City of Eridu

The “Eldest City” was once a great seaside port but now languishes far inland as the Mesopotamian river delta lands have overtaken the sea.  Eridu clings to, and is largely defined by, the past.  Its canals and quays are dry and dusty, mute testament to the long-gone irrigation and commerce of the city.  Few things stir here save the secretive orders of priests and magi who maintain its voluminous libraries and archives.

  

The city is ruled by the self-styled High Magister of The Apsu, the powerful wonderbringer Atmutu.   Despite his puissance, Atmutu’s ambitions do not appear to extend much further than the crumbling walls of his city.  Enigmatic and inward looking, the High Magister holds court only with learned visitors and the rare adventurers and agents he sometimes employs to his inscrutable ends. 

Eridu’s walls are in poor repair, but it’s main gate adorned with two giant statues of twin lamassu.  Legend maintains these guardian statues will animate at the will of Atmutu to defend the city.  Though a small city to begin with, Eridu’s diminished population barely fills half of its narrow precincts.  The surrounding land is sparsely settled, being poor for farming or trade now so many miles from river or sea.  A handful of semi-nomadic Chaldean tribes tend sheep on the grassy plain while fewer still artisans, scribes and other skilled folk inhabit the city.  Visitors rarely come to visit the Eldest City save those seeking its legendary libraries, maintained by the small but dedicated cult of Enki and an assortment of learned sages, magi and scribes.

Atmutu’s residence is the crumbling ziggurat dedicated to Enki that sits atop and guards the entrance to the Great Subterranean Sea of the Apsu.  It is whispered that gateways to the Underworld and other worlds besides can be found in the depths beneath Eridu, but few who seek them out have ever returned. 

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 800 families (large town)

Ruler: Atmutu (13th level Wonderbringer)

Market: Class IV

Imports: wood (common & rare), metals (common & precious), oil (lamp)

Exports: salt, tablets (rare)

Religions of Notes: Enki

Adventure Hooks:  the party seeks clues to an ancient treasure, a magic user desires to research or learn a new spell, the party seeks a gateway to the Underworld/ Heavens/ other world, The High Magister or one of his agents have summoned the party to perform a task...