Temple of the Dragon Oracle

Temple of the Dragon Oracle was a temple within Mount Drakkor Rouge that was constructed by the Cult of the Dragon.

Exterior
The front of this temple was a plaza with four finely crafted statues of dragons that stood atop ornate stone pedestals. These statues were about tall,  in length, and weighed about. Each was worth roughly 5,000 gold pieces.

These sculptures represented the four primary types of chromatic dragons &mdash; red, black, blue, and green &mdash; and were each the color of the dragon they represented. They were enchanted by the cultists and together acted as a beacon, drawing dragons to the location. They then continued to exert their influence over them, making the dragons subconsciously unable to abandon the temple for long periods, as well as subconsciously evasive of the plaza itself. If any of them were destroyed or removed from their pedestal, this effect would end.

The archway into the temple was wide and centered in a heavily carved wall. This wall featured intricate carvings of dragons serving humans, framed by stone pilasters.

Interior
The opening entryway into this temple branched off into three paths, two of which did not have enough room for dragons to squeeze through. Straight north, the entryway opened to the temple's central cavern. The hallways to the left and right of the entryway lead to the living quarters of the Dragon Cult's witches or "high priestesses" and priests respectively.
 * Priest's Quarters: This room had a very high ceiling, about tall. It had murals depicting red, blue, green, yellow, and white dragons soaring high above the sky. The upper walls and ceilings had many niches for the Dragon Cultist's gargoyle minions to hide in. Long after the cult abandoned the temple this room had debris scattered about, especially along its walls and in its corners. Along the eastern wall of this living quarter was a hidden door, opening to a stairway that branched south and north. Taking one either back outside to the plaza or to "inner sanctum," the most rear of the lava caverns, respectively.


 * Oracle's Quarters: Like the previous room this one had a hidden door, but along its western wall. This led north to an elevated terrace filled with stone benches and arches, above the ground, overlooking the central cavern in witch the witches practiced their craft. Towards the end of the terrace (point "A" on the map) it sloped gently and had steps carved into it.


 * The Cavern of the Oracle: This central cavern was huge, large enough for a dragon, and had two openings. One was located in the ceiling and had a trapezoidal shape, while the other was a volcanic vent on the ground (point "13" on the map) . The area around the ceiling opening was tiled in such a way that it evoked dragon hide. The volcanic pit had a shaft that was deep, connecting to live lava, and had hot acrid smoke billowing out of it regularly.


 * Outer Chamber: To the far right of the Cavern of the Oracle was another (point "15" on the map), that like the terrace was  above the ground. It was filled with stalactites and stalagmites, many as large as temple columns, as well as animal bones.


 * Inner Sanctum: A climb within the outer chamber lead to yet another cavern, where iron chains ending in dragon-sized manacles were mounted on the wall. These manacles lacked any key and locked when closed.

History
Around the 10 century DR, members of the Cult of the Dragon came to the Thunder Peaks area. Eventually this cell of the Dragon Cult discovered the partially flooded crater of Mount Drakkor Rouge and the rocky island-like landmass in its center. The cell's witches believed that the sulphurous vapors within the lava caverns of that rocky landmass would help them to prophesize the future. So the cultists set to work constructing a long bridge over to it, paved a steep path out of the volcanic rock, and finally carved out the temple itself.

The Dragon Cultists would perform some sorcerous experiments while living in the temple, one of these resulting in a black dragon being transformed into a dragonwight.

Some time between the and the, some evil force overran the temple and forced the Dragon Cultists to abandon it. The gargoyles they had introduced to the area continued to live in Mount Drakkor Rouge, turning the abandoned temple into their lair. They primarily nested within the former quarters of the Dragon Cult's witches, though some lived in the former quarters of the Dragon Cult's priests.

In the 12 century DR, after the stone golem known as Awtawmatawn was destroyed its pieces were scattered. The golem's creator Valmous would go on to hide its head within the temple's volcanic pit, along with a stone wizard locked box containing the Tome of Shaping Secrets.

In 1358 DR, an adult red dragon known as Flashfire was drawn to the temple by its beacons. He settled within it, making the "inner sanctum" his lair. He went on to subjugate the gargoyles that laired within the temple, making them his minions. Flashfire then made the inhabitants of Volkumburgh, a village north of Mount Drakkor Rouge, aware of the temple and demanded a monthly tribute from them in the form of five sheep.

Flashfire eventually came to suspect that the temple was somehow exerting control over him, but little suspected that the statues were the ones responsible.

Inhabitants
Besides Flashfire and his gargoyle minions, the temple was home to a dragonwight who dwelled within its volcanic pit.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Shattered Statue