Hub 3: Wolf Chapel

''The savagery and cunning of the wolf are worshipped here. To triumph here, one must match the ferocity of the enemies encountered.''

Key puzzle switch
You appear in a room with another set of tripartite portals, which lead to the other two chapels and the Seminary. Venturing out into the open area, you will face numerous centaurs and slaughtaurs. It is a good idea to dispatch the crowd on the plateau before taking on the next swarm in the lowlands ahead. Be aware that there is a staircase connecting the lowlands and plateau, and it is possible for the centaurs to climb up. You must also be wary of slaughtaur shots. By staying on the high ground, you should be able to take them out without difficulty. As you make your way westwards, you will come to another plateau and stairs, and of course more centaurs and slaughtaurs to fight. If you need replenishment, there are crystal vials next to the cliff-face to the northeast of the map. Blue mana containers can be found by the western cliff-face and strewn about.

Having cleared the open terrain of centaurs, it is time to explore and take stock. The map is dominated by a single large, squat, stone building — the Wolf chapel itself. It has barred windows which greet you with strange sights: an execution chamber, and dark bishops waiting quietly in a store-room. The stone doors are sealed shut for now (they must be opened by switches). To the southwest, on the inverted corner by the lowlands, there is a single wooden door by which you can enter. Inside is a small chamber with a bullhead switch, guarded by a few dark bishops. Pulling the switch opens the main entrance, located on the south wall, east of your current location. This leads into the chapels nave, which is heavily guarded by green chaos serpents. It is best to fight them from a distance, and step inside only after most of the crowd is dealt with. Within the nave, there are quartz flasks and combined mana containers to pick up. There are more sealed stone doors, but also a pair of wooden doors which can be opened on the eastern wall. The northeast wooden door leads to a pair of chambers guarded by slaughtaurs; the first holds blue mana, while the second has green mana, fléchettes, and another barred stone door. The southeast wooden door is where you must go. Within its chamber are dark bishops guarding a chain switch, the first puzzle switch on this level. Pull it, and you will be told that “one ninth of the puzzle has been solved on the monastery”. In addition, this switch partially unlocks the other two chapels, allowing you to progress further.

Assuming you have not been to the other chapels yet, this is all that can be done for now. You should make your way back east to the tripartite portals. The portal directly facing you leads to the Dragon Chapel, which is the next visit by convention.

After Dragon Chapel
Some new doors are now open on this level... So go into the pillar room. The central door in the eastern wall is open now (leads to a room with some monsters and fléchettes) and - which is more important - the western door opened there as well. Go there into a room with a big pit in the middle. Walk carefully around it - beware of the Dark Bishops that are going to fly out of the pit. When you kill them, open the door on the north. It leads into a circular (or rather square-shaped) corridor with ettins along the way. Describing doors as they come when you go from the pit room to the north:


 * 1 + 2 = big room with some goodies and Dark Bishops.
 * 3 + 4 = another room with Dark Bishops.
 * 5 = two small rooms.

At the end of the second is another switch, which would be the fourth part of the puzzle (almost half of them done!). When you’ll be going back, the pillars will lower and some Dark Bishops and ettins will attack you. After killing them, notice that the pillar in the north-eastern corner of the further room leads to another ettin and an Icon of the Defender. The most important thing - pulling the other switch - has been done but if you want to, you can still go to the room around which the square-shaped corridor goes. This room, however, contains only some monsters and a fiery altar (I found no way of using it whatsoever).

Now it’s time to go to the last chapel, the Griffin one...

After Griffin Chapel
Get back to the pillar room. The main door, the one to the north is now finally opened. Get there. If you want to gather some more goodies (they might be useful the upcoming fight is going to be tough...), go to the rooms to your right and left (east and west). But be careful! Upon entering them, some ettins are going to jump through the ceiling (I just love this event)! Then take the main corridor right in front of you. Again, ettins are going to break through all the painted windows in it. Kill them and get to the big room at the end. There kill all the monsters (still not THE big fight of the level...).

Now the platforms in that room form something like stairs. If you run along the ledge of the uppermost platform, you should be able to jump on the two pillars on each side of the room. First, it lets you take the goodies there but it also counts as the eigth part of the puzzle. When you’ll complete that, the lights will change, the symbol on the ground will rise and a lot of Dark Bishops are going to teleport in (the big fight). When you’ll have killed them, you can jump from the symbol into the niche with the Krater of Might (previously inaccessible). That completes this level and you can go back to the Dragon Chapel where the last part of the puzzle is waiting for you.

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

Trivia

 * The illuminated symbol on the northern chancel bears a resemblance to the 'Church rune' seen on Silent Refectory.
 * Wolves often appear in mythology and folklore as a metaphor for violence, cruelty, and danger, e.g. the "big bad wolf".
 * Indo-European Paganism associated the wolf with the warrior. In fact, there may have been initiation rituals in which warriors donned wolf-skins, which was believed to impart them with the strength and aggression of the wolf. This in turn may have given rise to the legend of the werewolf.