Shrine of Swords

The Shrine of Swords was a shrine to Tempus, the Lord of Battles, located off the High Road south of Neverwinter. It offered shelter and protection to those that entered. Priests and trusted friends of the church of Tempus who knew the passphrases could enter the subterranean chamber and take advantage of other services.

Location
The shrine was located in a heavily wooded glen a short walk east of the High Road. It was south of Neverwinter and far enough away that it remained almost completely undisturbed by locals gathering firewood.

Structure
This unusual metal building was crafted in the shape of a giant right-handed gauntlet. The structure was a mesh of spears and bars welded together and covered in old, rusty shields like shingles, giving the impression of scale armor. The entrance was through an arch made of the thumb and forefinger, and the other fingers and palm formed a dome over the altar. The wrist and forearm extended the space another twenty strides or so into the trees. The floor was made of smooth, well-fitted flagstones.

Interior
The main feature of the upper level was the altar that glowed magically with a permanent continual flame of white light (the "Light of the Wargod's Regard"). The base was made of swords flexed and woven together to form a lattice that supported a tableau of overlapping shields. The walls were dotted with many hooks for hanging donations (usually weapons) to the church, and lengths of wire (about 2 ft or 60 cm long) descended from the ceiling for hanging donations that didn't lend themselves to hooks. On the surface, the shrine appeared to be a normal stopping place for those who venerated the Wargod and used the altar for prayer, vigils, consecrating weapons, "honor woundings", and other devotions.

One of the flagstones concealed a trap door that opened onto a shaft with a single wooden pole affixed with crosspieces that formed a 20-foot (6.1-meter) ladder. This was the entrance to the sacred subterranean rooms where worshipers of Tempus and their guests could rest, heal, and perhaps re-equip. After passing the guardian swords (see below) and reaching the bottom of the ladder, visitors stepped out of the ladder alcove into a long room with at least seven spartan beds along the opposite wall. A lantern hung near the ladder alcove above a long flagstone counter that contained about two-dozen steel potion bottles.

At the end of the long room was a door to a round, high-ceiling room with a shallow well, a dipping bucket, and a helmed horror holding a greatsword suspended above by a sturdy chain. On the opposite side was another door that gave access to the armory. This room contained rack after rack of weapons (in peacetime, typically about 150 sharpened and well-oiled bladed weapons and pole arms, with few, if any, ranged weapons ) arranged by type and size.

Services
Each visitor to the Shrine of Swords was generally expected to donate a weapon in order to take advantage of the Lord of Battle's hospitality for up to 24 hours. All of the benefits of the shrine were freely granted to priests of Tempus in good standing.

The consecrated grounds of the shrine had a number of benefits for all visitors, regardless of their faith (unless, of course, Tempus decided otherwise): wounds healed naturally twice as fast; all healing magic applied to wounds caused by manufactured weapons (not teeth, claws or other natural weapons) was twice as effective; weapons could not be broken; weapons made no sound when they struck another object or when they were struck (e.g., when sparring or being repaired); and metals did not rust.

Other benefits required a sacrifice from non-believers, either a weapon or some blood shed in battle (a small vial of blood collected from a wound, or a bloodstained garment were acceptable). The sacrifice was placed on the altar and, if accepted, silently faded away. An accepted offering granted the supplicant the following: the person gained the effect of a ring of warmth for as long as they stayed on the shrine's holy ground; the altar removed poison or other taints from a weapon that touched it, provided the wielder willed it not to be a sacrifice (the altar rang as a deep gong at the instant of touch); and similarly, the altar created images that floated in the air depicting a weapon's history and capabilities. First, an image of the most recent occasion the weapon drew blood, then a depiction of an important or bloody usage. In addition, if the weapon was enchanted, had an alignment, or was sentient, the wielder was informed of all these properties and any recent changes.

If invited into the secret underground sanctuary, there were beds, a well with fresh water, and a number of potions available as needed. An armory was kept here, and the clergy of Tempus could escort a visitor to the armory and allow them to remove a new weapon if they had an appropriate need.

Defenses
The first line of defense for the Shrine of Swords was a squad of seven animated swords that hovered in various locations around and inside the structure. They were activated by any non-ritual bloodletting within the area consecrated to Tempus, and flew quickly and without error to engage the aggressors until they left the area or were slain. Priests of the Wargod within sight of the shrine could mentally command one or more of these swords to attack any target on holy ground (they could only pick the target, not direct a sword's individual actions). Five of these guardian swords were normally found above ground, suspended in mid-air, point down. The other two were set to float horizontally in narrow niches on either side of the ladder about half-way down. A passphrase was required to be spoken before descending the ladder, unless you were a priest of Tempus or in direct physical contact with one. Exiting the underground chamber did not require a passphrase unless the helmed horror had been triggered.

The helmed horror in the well chamber guarded the door to the armory. The enchantment of the horror was such that any weapon it held gained the power of wounding until it released or lost the weapon. A passphrase was needed before opening the door from the well side, or the horror dropped from its chain and engaged. Likewise, a different passphrase was required before any weapon taken from the armory was allowed to pass the horror. Priests of Tempus (or those in direct physical contact with one) were exempt from uttering the passphrases. Once activated, only clergy of Tempus could stop an attack and return the guardians to their posts.

History
The Shrine of Swords was established around the Year of the Dragon, 1352 DR, by several priests of the Wargod that wandered this area. It was expanded sometime in its first two decades and was regularly restocked with weapons and potions and cleared of donations.