Ran-Osiris quickly leads you deeper into the city while Ammut is distracted. Before long, you stand in the shadow of the temple of the God who is clearly his patron - the temple of Osiris himself. The building is majestic to behold. It climbs into the sky, perfect limestone facades dark against the red-streaked clouds, great columns and flawless statues towering on either side of the entrance like mute giants. The temple is easily the size of a palace, and remains completely unmarred by the chaos that roils at its feet. Ran-Osiris stops at the doorway only briefly before bustling in and you assume that you’re expected to follow suit.
The entire interior of the building is polished into gleaming perfection. White stone surfaces glitter and shine in the light cast from a row of hanging braziers in the center of the grand hallway. On either side you see countless depictions of Osiris’ journey to the underworld, lovingly detailed in lapis lazuli, golden flecks catching the light and suggesting subtle movement. Ran-Osiris speaks aloud while you walk.
“I’ll be quick, for there is little time. As you have no doubt gathered there is a problem to be dealt with, the ba-spirits of the dead remain trapped in this world and cannot travel to the next.”
The falcon-headed man runs a hand along a few cartouches on the wall. They glow faintly blue at his touch, before the wall itself ripples like water and he steps through.
“Your – our – true enemy is not Ammut. It is the High Priest of Meres. After the eye of flame was opened, he died the death of the unjust as he rightly should have. Yet somehow, while facing his judgment in the hall of the dead, he stole the Book of the Dead and struck his name from the pages. This act has rendered him at once nameless and immortal.”
Ran-Osiris leads you downward along a spiraling staircase. Here, the walls are rough-hewn, but carved with mystical sigils that radiate magic and power; these are not decoration but wards of protection.
“The High Priest has done something to the hall of the dead. Its doors are locked to new spirits, he has unchained and dominated Ammut, and he gathers specific ba-spirits for purposes we have no inkling of. Even the divine eye cannot see into the darkness he has cast about the hall - this most pressing of matters is one of the reasons for your creation.”
You arrive in a large subterranean chamber that glows with soft torchlight. A clear pool of water stands in its center, flanked on all sides by countless weights, measures, and carefully balanced scales, interconnected like a delicately suspended web. You get the sense that the slightest movement could disturb the entire display. A number of other falcon-headed men sit or stand about the edges of the chamber, watching you expectantly.
“No doubt this seems strange to you, so allow me to explain. I am not a God, and I may not create or destroy outright – instead, to work our sorceries, we take from one place and add to another. These scales, when balanced properly, allow us to use this pool to transport people into realms that would otherwise be barred, such as the underworld, or areas warded by ancient magic. They work by ‘negating’ the regular barriers set in place by forces divine or otherwise. To break specific barriers we require weights of specific substances in order to establish the correct sympathy.”
“Right now, our primary goal is to reach the High Priest and send him to his appropriate judgment. Unfortunately we can’t reach him, as he has sealed his realm off with magic that we cannot penetrate. We do not know what substance we require to break through the barrier. We know that Ammut is capable of passing through, however, yet we haven’t ever been close enough to see how this is done.”
“We require both your insight and your courage. This is the information that we have, if there is anything you have seen that suggests a path forward, we will listen. If there are questions that you have, we will answer.”