Cult of the Sun Lion
The Cult of the Sun Lion were in reality little more than bandits, but were feared out of all proportion for their limited numbers and geographic reach. While they had fewer than two dozen black-garbed low-level thugs as their main fighters, three magic users formed the core of the cult. They were led by an individual known as "The Shining Man", who seemed to literally glow with an inner light, and his lieutenants: a pair of twins who wore white robes and were never far from each other, although they spoke little in public.
The cult's symbol resembled a lion's paw, but with five pads instead of four, and the faint symbol of a burning sun in the centre of the palm. Members of the cult had tattoos on their chests of the cult symbol. One of the lieutenants carried a piece of rough cloth which bore the insignia as a spell component. The insignia was created in the shadows and negative space between the threads, and the spell was woven into the cloth itself until it was released in a burst of light and heat.
The cultists feared very little, as they were possessed of a deep fanaticism and devotion to the Shining Man. Part of this was due to the geas the Shining Man placed upon senior members of the cult. If they believed they had betrayed him, they died swiftly and horribly. The Shining Man would demonstrate his power by summoning a sun-lion, a creature resembling a large lion but with its head replaced by the head, torso and arms of a hugely muscled lion-like human, much like a leonine centaur. The sun-lion shone with an inner light, and had great powers related to light, flame and illusion. None of the cult realised that the lion was itself the Shining Man, using its power of illusion to appear human.
The cult usually kept to attacking caravans in the region, although witnesses had noticed that they often seemed to be searching for something. The thugs were willing to attack in the heart of Ka-Tepi, however, even with its vigilant town guard, when they discovered that one of the residents held a clue to the object the Shining Man was searching for. A large party of thugs, led by the two white-robed twins, attacked a Ka-Tepi marketplace in the middle of the day to abduct the halfling Apsia Fairkettle. She had refused to give them the map she owned, showing a secret hidden near the Sky-Sworn Mountains. They succeeded in carrying her off in the clutches of an ebon fly figurine of wondrous power, ridden by one of the twins, while the rest tried to abduct her grandchildren as leverage. They were foiled only by the swift efforts of a group of adventurers visiting the market. The heroes slew the thugs and captured the second twin, only to watch him die of the geas' effects. They were shocked to then see his corpse twist and shift into the form of a desert jackal within his robes.
The cult made its headquarters a few miles south of Waset outside a ravine in the Dragon's Tooth Mountains. The headquarters were a huge and sumptuous white silk pavilion, with ornate golden embroidery in patterns across it, including a huge rendition of the cult symbol visible from overhead. The interior was filled with expensive and tasteful furnishings, and was lit with sparkling light as if by a spinning mirror. Outside, enormous subterranean creatures patrolled beneath the sand in front of it. Behind the tent, a pair of pools straddled a pathway into a grove of grapevines.
It was only when the group of heroes cautiously approached and carefully studied the encampment that they realised the entire area was actually an enormous permanent illusion maintained by the Shining Man. The encampment was actually located in the ruins of an ancient temple complex dedicated to the dark god Set, with an altar before a statue of his sacred animal, the winged hooded cobra.
The adventurers fought their way through the complex, killing the evil cultists and the second twin, who had been attacking from the air aboard the ebon fly as he dropped fireball beads. He was also revealed to be a transmogrified jackal. Battling the Shining Man revealed his secret identity as the sun-lion itself, but the group were able to best him despite his last-ditch attempt to flee under cover of invisibility.
The altar contained a hidden compartment holding a perfect sphere of polished moonstone the size of two clenched fists. The group's wizard attempted to identify it, but was only able to discover that it was seemingly sentient and bound to the power of the moon.
Further explorations revealed a ravine behind the encampment, with more illusions within. The sand floor of the ravine was the territory of a Banded Sand Basilisk which was apparently the pet of the sun lion. After defeating the basilisk, at great risk to themselves, the heroes found a colossal sleeping purple worm - with the only illusion being that it was asleep, when in reality it had been turned to stone by the basilisk.
Within the petrified worm's gullet, the adventurers found the true lair of the sun lion, and his treasure - including his captive, Apsia Fairkettle. The treasure included a cubic chest decorated with a vine-like pattern which closer inspection revealed to be writhing serpents. Within the chest was a small fortune in Yuan-Ti Trade Coins.
Cult of the Sun Lion spellcloth by Geoff Hancock
Type
Religious, Cult
Controlled Territories
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