Map11 - Deep Chill

## Deep Chill

Deep Chill is the first level of Hedon Bloodrite, taking the player to the deeper layers of the Underworld, way beneath the Iron Division's underground stronghold. It is here where Nithriel's portal takes her, and the Warlock uses the nearby Cult Town to prepare an ambush to stop the Halfblood from her hot pursuit.

The town is a perfect representation of structures from different ages coming together, with the Cultists having built their wattle and daub houses within the vestiges of their ancient ancestors, or even refurbishing and repurposing some of the ruins.

As it is located at the border between the wild caverns of the Underworld and the Demons' territory, the town found itself among the first targets of the Iron Division's campaign, although the player only gets to explore a side area of the whole settlement, with the main part being obstructed by a large gate to the west.

## Outskirts

### River Canyon

Although they don't benefit from the same open flows of water that allow for transportation and trade as the Overworld settlements do, the larger underground settlements are always build next to a substantial source of water.

One of the main landmarks of the Cult Town's outskirts is the river canyon. The height of the canyon suggests that the river flow is no longer as strong as it used to be during the times of the ancients, and upon exploring the rest of the outskirts, one may find a ruined aqueduct being cut off by the cave wall to its eastern end, suggesting that it would once divert water directly from the river.

### Ancient Shrine

A small shrine is encased in the cave wall bordering the underground lake in which the river spills into. It features an angelic statue carved by the worshipers of Air dating from the ages in which humans would worship the Elemental Gods. The statue overlooks a still functional magic fountain which bears a plaque written in demonic tongue. The text suggests that the Cult has been turning a blind eye to the fountain's heretical origin, making use of it to replenish their Initiates' mana reserves.

### Giant Columns

Nothing speaks to the antiquity of this place as strongly as the giant colonnade leading towards the town's entrance. When ignoring the cave's ever-shifting terrain and newer cultist buildings, it becomes obvious that the vestiges are built after a particular plan and logic. They are arranged in a cross composition, with the main temple being built to the west, a secondary one to the east and the palace to the north.

## Cult Town

### Entrance

A large open space precedes the Palace, still paved with the original ivory stone. It is mostly empty, except for a large pile of skeletons topped with the banner of the Iron Division, indicating that the bodies belong to the victims who fell to the orcish blades during the campaign.

### Alchemist's House

Being one of the first cultist establishments that can be seen when going eastwards, the Alchemist's House has been barred with stone walls after the inhabitants were revealed to be dabbling in forbidden practices. The building's inside also connects to a tailor's workshop and a cellar leading up to the River Canyon.

### Fountain Plaza

Crammed between the Palace and the more recently built Library and Alchemist's House lies a smaller plaza, with a non-functional fountain marking its center. The plaza precedes a seemingly important ancient building, but the access is barred off.

### Library

Definitely one of the most interesting parts of town, the Library may impress a visitor through it's ample size and shelves filled with the teachings of the Cult. Behind the lower bookshelves lies a secret passage that leads to the cellar of one of the houses overlooking the Fountain Plaza.

### Main Plaza

The main plaza is the first space someone will enter after taking the western path from the town's entrance. With the gallows in the middle, the plaza is surrounded by various buildings including a tavern and farmer's house, a large barn with stables, a few houses with the occasional market stall outside and the Cathedral's yard towards the south, which has been repurposed by the cultists into a graveyard.

### Farm

Close to the farmer's house and tavern, a small farm plot occupies the elevated space overlooking the way between the Palace and Main Plaza. With the crystals losing their energy following Nithriel's theft of the Disk, the crops are withering away, much like the rest of the surrounding cave vegetation. A group of renegade cultists planning to escape use the back of the farm's shed to bury an important key.

### Cathedral

One of the main buildings repurposed by the Cult to fit their new needs and beliefs, the Cathedral is part of the ancient ruins, having been most likely used as a temple by ancient humans. The temple has a main nave and a few side chambers, including a tomb and a large room with a basin that the cultists have turned into a storage space and impromptu torture chamber.

Some of the paths have been barred off with stone walls - a method used by the local cultists to punish heretics by sealing them away to starve to death. Needless to say, the angelic statues bordering the main nave has also been defaced and reclaimed in the name of chaos.

Nithriel is using the Cathedral's altar to store a demonic book which sustains unholy pentagrams that prevent intruders from advancing past certain gates.

### Market

On the opposite side of the Cathedral, across the Main Plaza lies the Market, bordered by empty stalls and various buildings such as a tavern to the west, the gatehouse and a few residences to the northwest and a barracks to the north. The market looks ravished and dirty, mirroring the state of decay in which the citizens had fallen into prior to being slain by the orcs.

### Upper Courtyard

The upper courtyard joins the market and the library, being situated just north of the central Palace. It is protected by a pair of grates operated from the western gatehouse and it also flanked by two barracks from which the local garrison can scramble to protect the entrance to the Cult Fortress on the northern edge.

### Palace

The district's central building is an ancient Palace equipped with a large main hall surrounded by arches and rooms arranged on the outer edge of the upper floor. The southern chambers are blocked off by stone walls, being accessible only from outside, and used as shelter by a few cultists who don't mind the draft piercing through the ruined side walls. The rest of the palace is used by the local Pit Lords to hold their feasts and hoard the town's gold and treasury.

### Fortress Entrance

To the north, at the opposite end of the Palace over the Upper Courtyard lies the barren stone wall of the Cult Fortress. The entrance is comprised of a small antechamber followed by a narrow corridor flanked by defensive ports and sealed off with grates. The Spirit Mistress rigs the corridor's floor, turning it into a trap that sends the player plummeting into the crypt of a nearby Mansion.