Hall of Mystery

The Hall of Mystery was a heavily warded Mystran temple constructed in Ravens Bluff after the previous temple had been destroyed.

Location
The temple was located at the southeast corner of Thayverdasz Way and Quevver Street in the Skymbles neighborhood of the Uptown District.

Structure
The temple was a series of five fortified buildings, with each structure primarily made of blue granite, connected to each other in an L-shape, wide, and 170 feet long. The main entrance was located in the crook of the L. Each building was high and topped with crenelations. There were also two floors below ground, stretching deep enough to be located just above the water table. Outside, there was an area reserved for spellcasting, a stable and kennels that could accommodate magical creatures, as well as a topiary garden that included a hedge maze.

Low-energy lightning bolts crawled randomly along the walls&mdash;a ward designed to paralyze any would-be intruders, but also serving to draw notice to the building.

Interior
There were four entrances into the temple; the main entrance led directly into the temple's sanctuary where the altar to Mystra was located. Directly above the altar was a vaulted ceiling that stretched all the way to the roof, and behind it was a glassteel wall emblazoned with Mystra's holy symbol. At the southeast corner of the building was the entrance to the kitchen, which adjoined a dining room. Between the dining room and the sanctuary was an office space (that also had a side entrance to the temple), three private meeting rooms, and two sets of stairs, with one leading upstairs and the other leading down to the basement. A second back entrance led into the temple's reading room, which was sandwiched between the temple's library (which also contained a spiral staircase that led up to the top floor) and a magical museum, where items and magical effects were cataloged.

The floor above held an alchemy lab above the library; a supply room full of spell components above the reading room; a classroom above the office spaces; and a larger meeting room above the kitchen and dining room.

On the third floor were the private rooms of the temple's high priest and his Azuthan advisor, as well as six rooms reserved for senior priests, seven guest rooms, and two small rooms set aside for bathing. A secret room next to the staircases had been made completely scry-proof.

On the top floor were the private rooms of the temple's seneschal and seer; two more rooms reserved for senior priests, one of which was a guest room; and a dormitory for the junior priests, as well as more rooms for bathing.

There were garderobes on every floor.

Atmosphere
Since Ravens Bluff also boasted a Diviners Guild, Wizards Guild, and the city's Ministry of Art, the staff of The Hall of Mystery had more time on their hands than most Mystran temples, allowing them to have more fun than was typically expected of priests of The Lady of Mysteries.

Services
The temple's priests offered free moral support and guidance to the laity. The services that they charged for, however, were aiding magic-users in the research of spells and magical effects, as well as the identification of magical items. They catalogued all that they learned, storing that knowledge in their museum and library for future reference. One of their priestesses was also a prophet who had supernatural insight into magical dangers.

Activities
The Hall of Mystery sponsored a knightly order, the Keepers of the Mystic Flame, which was dedicated to protecting Ravens Bluff from magical threats and foreign organizations. Public demonstrations of simple magic were organized by the temple to try and identify children with an aptitude for wizardry as early as possible.

Defenses
The Weave was particularly strong where The Hall of Mystery was located, fueling an impressive number of magical wards and other defenses. As well as the defensive lightning that crawled over the temple walls, the complex was entirely warded against teleportation, no matter the magic used in the attempt, and anything flying over the airspace above the temple would have any magical effects on it dispelled. The library, underground archives, and roof were all warded to snuff out any fires or fire-based magic, and many other magical glyphs, guards and wards protected the temple grounds. Helmed horrors and a wide variety of incorruptible golems guarded the building's doors and halls, and the priests and Keepers of the Mystic Flame could all be relied upon to defend the complex. As well, any attack spell cast by a Mystran priest within the building dealt the maximum possible damage. Any defender wounded or enspelled in the temple could be taken to the basement, where a pit of blue magical slime would heal them of all injuries, remove any curses, and dispel most malign magics within an hour's time. The thick granite walls, specially engineered for defense, could also withstand sustained physical attack.

History
The Hall of Mystery was the second temple to bear the name in Ravens Bluff, the first having been destroyed by tanar'ri. To avoid such happening again, it was constructed primarily with defense in mind.

Some of the more overt activities of the Keepers of the Mystic Flame had drawn negative attention to the temple, but the diplomatic high priest D'Marke skillfully talked his way out of any repercussions from the city.

More troubling was the dispute that arose in the when a flying machine built by the priests of Gond at The Turning Wheel ran afoul of the temple's wards and crashed, damaging The Hall of Mystery, for which the Gondar were obliged to pay damages. This in turn led to a property rights issue with the city as to whether the Mystrans owned the airspace above their temple, and a souring of the relationship between the two temple's clergies.

Rumors & Legends
There were persistent rumors that the underground levels of The Hall of Mystery were filled with exotic magic items, but also tales that all who attempted to confirm those rumors suffered ill fates.

Inhabitants

 * Lord of Mystery Chester D'Marke: high priest
 * Lady Pamela Anne Legere: noblewoman and prophet
 * Derry Hlamae: temple seneschal
 * Advisor Monique D'Starre: Azuthan advisor to the high priest