Abandoned Temple
| Abandoned Temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Region | Hawkethorne |
| Accessible from | Hawkethorne |
| Neutral Hub | Yes (after Tutorial) |
Written by Savin
The Abandoned Temple is the site of the portal that begun the events of the game, where Master Tollus and his cultists sacrificed Calla and Kasyrra forced her way into the plane. It also hosts a magical conduit that has been attracting various groups of ill-intent since it was abandoned during the Godswar. The Abandoned Temple is ruined following the events of the tutorial, but can be remodelled during Divine Pussy to become a Temple of Mallach.
"The pale elves used to have druidic temples all over the Marches, and that site was one of them. It was abandoned in the darkest days of the Godswar, when the elves drew back entirely to their bastions in the Frostwood. Since they never returned, their temple fell into ruin with the passage of age. It's been that way ever since."
—The Baroness
Description
Exterior:
You stand at the foot of a pair of huge, sweeping marble stairs leading up to the entrance of an ancient stone temple. The arched entrance is flanked by monstrous stone gargoyles, each holding a barbed trident and shield in its hands; the filigree on the shields has long since been worn away by time, though you think you can vaguely see the outline of a hawk on one of them. The temple's roof seems to have caved in at some point, letting in the fury of the elements; wind howls and whips through the open-standing doorway.
Interior:
You stand in the heart of the abandoned temple, surrounded by collapsed bits of roof and marble pillars. The rubble has been cleared away from the center, however, around the radiant, glowing plane of the portal in the center of the structure. An altar of stone has been erected around the magical gate, stained darkly by sexual fluids of countless dark rituals to the cult's masters. The whole place gives you a disquiet, fearful feeling.
Characters
- Calla (during the tutorial)
- Kasyrra (during the tutorial)
- Master Tollus (during the tutorial)
- Quintillus (unseen, during the tutorial)
- Unnamed Cultists (during the tutorial)
Interactions
Tutorial
"The sacrifice?" She says, as if refusing to humanize their captive. Their sacrifice. "The Master has taken her to the temple, of course. The ritual... the conjunction of worlds is tonight. Our dark lady demands sacrifice for her blessing!"
In the tutorial, you and Cait chase retreating cultists up to the Abandoned Temple. There you find Master Tollus standing over a captive Calla, who is to be sacrificed into a portal. You and Cait do battle with Tollus but are unable to prevent the cultists from hurling Calla into the portal and into an unknown plane of existence.
Tollus and the cultists make their escape before Kasyrra emerges from the other side of the portal, causing an explosion that decimates the temple and would have killed you if not for her intervention. Whatever choice you make, you wake up a week later in The Frost Hound.
Quest Related
Divine Pussy
This quest is centred around building a Temple of Mallach in the ruins of the Abandoned Temple. Once you obtain permission from The Baroness to use the site, you bring Barney, Cait, and Salwah to survey the ruins. You discover a magical conduit under the altar, which left unchecked could spell disaster for the town of Hawkethorne. The portal spews strange monsters as you try and stabilise the unstable magic, but if you hold the line long enough Barney is able to render the site dormant.
Once you've funded the construction, Garth will hire a team to remodel and reconstruct the temple in Jassiran fashion. If you visit the site before the temple is constructed, you can see the progress being made. When the quest is finished, the site will have been transformed.