Pinnacle Gyre

The Pinnacle Gyre

A pre-Imperial fortress in which chosen individuals were laid to rest after death with elaborate preparation and ceremony.

A dark force inhabits the fortress that intermittently animates disturbed corpses. The cause of it is unknown; the custodian has described it as a by-product of "the nature of this place".

The Pinnacle Gyre is the last resting place of Ester.

Inhabitants

The custodian appears to be an ancient and wizened elf. His language use is somewhat sporadic and he occasionally mixes up plurals and pronouns.

Deep within the fortress lies the Oracle, who communicates through the custodian in some way.

Structure

Mountain Approach

The mountain path leading to the entrance was shorn away centuries ago by tectonic activity; a secondary but far more dangerous route remains accessible via a massive cavern below the Whitehollow mountains, inhabited by frozen wraiths and guarded by a stone golem.

Entry Chambers

On the entrance is carved this inscription: “A thousand swords to guard the way, a thousand torches to hold back the night, a thousand eyes to keep the watch.”

The entry room contains a large stone preparation table; the back wall has two massive doors, too heavy to open by any obvious physical means, and stairs up to the viewing room. Off to the side are the lesser burial chambers, filled with hundreds of sarcophagi.

Beyond the preparation room is the display chamber, lit with soft magical globes and mirrors. The display bed is an elaborate bed carved with vines and unknown flowers, and ringed by an ouroboros. Above it, separated by a plane of hardened crystal, is the viewing chamber, with additional doors that lead to the banquet hall. The banquet hall has two more large doors that open up to a huge chasm, with various openings lining the walls as it goes down. A thin ledge rings the abyss around to the courtyard.

Inner Chambers

The courtyard was once an elaborate mosaic, long since worn down and broken. The entry to the inner chamber is an archway surrounded by a bas-relief. It illustrates a battle of long ago: on one side, an elderly man, a dragon, and a woman wearing rags and chains and carrying a sword (visually recognizable as the Tatterdemalion); on the other, a bone-clad saurian shaman (identified as Kilpuuk the Destroyer), a huge armored humanoid, and a spear-wielding ogre.

Within is the hall, kept by the custodian. The hall is a vertical shaft, with a platform suspended by massive chains. The platform can descend to access the inner tombs or all the way down to the Oracle.