Wolf Pyramid

Date: December 2008
Campaign: Under the Bus

Overview

The Wolf Pyramid was a hidden temple of the Gauntlet of the Moon, located on a large step pyramid rising from the southern sea. The pyramid served as one of a network of temples connected by magical portals and was being used by the Gauntlet in its efforts to transform werewolves and other followers through the power of their wolf god.

The party discovered the pyramid while pursuing a group of approximately twenty werewolves and cultists who had fled south after the party's earlier investigations into the werewolf plague.

Discovery

After losing the trail temporarily, the party eventually picked it up again and followed the group south toward the ocean. They discovered evidence that the group had recently departed the shore on several rafts toward a large structure visible offshore.

The party spent approximately two weeks constructing two small boats and then rowed out to investigate.

The structure proved to be a large step pyramid rising directly from the water. It was nearly 200 feet across at its base and almost 100 feet tall. The pyramid appeared to have been constructed after the surrounding area had become ocean, indicating that it had either been built or magically raised directly from the water.

The entire structure radiated magic.

The Temple of the Moon

The pyramid contained a temple belonging to the Gauntlet of the Moon. The upper temple was heavily decorated with images of wolves and wolfkind attacking animals and humanoids. A massive wolf seated upon a throne dominated the central imagery.

The repeated symbol throughout the temple was a fist obscuring a sunrise or sunset.

The party also discovered a stone slab equipped with manacles and stained with what appeared to be dried blood. A shaft through the center of the upper temple was designed to channel moonlight downward. The extensive gilding and openings in the temple were apparently constructed to capture and focus the moonlight.

A large metal structure resembling a doorway stood on the upper level. It was covered in arcane symbols and functioned as a portal connecting this temple with other temples in the network.

The Prisoners

On the prison level, the party discovered more than a dozen prisoners, most of them unrecruited members of The Chosen. They had been captured from villages throughout the south.

The prisoners explained that their villages had suffered the same progression the party had already encountered elsewhere: a mysterious disease appeared, followed by the arrival of suspicious outsiders, and eventually villagers began transforming into werewolves.

The Gauntlet had been experimenting on people who were apparently immune to the disease. Many prisoners had disappeared after being taken away for further experimentation.

Among the prisoners was Orinder, a cleric of Demmazon who had been helping the others as best he could.

The party's ability to detect Chosen power produced an unusual result when used on Orinder. His apparent power fluctuated dramatically, at times registering as Moderate, Strong, and even Overwhelming before returning to Moderate.

At the time, Orinder claimed to be merely a humble priest and denied any knowledge of The Chosen.

The party freed the prisoners and arranged for them to escape by raft.

The Wolf Ceremony

The party discovered that the Gauntlet was preparing for a major ceremony below the temple.

The ceremony involved hooded priests, incense, blood, and hundreds of wolves, worgs, dire wolves, and werewolves in various forms. At its center was a man being prepared to receive an aspect of the wolf god worshipped by the Gauntlet.

The party determined that the god was Filtiarn, although they did not initially know the identity of the being whose aspect was being invoked.

The ceremony coincided with the approaching full moon. The party attempted to disrupt it by blocking the moonlight entering the temple through the shaft while simultaneously destroying the portal on the upper level.

Destruction of the Pyramid

The party destroyed the portal by physically cutting through its magical structure. The destruction triggered a violent magical reaction.

The pyramid began to shake and collapse while werewolves poured out of the temple in pursuit of the party.

The party escaped to their remaining raft as the pyramid collapsed into the sea and disappeared beneath the water.

However, the ceremony had not been stopped in time.

The Aspect

As the party rowed back toward shore, they discovered that something was following them beneath the water.

A Large wolf-man, later identified as an Aspect of Filtiarn, was walking along the bottom of the ocean with only his head above the water.

The Aspect attacked the raft and attempted to overturn it.

The party discovered that the creature possessed substantial damage reduction that could only be bypassed by a weapon that was both silver and magical. Tashiro had only three silver bullets remaining, and all three proved important during the battle.

During the fight, Malachi was knocked overboard while wearing full plate armor. Dew Gooder and Tashiro entered the water to assist him, but Malachi was eventually knocked unconscious and drowned.

The party ultimately defeated the Aspect.

As it died, the Aspect cried out in disbelief and appealed to the moon, asking why it had been forsaken. Silvery light escaped from its body and briefly formed the image of a wolf before disappearing into the sky.

The creature's remaining body was revealed to be that of a tall, muscular human male bearing a tattoo of a fist eclipsing a sunrise across his chest. He collapsed and died after the supernatural light departed.

The party reached shore and mourned Malachi.

Significance

The destruction of the Wolf Pyramid was one of the party's earliest major confrontations with the Gauntlet of the Moon and its connection to Filtiarn.

The event established several important facts that became increasingly significant later:

The Gauntlet possessed a network of temples connected by magical portals.
The werewolf plague and the Gauntlet's activities were connected.
The Gauntlet was experimenting on people who were resistant to the disease.
Orinder was far more powerful and mysterious than he initially claimed.
The Gauntlet was attempting to create physical Aspects of Filtiarn.
The party's destruction of the temple prevented the portal from remaining active, but did not prevent the ceremony from producing an Aspect.
Malachi was killed during the escape and battle with the Aspect.

The identity of the person who became the Aspect was not established by the party at the time. The corpse's distinctive tattoo provided another early connection to the symbolism associated with Filtiarn.