we can find a way to destroy them, then perhaps we can avert the end of this world. But the swords magics are strong and potent, and they will be difficult to destroy unless we know how they were forged and from what materials. Of this we know- a dragon, the First Phoorn was present at the forging of the runeswords by the Doomed Folk. In its mind lurks the secret of their making, and perhaps their unmaking too.
That is why I need you Sadic, to steal into the dreams of the sleeping dragon and retrieve the memory of that forging. Cymoreal here knows the ways of dragons and can guide you to the forbidden Dragon Caves for he is of the Dreaming Isle. But the way is dangerous and you may need the strong arm of Law to guard you from the forces of Chaos that will beset you- Avon is that great champion. And it may be that the others will be needed to steal into dreams, or magics overcome, thus the presence of Master Yah Chiang."
"Sneak into Imryrr? But isn’t that city forbidden to humans?" exclaims Avon
"It is filled with human slaves, so you may go unnoticed, particularly in the company of a Half Melnibonean overseer"
"And how shall we get there?"
"I have hired a trading ship which is taking a cargo to the Dreaming City on tomorrows tide- they will wait a week for you to complete your mission and return".
"And how much shall we be paid for this impossible task?" demands the mercenary Cymoreal
"If saving this world and the adulation that goes with it is not enough, I will pay you your weight in gold"
"Twice my weight!"
"Done"
"And I'll have twice his weight!" says the elderly Yah Chiang, nodding at the 6-foot tall Avon.
Malastair readily agrees and tells them to enjoy his hospitality in the finest Inn in all the Purple Towns. Avon retreats to the Golden Pyramid of Law to spend the night in vigil, while Cymoreal and Yah Chiang order in courtesans and retire to their chambers. Sadic, decides to get to know her new companions well by stealing into their dreams as they sleep.
Sadic buys Lockpicking as an ability and sneaks into the inn suite of Cymoreal (asleep at last after exhausting a courtesan). She enters his dream secretly and sees a sky full of longnecked dragon soaring overhead. A younger Cymoreal is running after them, across strange meadows. Two Melniboneans, elegant and thin loom up before him as he runs – an older man, clad in finest silks and jewels who raises a forbidding hand and just says “NO!”. The other is a beautiful Melnibonean woman who points and mocks Cymoreal.
Confused by this scene, Sadic chooses to withdraw and sneaks into the room of Yah Chiang. The wily alchemist has laid around breakable (and noisy) plates on the floor, and strung bells across the window to warn him of intruders, but Sadic easily circumvents such alarums. Yah Chiang has also dosed his courtesan with a sleeping draught, so that she will not disturb his rest with movement. Touching her Dreamstaff to the sleeping Easterner’s head, Sadic slips into Dream. She sees him performing a tea ceremony with 2 places set- him in one seat, the other apparently empty.
Confused by this, she seeks to probe deeper into his mind, but this tips off the experienced dreamer. He notices Sadic and motions for her to take the empty chair.
"I expected you my dear"
"I hope you are not offended" says Sadic
"Of course not, you simply did what you had to do in order to protect yourself- just as I do what is necessary too. And your skill at entering my chamber would indicate that you possess the necessary skills to complete our mission. Of course, I hope you will not mind allowing me the privacy of my mind from now on"
"Of course not" Sadic agrees
“It is said the dreams of dragons are potent indeed. And given that you have proven that memories and dreams can removed into the physical world, and that in the dream world we can control and shape things, what would happen if instead of taking an existing dream-memory from a dragon, we created something new in this potent dream world- could we then bring it into reality? What if we could dream a great hero to save the world without having to battle those terrible runeswords? And what if we could bring that hero into the Waking World? Is such a thing possible- creation rather than mere theft? Inception rather than dreamtheft?
"An interesting idea, buts its never been done before" muses Sadic
"But could you do it?"
"Of course I can! I am the best Dreamthief in all the Spheres!" states the overconfident Sadic.
After that everyone rests, and boards the Dhakan Star the next morning. They meet the competent Captain Cain and settle in for a week-long sea voyage on the cog across the Oldest Ocean. Sadic chats with the sailors about what dangers they face- there are great monsters of the deep that rise, pirates, demon reavers from Pan Tang. But the thing they fear the most is the Chaos Fleet and drowning at sea. If they do drown, they fear the Chaos God Pyaray, the Tentacled Whisperer of Impossible Secrets will drag their bodies down to the black depths to crew the ships of the Chaos Fleet which sail beneath the seas. They clutch elemental charms whenever they speak of the Admiral of the Chaos Fleet, as they believe Straasha, Elemental Lord of Water will wrestle their bodies and souls away from Pyaray’s tentacled grip if they worship him.
For the first few days the journey is uneventful, and Sadic offers entertainment to her companions from her vast collection of dreams. They accept, some more suspicious than others. Cymoreal asks for a dream of blood and violence and battles, and she gives him one that is a mix of Lord of the Rings meets Saving Private Ryan – “I don’t now who these ‘Jarmans’ are, but I like their style on the beach. Why did that giant eagle have to fly in and snatch away the machine-gunner?” reviews Cymoreal, though he did enjoy it.
Avon is ecstatic, and his faith renewed when he Dreams of a World without Chaos- its world on which Law has won and everything is peaceful, harmonious, efficient - a dream of Endless Peace. (Sadic passed through that world and kept going as she found it terminally dull)
Yah Chiang requests a dream of foreign magic, so that he might learn some new tricks for Imryrr. He Dreams of 2 young wizard apprentices ducking and diving and firing bolts of power from wands and staves at each other and shouting “Expelliarmus” a lot. He is much taken with this entertainment, but does not think it would work in this sphere.
On the 4th day of travel, black sails are sighted by the crows nest, and the Captain and crew prepare for a fight - a pirate ship has the wind behind her and is heading for the Dhakan Star. The crew sigh in relief that it isn’t on of Pan Tangs daemon vessels, but that relief is short-lived when the pirate gets closer for the sails bear the Red Octopus insignia of the Reaver god. Pirates throng the deck and rigging, reading to swing across or lower spiked boarding planks! Even worse, the pirate brig has a ram, and the pirates are singing hymns to their dark god- Pyaray! Some pirates spot the heroes and shout "The dreams! It is them! For Pyaray"
CRASH!
The pirates ram, and Avon is sent flying across the desk. Sadic fumbles and she is thrown clear overboard as the pirates launch themselves at the crew and Cymoreal and Yah Chiang. Yah Chiang speaks the Rune of Sleep, expecting some of the pirates to fall into enchanted slumber- but clearly their pact with Pyaray protects them, for none even doze. Cymoreal has more luck, his lance sweeping out to knock swinging pirates off the boat. Meanwhile, in the water, a quick-witted Sadic (who never learnt to swim) grabs a floating rope from the star, the current entangling her with it as the water rushes into her lungs and everything goes black!
Then light and air once more surround her face as she is hauled up the side of the ship by the mighty arms of Avon Astran who had spotted her fall overboard. With Sadic recovering, he launches himself into the pirate morass, slaughtering many. Yah Chiang speaks a Rune of Reversal against his attackers and their cutlasses rebound from him and bury themselves in pirate skulls. Sadic’s daggers then complete the victory, sending one pirate joyously overboard to join his god in the depths- this religious ecstasy ruined when a shark tears into his sinking body, forever ruining it from joining the Chaos Fleet! The pirate assault has been defeated.
Then the questors hear a chant from aboard the pirate ship "Great Lord Pyaray- Take this offering! Rise up and consume the heathens!" - the Priest-Captain. A poison blowdart fired by Chiang nicks the priest in his neck, so his speech begins to slur until is saying "Grade Lorb, wraise uhp!". Cymoreal swings across the ships, and a swipe with his dragon lance across the face knocks the stiffening priest overboard- but the priest makes for an eager self-sacrifice.
Things pause a moment. Then bubbles begin to rise up for hundreds of yards around the two ships. They have a moment to prepare - Avon cant remember which Duke of Hell Pyaray is and Cymoreal remembers going to some parties in Imryrr with some worshippers that mentioned him - was he one of the Sword Rulers? Nah.... Sadic who knows better instead looks for a lifeboat, but discovers its been holed in the fighting. Yah Chiang does know what he is facing and starts summoning demons...
Then the whole sea seems to rise into the sky as a vast, endless crimson-skinned octopus-god rises. In the middle of its forehead, a green gem glows with unearthly energy. As Pyaray rises, whispers bubble up from the deep, seeming to speak to each of the heroes, impossible secrets that no one could ever know
“You enjoyed it didn’t you. The look of fear in their eyes whenever you approached” - Avon whitens
“You’ll never live up to his expectations” - Camorra’s grip on his lance tightens
“Do they know about you? They know where you hide it, don’t they?” - Yah Chiang’s face goes even stiller.
“What happened to her? Why cant you remember? It was your fault, wasnt it” - Sadic's face goes red with emotion.
Yah Chiang is the first to act- binding a Fire Crow demon (some offspring of a Fire Elemental and Bird-demon) which flies to Pyarays forehead and starts pecking at the gem. Its soon squashed, but does draw attention to the gem - Cymoreal too tries to lance it, but only does minor damage, before his lance is grabbed by one of Pyaray’s many octopoid tentacles. Sadic throws her daggers futilely (and angrily) at the God before she is grabbed around the waist by a tentacle and hauled towards Pyaray’s beaked maw!
Chiang begins a new summoning and Avon takes a more direct approach- leaping from the ship onto Pyarays head, he swings his Law-marked hammer through the jelly of Pyaray’s eye! The Admiral of the Chaos Fleet, is wounded, but within seconds, his flesh begins to reform and the Champion of Law is grabbed by
another tentacle and pulled towards his doom.
Cymoreal too leaps on Pyaray’s, and swaying, manages to get a direct stab on Pyaray’s soul-gem. His great lance blunts and rebounds from the stone, leaving it unharmed. The half-Melnibonean realises that no mortal weapon can kill this Duke of Hell... But perhaps one blessed by Donblas, White Lord of Justice? "Strike here Avon!" he calls to the ententacled champion.
Hearing this, the others respond. Sadic casts her last dagger at the tentacle around Avon- it buries deep into the nerve and the tentacle rears up, uncoiling and dropping Avon. Still a second tentacle comes whipping out of the ocean spray to grab him - its at that moment that Yah Chiang summons the Mother of Sharks, a sea-demon to leap from the waters of the Oldest Ocean and bury its teeth into the second tentacle. As it convulses, it bats the falling Champion of Law onto Pyaray’s domed head. The stunned Avon lands and begins slipping down the slick hemisphere towards the ocean when the strong arm of Cymoreal grabs his hand and swings him up and over to land next to the glowing green gem!
"TAKE THAT!" Avon Astran shouts, his Hammer of the Law rising up over his head and ending its parabolic arc on the green emerald, which shatters into a thousand pieces! Green energy gouts up into the sky as the whispers of Pyaray coalesce into a death scream! VICTORY!!
With Pyarays defeat, the heroes swim back to the ships. The Dhakan Star is taking on water from the ram, but the crew say that the pirate reaver will be more than suitable for sailing into Imryrr. Yah Chiang gathers one of the shards of Pyarays emerald soulstone. When he puts it to his ear, he hears faint whispers....
Sailing to Imryrr, the rest of the journey is uneventful, though as the near the last redoubt of the Bright Empire, they see one of the massive, city-sized Golden Battlebarge’s, its 3 masts high above a mix of walls, crenellations, towers, keeps and fortifications - less a ship and more a floating castle, easily dwarfing the brig.
Arriving at Imryrr, a half-Melnibonean pilot boards to navigate them through the Sea-Maze or underwater shipwrecks that would hole the keel of any attacker and they at last approach their destination.
To Be Continued Next Week....
Elric is based off Michael Moorcocks titular novels and describe a baroque and evocative fantasy world of albino sorcerors, soul-stealing black Runeswords, Chaos gods, decaying empires and dreaming dragons in a time of change. I havent read the novels (the prose is too florid and the anti-hero protagonist too emo), but Lawrence Whitakers campaign book is fantastic and inspired me to run. So this is a game for people who havent read the Elric books and is based off the interesting elements. Canon isnt being observed, nor will the characters of the books appear. All I'm using is the setting for your heroes to save, destroy or resolve. If you love the books, this is probably not the game for you!
Background-
History moves in great cycles. Before this cycle, different forms of bipedal life ruled the earth - named the Doomed Folk, they forged 2 mighty runeswords- Stormbringer and Mournblade to battle the Dead Gods. That battle ended their world-cycle, though some eternal forces like the Dragons, Tanelorn and Courts of Law and Chaos survived - as did the 2 runeblades, prophecised to end this cycle of the world too.
In this cycle, the cruel and decadent Bright Empire of Melnibone has dominated the world for ten thousand years! Tall and elegant, the non-quite-human Melniboneans are a long lived and cultured race, whose long alliance with Arioch, and the demon-gods of the Courts of Chaos has led them to cruel tastes - making art of torture and pain, and subjugating and enslaving the human races of the world to labour and die for their pleasure. They achieved their power through mighty sorcery, mastering dreamwalking and dragon taming and their Pacts with various elementals, spirits and demons and their possession of the runeswords.
However, the Bright Empire had exhausted itself in a war against the Joinings and animal Meldings of the foul Dharzi and its Melnibonean overseers and governors have abandoned their duties as colonial overlords and returned to the capital city of Imryrr on the Dreaming Isle (known as the Dragon Isle to some) where decadent drug-fuelled parties, orgies and pageants of pain and torture and lengthy journeys into Dream from magical dream-couches now consume the Melniboneans. The Young Kingdoms of Man now cast off the authority of the decaying Bright Empire (still mighty with its golden Battlebarges and Dragon Princes who might still be able to wake the hundreds of immortal dragons sleeping in caves under Imryrr) and assert their independence and the manifest destiny of the human race.
The Young Kingdoms are a varied lot - some like Vilmar have embraced the Church of Law- worshipping strict and severe deities who reward conformity, obedience and science in contrast to the wild and reckless Chaos Lords of Melnibone. Others like the merchants and sailors of the Purple Towns explore and trade throughout the world, free at last to travel the seas. But in the north, the vile sorcerors of the Island of Pan Tang seek to supplant Melnibone by imitating its way to power- worshipping and pacting with Chaos, launching dreadful demonoc piratical raids and closing the seas with their Dread Fleet.
As ever, Law and Chaos struggle for dominance over the earth - neither side is 'Good' or 'Evil' (though their fervent worshippers would claim so), but for man to prosper its best if some sort of Cosmic Balance is maintained with neither faction becoming too dominant. Champions of the Balance appear and disappear throughout the Young Kingdoms and the strange worlds beyond and in dreams.
Run using the Heroquest 2 system and MRQII Elric of Melnibone setting.
Week 1 of 3
The characters meet in an Inn on the Isle of Purple Towns- hired by Malastair the Merchant Prince- a one-eyed and prosperous looking seadog. He has summoned the following-
Sadic The Dreamthief: this Wanderer of the Million Spheres is a dreamthief par excellence, who cannot resist a challenge. She is small, unobtrusive, dark clad and always carries her dreamstaff.
Avon Astran- a Champion of the White Lord of Justice, Donblas, he appears to be a young and unscarred Conan-esque warrior wielding the rune-marked Hammer of Law. He must have been named after the mighty champion who led the city of Kells in rebellion against the Bright Empire 200 years ago.
Cymoreal the Half-Dragon - this half-Melnibonean is a famed mercenary in the Young Kingdoms, strangely skilled in the Dragon Lord combat style. He is said to be exiled from the Dreaming City where his father was a great noble and Dragon Prince. He fights with a 2m long spear, or a 4m long dragon-lance which he stores in an extradimensional bag.
Yah Chiang, a famed alchemist and sorceror from the Unknown East, he is reputed to brew dreamtea and other potions.
Malastair explains their mission "As you may know from legend, it is said that 2 terrible, black runeswords were forged in the past world by the Doomed Folk to slay the Dead Gods. As their names attest, they were successful, and from that apocalypse the previous cycle of existence ended and ours began- the only survivors being the runeswords, the immortal Dragons and the Eternal City of Tanelorn.
Now it is said that the Age of the Young Kingdoms is to end too, and prophecy says that it will happen when the runeswords are unsheathed in the Last Battle....but... if we can find a way to destroy them, then perhaps we can avert the end of this world. But the swords magics are strong and potent, and they will be difficult to destroy unless we know how they were forged and from what materials. Of this we know- a dragon, the First Phoorn was present at the forging of the runeswords by the Doomed Folk. In its mind lurks the secret of their making, and perhaps their unmaking too.
That is why I need you Sadic, to steal into the dreams of the sleeping dragon and retrieve the memory of that forging. Cymoreal here knows the ways of dragons and can guide you to the forbidden Dragon Caves for he is of the Dreaming Isle. But the way is dangerous and you may need the strong arm of Law to guard you from the forces of Chaos that will beset you- Avon is that great champion. And it may be that the others will be needed to steal into dreams, or magics overcome, thus the presence of Master Yah Chiang."
"Sneak into Imryrr? But isn’t that city forbidden to humans?" exclaims Avon
"It is filled with human slaves, so you may go unnoticed, particularly in the company of a Half Melnibonean overseer"
"And how shall we get there?"
"I have hired a trading ship which is taking a cargo to the Dreaming City on tomorrows tide- they will wait a week for you to complete your mission and return".
"And how much shall we be paid for this impossible task?" demands the mercenary Cymoreal
"If saving this world and the adulation that goes with it is not enough, I will pay you your weight in gold"
"Twice my weight!"
"Done"
"And I'll have twice his weight!" says the elderly Yah Chiang, nodding at the 6-foot tall Avon.
Malastair readily agrees and tells them to enjoy his hospitality in the finest Inn in all the Purple Towns. Avon retreats to the Golden Pyramid of Law to spend the night in vigil, while Cymoreal and Yah Chiang order in courtesans and retire to their chambers. Sadic, decides to get to know her new companions well by stealing into their dreams as they sleep.
Sadic buys Lockpicking as an ability and sneaks into the inn suite of Cymoreal (asleep at last after exhausting a courtesan). She enters his dream secretly and sees a sky full of longnecked dragon soaring overhead. A younger Cymoreal is running after them, across strange meadows. Two Melniboneans, elegant and thin loom up before him as he runs – an older man, clad in finest silks and jewels who raises a forbidding hand and just says “NO!”. The other is a beautiful Melnibonean woman who points and mocks Cymoreal.
Confused by this scene, Sadic chooses to withdraw and sneaks into the room of Yah Chiang. The wily alchemist has laid around breakable (and noisy) plates on the floor, and strung bells across the window to warn him of intruders, but Sadic easily circumvents such alarums. Yah Chiang has also dosed his courtesan with a sleeping draught, so that she will not disturb his rest with movement. Touching her Dreamstaff to the sleeping Easterner’s head, Sadic slips into Dream. She sees him performing a tea ceremony with 2 places set- him in one seat, the other apparently empty.
Confused by this, she seeks to probe deeper into his mind, but this tips off the experienced dreamer. He notices Sadic and motions for her to take the empty chair.
"I expected you my dear"
"I hope you are not offended" says Sadic
"Of course not, you simply did what you had to do in order to protect yourself- just as I do what is necessary too. And your skill at entering my chamber would indicate that you possess the necessary skills to complete our mission. Of course, I hope you will not mind allowing me the privacy of my mind from now on"
"Of course not" Sadic agrees
“It is said the dreams of dragons are potent indeed. And given that you have proven that memories and dreams can removed into the physical world, and that in the dream world we can control and shape things, what would happen if instead of taking an existing dream-memory from a dragon, we created something new in this potent dream world- could we then bring it into reality? What if we could dream a great hero to save the world without having to battle those terrible runeswords? And what if we could bring that hero into the Waking World? Is such a thing possible- creation rather than mere theft? Inception rather than dreamtheft?
"An interesting idea, buts its never been done before" muses Sadic
"But could you do it?"
"Of course I can! I am the best Dreamthief in all the Spheres!" states the overconfident Sadic.
After that everyone rests, and boards the Dhakan Star the next morning. They meet the competent Captain Cain and settle in for a week-long sea voyage on the cog across the Oldest Ocean. Sadic chats with the sailors about what dangers they face- there are great monsters of the deep that rise, pirates, demon reavers from Pan Tang. But the thing they fear the most is the Chaos Fleet and drowning at sea. If they do drown, they fear the Chaos God Pyaray, the Tentacled Whisperer of Impossible Secrets will drag their bodies down to the black depths to crew the ships of the Chaos Fleet which sail beneath the seas. They clutch elemental charms whenever they speak of the Admiral of the Chaos Fleet, as they believe Straasha, Elemental Lord of Water will wrestle their bodies and souls away from Pyaray’s tentacled grip if they worship him.
For the first few days the journey is uneventful, and Sadic offers entertainment to her companions from her vast collection of dreams. They accept, some more suspicious than others. Cymoreal asks for a dream of blood and violence and battles, and she gives him one that is a mix of Lord of the Rings meets Saving Private Ryan – “I don’t now who these ‘Jarmans’ are, but I like their style on the beach. Why did that giant eagle have to fly in and snatch away the machine-gunner?” reviews Cymoreal, though he did enjoy it.
Avon is ecstatic, and his faith renewed when he Dreams of a World without Chaos- its world on which Law has won and everything is peaceful, harmonious, efficient - a dream of Endless Peace. (Sadic passed through that world and kept going as she found it terminally dull)
Yah Chiang requests a dream of foreign magic, so that he might learn some new tricks for Imryrr. He Dreams of 2 young wizard apprentices ducking and diving and firing bolts of power from wands and staves at each other and shouting “Expelliarmus” a lot. He is much taken with this entertainment, but does not think it would work in this sphere.
On the 4th day of travel, black sails are sighted by the crows nest, and the Captain and crew prepare for a fight - a pirate ship has the wind behind her and is heading for the Dhakan Star. The crew sigh in relief that it isn’t on of Pan Tangs daemon vessels, but that relief is short-lived when the pirate gets closer for the sails bear the Red Octopus insignia of the Reaver god. Pirates throng the deck and rigging, reading to swing across or lower spiked boarding planks! Even worse, the pirate brig has a ram, and the pirates are singing hymns to their dark god- Pyaray! Some pirates spot the heroes and shout "The dreams! It is them! For Pyaray"
CRASH!
The pirates ram, and Avon is sent flying across the desk. Sadic fumbles and she is thrown clear overboard as the pirates launch themselves at the crew and Cymoreal and Yah Chiang. Yah Chiang speaks the Rune of Sleep, expecting some of the pirates to fall into enchanted slumber- but clearly their pact with Pyaray protects them, for none even doze. Cymoreal has more luck, his lance sweeping out to knock swinging pirates off the boat. Meanwhile, in the water, a quick-witted Sadic (who never learnt to swim) grabs a floating rope from the star, the current entangling her with it as the water rushes into her lungs and everything goes black!
Then light and air once more surround her face as she is hauled up the side of the ship by the mighty arms of Avon Astran who had spotted her fall overboard. With Sadic recovering, he launches himself into the pirate morass, slaughtering many. Yah Chiang speaks a Rune of Reversal against his attackers and their cutlasses rebound from him and bury themselves in pirate skulls. Sadic’s daggers then complete the victory, sending one pirate joyously overboard to join his god in the depths- this religious ecstasy ruined when a shark tears into his sinking body, forever ruining it from joining the Chaos Fleet! The pirate assault has been defeated.
Then the questors hear a chant from aboard the pirate ship "Great Lord Pyaray- Take this offering! Rise up and consume the heathens!" - the Priest-Captain. A poison blowdart fired by Chiang nicks the priest in his neck, so his speech begins to slur until is saying "Grade Lorb, wraise uhp!". Cymoreal swings across the ships, and a swipe with his dragon lance across the face knocks the stiffening priest overboard- but the priest makes for an eager self-sacrifice.
Things pause a moment. Then bubbles begin to rise up for hundreds of yards around the two ships. They have a moment to prepare - Avon cant remember which Duke of Hell Pyaray is and Cymoreal remembers going to some parties in Imryrr with some worshippers that mentioned him - was he one of the Sword Rulers? Nah.... Sadic who knows better instead looks for a lifeboat, but discovers its been holed in the fighting. Yah Chiang does know what he is facing and starts summoning demons...
Then the whole sea seems to rise into the sky as a vast, endless crimson-skinned octopus-god rises. In the middle of its forehead, a green gem glows with unearthly energy. As Pyaray rises, whispers bubble up from the deep, seeming to speak to each of the heroes, impossible secrets that no one could ever know
“You enjoyed it didn’t you. The look of fear in their eyes whenever you approached” - Avon whitens
“You’ll never live up to his expectations” - Camorra’s grip on his lance tightens
“Do they know about you? They know where you hide it, don’t they?” - Yah Chiang’s face goes even stiller.
“What happened to her? Why cant you remember? It was your fault, wasnt it” - Sadic's face goes red with emotion.
Yah Chiang is the first to act- binding a Fire Crow demon (some offspring of a Fire Elemental and Bird-demon) which flies to Pyarays forehead and starts pecking at the gem. Its soon squashed, but does draw attention to the gem - Cymoreal too tries to lance it, but only does minor damage, before his lance is grabbed by one of Pyaray’s many octopoid tentacles. Sadic throws her daggers futilely (and angrily) at the God before she is grabbed around the waist by a tentacle and hauled towards Pyaray’s beaked maw!
Chiang begins a new summoning and Avon takes a more direct approach- leaping from the ship onto Pyarays head, he swings his Law-marked hammer through the jelly of Pyaray’s eye! The Admiral of the Chaos Fleet, is wounded, but within seconds, his flesh begins to reform and the Champion of Law is grabbed by
another tentacle and pulled towards his doom.
Cymoreal too leaps on Pyaray’s, and swaying, manages to get a direct stab on Pyaray’s soul-gem. His great lance blunts and rebounds from the stone, leaving it unharmed. The half-Melnibonean realises that no mortal weapon can kill this Duke of Hell... But perhaps one blessed by Donblas, White Lord of Justice? "Strike here Avon!" he calls to the ententacled champion.
Hearing this, the others respond. Sadic casts her last dagger at the tentacle around Avon- it buries deep into the nerve and the tentacle rears up, uncoiling and dropping Avon. Still a second tentacle comes whipping out of the ocean spray to grab him - its at that moment that Yah Chiang summons the Mother of Sharks, a sea-demon to leap from the waters of the Oldest Ocean and bury its teeth into the second tentacle. As it convulses, it bats the falling Champion of Law onto Pyaray’s domed head. The stunned Avon lands and begins slipping down the slick hemisphere towards the ocean when the strong arm of Cymoreal grabs his hand and swings him up and over to land next to the glowing green gem!
"TAKE THAT!" Avon Astran shouts, his Hammer of the Law rising up over his head and ending its parabolic arc on the green emerald, which shatters into a thousand pieces! Green energy gouts up into the sky as the whispers of Pyaray coalesce into a death scream! VICTORY!!
With Pyarays defeat, the heroes swim back to the ships. The Dhakan Star is taking on water from the ram, but the crew say that the pirate reaver will be more than suitable for sailing into Imryrr. Yah Chiang gathers one of the shards of Pyarays emerald soulstone. When he puts it to his ear, he hears faint whispers....
Sailing to Imryrr, the rest of the journey is uneventful, though as the near the last redoubt of the Bright Empire, they see one of the massive, city-sized Golden Battlebarge’s, its 3 masts high above a mix of walls, crenellations, towers, keeps and fortifications - less a ship and more a floating castle, easily dwarfing the brig.
Arriving at Imryrr, a half-Melnibonean pilot boards to navigate them through the Sea-Maze or underwater shipwrecks that would hole the keel of any attacker and they at last approach their destination.
To Be Continued Next Week....
