Hub 3: Griffin Chapel

In the temple dedicated to the winged lion, an act of faith is required of all who would span the boundaries of life and death.

Key puzzle switch
As usual, you appear in an alcove with a set of tripartite portals. The only way forward is to the northwest, where you will pass a barred alcove full of chaos serpents. Around the bend is the central area of the chapel. It is currently full of ettins, which you will have to mow down. If you break the pottery on or near the platform to your left, you will unleash afrits (except for one, see: Secrets). To the south, there is a chaos serpent encaged between two flights of stairs — you should quickly dispatch this enemy, since it can shoot through the grating. If the stairs are unbarred, the chaos serpents on the floor below will be able to take shots at you as well, although they cannot climb up. You may wish to take them out, preferably from a distance (if you head down below, see: Post Wolf Chapel). You may also want to deal with the hidden afrits now so that they cannot cause problems later.

Once the monsters are dealt with, you should take a look around. There are twin stairways to the south, and a ledge overlooking a chasm to the north. If this is your first visit, both of these passages will be barred. There are platforms in the southern corners, barred alcoves containing chaos serpents in the northern corners, and a central pillar. There are a number of icons depicting paired griffins throughout the chamber — only one of these has an amethyst set it in it, which is found on the western wall. To proceed, approach the amethyst-bearing griffin icon to the west and activate it. This will cause the wall to slide open, unveiling a hidden chamber guarded by chaos serpents, along with blue mana; most importantly, the key puzzle switch is inside. Pulling this will “solve one ninth of the puzzle on the monastery”, and open up the other two chapels.

The key puzzle switch also made changes on this level. Back in the central chamber, the two griffin walls on either side of the northern chasm have opened to reveal alcoves, each with an item and a pulley switch. To the east is a quartz flask; to the west is a torch. Each pulley switch will open the bars of the room it is adjacent to, unleashing the chaos serpents to the east and west respectively. You may wish to do this in order to gather the items in the rooms (there is also the risk of the chaos serpents shooting through the bars, although this is uncommon). After you pull each switch, you should quickly move out of the alcove to fight them in the open. If you did not dispatch the afrits hiding in the pottery, they might be released by an errant projectile. The western room contains discs of repulsion; the eastern room contains a chaos device and fléchettes.

If the northern and southern passages are barred, you should make your way back to the tripartite portals in the east. If you are following the conventional order, then both passages should be unbarred, allowing you to proceed onwards.

Post Wolf Chapel
The twin stairways to the south are now unbarred. The numerous chaos serpents on the lower floor cannot climb up, but they can lob their fireballs upward. You should be able to dispatch them from the top of the stairs. In the chamber below, the only open passage is a narrow ascending staircase to the west/right, which is guarded by afrits. The narrow staircase becomes a stepped bridge, leading to a platform in the midst of a chasm. There are afrits, ettins, and a psalter of dark bishops to deal with. It is recommended that you stay back and utilize the cover of the staircase to battle the enemies. Be aware that the dark bishop’s homing missiles tend to curve into the staircase, making matters more difficult. In addition, there is a grating on the northwestern wall behind the platform, behind which there may be afrits and a dark bishop sniping at you. Once the coast is clear, you can venture onto the platform, where you will find crystal vials, blue and green mana, and a quartz flask to replenish you. Most importantly, the act of stepping on the platform solves one ninth of the puzzle. For the optional area that can be accessed from here, see: Secrets.

Once you are finished with the platform area, you should head back down the stairs. In the lower chamber, alcoves are now open to the south and east, releasing enemies. Your main concern is the slaughtaurs, but there are also afrits and possibly an ettin. The eastern alcove contains fléchettes; the western alcove offers green mana and a falcon shield in a small pool. As soon as you wade into the pool, you should turn around, as the northern griffin wall opens to unleash another slaughtaur from behind. Inside the newly opened niche is a lift that brings you up to the chaos serpent cage, where you will pick up a quartz flask. On your way back up to the central chamber, you may want to pick up any remaining crystal vials on the twin stairs.

If the northern chasm is barred, then (presuming you pulled the key puzzle switch) you should head east to the tripartite portals and warp to the dragon chapel. If you are following the conventional order, the chasm should be unbarred, and you may continue.

Post Dragon Chapel
The northern chasm is now accessible. To get there, simply enter the main chamber, turn right at the central pillar, and advance out into the open. Be aware that as you step near the ledge, the central pillar will open to the south, releasing a chaos serpent; usually it will not attack right away, but you may want to deal with it before proceeding northwards. Beyond is a rounded ledge overlooking a large gulf, with other areas visible in the distance. At the very center of the ledge is an engraved, darkened arrow, pointing towards the chasm. Now you have come to the foreshadowed 'leap of faith' -- against all common sense, you must run or jump out across the chasm, making sure that you are perfectly aligned with the arrow. As you step out into the void, a magical bridge appears beneath you, forking across the chasm to other ledges. As long as you were lined up correctly, and stepped out boldly, you will be safe. Be aware that there is a slight gap between the bridge and the ledges, and it is possible to fall through if you inch across; as always, mind the gap. Far below in the molten depths, a swarm of afrits will awaken in response, and begin flying upwards. If you are on the bridge, they will fire at you from below, which can be dangerous once they get within range. The safest strategy is to get back onto the main ledge, wait for the afrits to rise above the bridge, and then shoot them down. Once the coast is clear, you may venture across the magical bridge. It is a good idea to make a temporary save while on solid ground, if you have not already done so -- the bridge is fairly safe to traverse, but mistakes happen.

Out on the bridge, the path forks to two different ledges. You should turn to the right/east, which brings you to an alcove guarded by a pair of ettins. There are flechettes to pick up, and most importantly a sun/moon switch set in the wall to the right/south; this will lift the bars on the other ledge, providing access. You will go back across the magical bridge towards the northwest ledge, where more ettins await. It is safest to fight the ettins from the bridge, where they cannot reach you -- all the more reason to first clear out the afrits. Once inside, there is green mana to pick up, and a teleporter to step into, which will take you to the next area far below.

You appear in a small stonework niche, separated from an adobe labyrinth by a narrow gap. It would be prudent to save here, since you are heading into a fun, yet dangerous situation. You are just above the lava at the bottom of the pitfall -- falling is not immediately fatal, but there is no known way back up from the lava (unless you expend a chaos device), so try to run/jump across safely. The adobe labyrinth is full of ettins and shifting walls, which can crush both you and enemies alike. You may want to wait for some of the ettins to get killed off, or lure them into the entryway. There is a moving column which regularly blocks the entrance, if it bars your path, just wait a moment until it moves.

Once inside, proceed with caution: the moving griffin-walls are numerous and collide frequently, and there is no safe place to stand within the main labyrinth. It helps to anticipate their movement and get behind them when possible; if you start taking crush damage, run for it. Keep in mind that the walls move at varying rates of speed, some inch along, while others are hasty. The object here is to find and activate four (4) skullface switches, hidden behind four griffin-walls. Unlike the rest, these griffin-walls do not move, and have amethysts set in them (just like the puzzle in the main chapel). They can be found in the corners of the labyrinth: two on the eastern sides of the northern and southern alcoves, two on either side of the western passage. Make sure not to venture into that passage until all four switches are activated, otherwise the ceiling at the far end will come down and crush you (and before that, there is a dangerous shifting wall within). Occasionally an ettin will get stuck on the corner of a wall, jamming the mechanism; if this blocks access to the switches, just kill the ettin to get things moving again (but as always, be wary). The small switch rooms are the only safe havens in the labyrinth. While inside, you may want to pull up your map to get a sense of the moving walls. There is blue mana in the labyrinth, and green mana in the switch-rooms. Once all four (4) skullface switches are activated, you may now enter the western passage. Beware of the initial griffin-wall guarding the area, as it moves quickly. Once past the wall, you will be safe (unless you missed a switch, in which case you will meet the trap ceiling). There is a cache of mana and plenty of crystal vials within, and at the far end, the puzzle-switch.

Once pulled, the griffin-walls will cease movement, and an adjacent teleporter opens up to the left/south. The teleporter brings you back to the ledge by the magic bridge. From there, it is simply a matter of heading back to the portals, mopping up any enemies along the way. If you are following the conventional order, you will have completed your first and only visit to the griffin chapel, and must revisit the other two to complete the puzzle. Next in order is the wolf chapel, the portal being to your right.

Secrets
On the southeastern platform in the main chamber, the round pot closest to the torch in the corner contains a combined mana container. All the other vases release afrits.

In the southwestern area with the platform and chasm, it is possible to reach the area behind the grating. First, look for the stained-glass window set in the chasm wall to the east, and shatter it with a projectile. It can be tricky to hit — it helps if you stand further north to face the window directly. Once you break the stained glass, a western wall slides open behind you, releasing an afrit. It is only a short jump from the platform to the newly-opened ledge. Once in the alleyway, there is another afrit to swat down, and a wall in front of you which comes down when activated. This leads to the area behind the grating, where you will be rewarded with crystal vials and a porkelator artifact.

Player spawns
This level contains eight spawn points:
 * 1) facing north. (thing 168)
 * 2) facing north. (thing 169)
 * 3) facing south. (thing 170)
 * 4) facing north. (thing 171)
 * 5) facing south. (thing 292)
 * 6) facing west. (thing 293)
 * 7) facing south. (thing 294)
 * 8) facing north. (thing 295)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: