Cloister of St. Ramedar

The Cloister of St. Ramedar was Tethyr's most renowned prison and sanitarium for the mentally ill. It was run by the Ramedaran Brotherhood, a monastic order in the church of Ilmater, circa the mid–14 century DR.

Geography
The Cloister was located on the southern face of Mount Adiir, one of the highest peaks in the Starspire Mountain range, approximately northwest of Zazesspur. The entrance was about above a sheer drop to the Bay of Bormul. A gravel road wide enough for a single wagon left the Trade Way about north of Zazesspur and wound its way west and upward to the redoubt.

Government
The Ramedaran Brotherhood was chartered by the Crown to administer Tethyr's penal system and care for the mentally ill. In the, Reverend Father Benentine Boldoran was the Cloister's top administrator, leading a group of about 45 painbearers and over 65 monks of the order.

Trade
The Cloister was supported by contributions from Tethyr's cities and the nobility. The Brotherhood used this income primarily to import food for the inmates and caretakers at least once a tenday.

Defenses
The sheer cliff, known as "The Wall", on the southern face of Mount Adiir rose some from the water and at a distance appeared to be a smooth, rippling granite surface worn by sea and weather. From a much closer proximity, over one hundred small windows (little more than arrow slits) could be seen in multiple rows high above the water. Given the paucity of handholds, slick surface, and buffeting winds, the Wall was extremely difficult to climb. The windows of the cells were protected from entry or exit by a specially designed wardmist spell, cast and maintained by wizards in payment for the care of relatives and other favors granted by the Ramedaran Brotherhood.

The courtyard of the Cloister was enclosed by an stone wall with crenelations that added another  to its height. The wall was tapered, being wide at the bottom and  wide at the top. The ancient dwarves that built the wall fitted the stones with a magical mortar that gave the wall a bit more resistance to physical damage. The monks kept wooden ladders along the wall about every or so. The wall and gate towers were patrolled day and night, with 11–16 guards during daylight and an extra handful of men added at night. The Captain of the Watch carried a pair of eyes of the eagle.

The only gate was set in the wall between two small, round towers apart. It consisted of double doors made of ironwood behind a portcullis made of steel treated with everbright. The two towers were in diameter and  tall, joined at the third floor by a covered stone bridge. Each tower had three floors with wooden ceilings set almost apart, each with a trap door and a ladder that could be drawn up if necessary. (The walls showed evidence that the dwarves had built four stories with ceilings and used stone steps embedded in the walls.) On the roof of each tower was a small catapult.

Because of the remodeling to fit human proportions, the doors to the stone bridge connecting the towers opened above the floor of the third level and were accessed by a set of small wooden steps. Inside the passage was a winch for raising the portcullis, murder holes for shooting down at attackers, and a large cast iron pot.

The next line of defense was the entryway into the mountain itself, called the Adiir Gate. Two large statues of hooded monks flanked a corridor that led  into the rock and arrived at the first of two massive slabs of granite that slid into recesses on tracks, one to the north and the other to the south. The second slab was set beyond the first and when both were sealed they formed an airtight mantrap of about. The sliding doors were controlled by multiple winches in a complex arrangement inside the Cloister. These manual devices and the doors themselves were located inside a spherical dead-magic zone about in diameter. The winch rooms were guarded at all times by five priests with two more stationed outside the outer slab and another pair inside the inner slab. The leader of the winch guards was in possession of a dark green ellipsoid ioun stone that granted him clairaudience to monitor those seeking access into the Cloister proper. Beyond the second sliding slab was a corridor lined with arrow slits on both sides.

The lowest level of the mountain complex connected to sea caves that were regularly flooded and drained by the tides. Just above these caves were crypts where the Brotherhood interred those that died in the Cloister. The crypt level was guarded by a watchghost and an allied nyth.

Architecture
After entering the bailey through the front gate, the stables were to the immediate left. This mortared-stone L-shaped building with a tile roof was built by the Brotherhood, and the single-story structure had a tack room and stalls for a dozen animals. Two acolytes bunked in the tack room and they fed, watered, and groomed the animals stabled there. At any given time, the Brotherhood had up to six horses and two mules with the rest of the stalls available for visitor's steeds.

To the right of the front gate was a simple hostel for visitors. This one-story building was of similar construction as the stables, built by the monks on the foundation of an older building. The only door was on the south wall and it opened into a great room with a packed dirt floor. At the west end were two small chambers reserved for female visitors, and at the east end were two privies behind stall doors. The sparse sleeping accommodations were woven pallets: thirty or more in the great room and two each in the private rooms. A large brick fireplace provided warmth. When guests were present, two elderly monks were assigned to attend to their needs.

Between the hostel and the Adiir Gate was a smithy. This one-story structure was built by the Brotherhood around a double hearth and chimney used by the dwarves in centuries past. It was a rough, oval-shaped building covered in soot, with a slate roof that peaked at the chimney in the center. The one large room contained four anvils and the usual implements of a blacksmith workshop. During daylight hours, the ringing of hammers on steel was often heard. At night, the fires are banked and the place was deserted.

Between the stables and the Adiir Gate was the pride and joy of the Ramedaran Brotherhood—the Chapel of the Whipping Winds. Four halls with high ceilings and stained glass windows depicting moments in Saint Ramedar's life and expressions of his teachings met in the center beneath a large copper dome inlaid with silver filigree. The external walls were kept whitewashed, in great contrast to the other buildings in the courtyard. Bells softly chimed from the top of the dome, moved by the constant breezes from the sea. Each wing contained twenty rows of plain wooden pews that all faced the central altar under the dome. The altar was in the form of four pairs of hands, one pair reaching out toward each set of pews in a gesture of supplication, all carved from white marble. Above the altar, a sphere of pure mithral magically floated. Only true devotees of Ilmater could touch this holy relic—all others were shocked by a charge akin to a lightning bolt and knocked off their feet.

The Adiir Gate gave access to the fourth level of an eight-level complex carved out by the dwarves of High Shanatar, and enlarged and walled off into cubicles by later inhabitants. Beyond the Adiir Gate was the main dining hall with attached kitchen, pantries, and storage rooms. More than thirty monks could be fed at two long wooden tables with bench seating. The kitchen had a stone oven and several tables for preparing food. The pantries were chilled by some permanent magical means. A long corridor led west out of the dining area to the library. In this room, a handful of scribes copied sacred texts, studied scrolls, researched sermons, and kept record detailed accounts of the daily activity of the patients and inmates that resided in the Cloister. South of the dining and storage areas was a long east-west hallway lined with over a dozen small rooms that served as quarters for the monks. Each room had a small window (in The Wall), two bunk beds with straw pallets, two wash bowls with water pitchers, two torches in sconces for light, an the bound-hands symbol of the One Who Endures drawn on the wall in chalk. On the interior side of the long hall were a number of privies and baths.

Up the stairs at either end of the monk's hallway led to a similar hallway on level five with more quarters to the south and baths and privies to the north. A second, smaller kitchen with adjoining storage areas was through the first door on the right when approached from the east. Two large rooms to the west of the kitchen were used for administration of the Cloister and the Ramedaran Brotherhood, presided over by the Reverend Father. His private room was attached to the main office and was the same size as those shared by the monks and just as austere. Beneath his cot was a secret trap door that opened to a shaft that descended hundreds of feet through solid rock to a small cave amid a maze of looping passages connected to a huge sea cave that partially filled with water at each high tide.

Upstairs from the administration level were two floors that served as the sanitarium for "prisoners of the mind". The patients here had private or semiprivate rooms and were allowed to have amenities as long as they did not endanger the safety of the patients or staff. Most rooms had mats woven from local reeds that padded the floors and walls. The monks attended each patient daily and did what they could to alleviate suffering. Some patients even required supervision at all hours of the day and night.

The eighth and uppermost level was reserved for political prisoners that the Ramedaran Brotherhood agreed to house as part of their charter from the Crown. These quarters were still very austere but the residents were allowed more leeway with personal items, books, materials for various types of artwork, and musical instruments. Around 1370 DR, there were relatively few political detainees and the cells were occupied by one or two people at most.

Down the stairs at either end of the monk's hallway on level four were the two prison levels, each with a similar long hall with cells on the south side and baths, privies, a kitchen, and a dining area off the north side. Inmates were housed four to six to a cell and lived in a similar austere manner as their jailers. Violent inmates, or those that had recently attempted to escape, were typically restrained with chains, either to the wall or a piece of furniture. The monks gave the prisoners the option of having Ilmater's symbol on their wall.

At the bottom of the two staircases was a level of large rooms connected by wide hallways that the Brotherhood used as crypts. As of 1370 DR, there were not many occupants, and the few that were interred were segregated into three groups: brothers of the order, convicted criminals, and the mentally ill. The first priest that died in the new location was brought back as a watchghost, and a nyth volunteered to serve as a guardian as penance for its past evil deeds.

A secret trapdoor in the floor of one of the passageways between crypts opened into the ceiling of a large cavern with a connection to the sea. At high tide, the drop from the trapdoor to the water was almost and the water was over  deep in some places. At low tide, the chasm drained completely and revealed a half-dozen passages to other small caves that also flooded periodically. These smaller sea caves and connecting passages were part of a maze of twisting passages carved out over the eons by water. One such cave was connected to the vertical shaft that reached the quarters of the Reverend Father on level four. Father Benentine had a pet tressym, Timoni, that (known only to him) was actually a young bronze dragon named Cuprantimonitinam. The dragon used this cave as his lair.

History
The underground complex inside Mount Adiir was originally a seaport called Velmhold, built by the dwarves at the pinnacle of High Shanatar civilization, circa. Velmhold was part of the sub-kingdom of Sondarr and was occupied by Clan Gemcrypt for many centuries until a war with the elves of the Forest of Tethir nearly wiped them out.

After the dwarves abandoned Velmhold, it was claimed and occupied by a number of humanoid tribes over several centuries. This lasted until a red dragon named Aconflagblazen claimed the sea caves as her lair. She was eventually slain by a dragon hunter from Calimshan. As Calishite forces from the south pushed the elves of Tethir back, they claimed and occupied Velmhold in. The Emir's troops extensively renovated the complex, expanding the tunnels, shoring up the defenses, and renamed the redoubt Zazessovertan (translated roughly as "fortress overlooking Zazesspur"). Zazessovertan was used as a base from which Calishite forces could patrol the nearby Trade Way.

In the, barbarians from Tethyr staged a surprise attack on Zazessovertan and Zazesspur. The mountain fortress was quickly looted and then abandoned because the invaders believed the rumors that the redoubt was haunted by dwarven ghosts. Zazesspur was looted and then set ablaze. For almost three centuries the underground complex stood empty but for the occasional monster interloper, until it was again garrisoned by a small contingent of soldiers in the. They were there as a show of protection for the fishing villages that were being pestered by pirates. The garrison was removed in the, by King Amahl II, leaving the fortress empty once again.

Once Tethyr's borders had expanded sufficiently, the centrally located Zazessovertan became of little military importance and remained unused for many centuries with minor exceptions for minor crises. At last, in the, the Zazesspurian government gladly granted the Ramedaran Brotherhood use of the fortress as a sanitarium, cloister, and penitentiary. The monks began renovations to create living quarters for themselves and small secure cells separated by walls made of oak, suth wood, and ironwood for the patients and inmates. They renamed Zazessovertan to the Cloister of St. Ramedar and the official dedication took place in the, but construction continued for about another six years.

During the dark days of the Tethyrian Interregnum, there were many political prisoners held in the Cloister of St. Ramedar while they awaited trial. No less than seventeen members of the nobility were incarcerated during the period known as the Reclamation Wars and remained there until the Interregnum Tribunal was convened. After Queen Zaranda and King Haedrak III claimed the throne of Tethyr, the number of political prisoners held in the Cloister was greatly reduced, but many common criminals were still remanded to the Cloister to serve out their sentences.

Daily Life
The monks of the Brotherhood were required to maintain a regimen of eight hours of silence each day, comprised of six hours of sleep and one hour of prayer each dawn and evening. After morning prayers, they awakened the inmates and took them in shifts to breakfast. At least four times a day (even more often if needed to keep the groups down to a manageable size) groups of inmates were escorted under guard to the Chapel of the Whipping Winds for prayers, rituals of atonement, and a sermon meant to encourage reform. Participation was optional, but most prisoners chose to go if only to curry favor with their wardens. In between these scheduled times, inmates worked at various tasks that included cleaning fish, mending and laundering clothes, woodcarving, choir practice, and school lessons such as reading and writing. Trustees with the relevant skills were allowed to assist in copying and illuminating religious texts or work in the smithy. Political prisoners usually had more leeway in their choice of pursuits during their free time.

The library and the administrative offices were hives of activity during working hours as scribes recopied holy tomes, researched them for sermon material, and made annotations for other readers and future generations. The scribes also kept detailed records of the daily activities and progress of every inmate, prisoner, and patient. Acolytes as young as ten years of age scurried through the halls on various errands including fetching the daily reports. The administrative offices were presided over by the Reverend Father who badgered his assistants with kindly humor and with the aid of his somewhat irritating tressym tomcat Timoni.

Rumors & Legends
The ancient structure that the Cloister occupied was rife with rumors but most of them were forgotten over the centuries as the place was occupied, abandoned, conquered, infested, and looted many times over. In the era of the Ramedaran Brotherhood, it was said that the Chapel of the Whipping Winds was built using the blood of saints in its walls that prevented evil entities from causing harm inside the sacred space. The mithral ball that hovered over the central altar was rumored to transform into a powerful holy weapon in times of need.

Prisoners and patients at the Cloister also engendered stories bandied about the outside world. It was said that some of the occupants of the sanitarium ward were infected with lycanthropy and driven insane by their transformations.

Ghost rumors were also staple fare for gossipmongers and a favorite was the Krimmevol Ghost. After a murderous rampage through the streets of Ithmong, Lord Jyordan Krimmevol, his brother, his son, and two nephews were imprisoned in the Cloister in the awaiting the Interregnum Tribunal. All of them attempted to escape, but nephew Errilam managed to squeeze out of his cell window, avoid the wardmist, and spider climb down The Wall until he was dashed into the rocks by a huge wave. His body was never recovered and the legend was that his spirit remained to haunt the ancient redoubt. In this case, the truth was worse than the rumor. Errilam continued to exist as an inquisitor, hidden from detection by the will of Loviatar, the Maiden of Pain, and roamed about the sea caves beneath the Cloister occasionally infiltrating the upper levels in search of a victim.

Because the underground complex was built by the dwarves of High Shanatar, it was believed that the sea caves connected to the Underdark and Deep Shanatar, but as of 1370 DR, no passable connection had been found. Evidence for such a passage existed in the chronicles of Halgar "Deepwalker" Ankarkyn, a famed explorer in the 6 century DR. In his journals, he described his capture and daring escape from a group of kuo-toa that he claimed were from Sloopdilmonpolop, the legendary Underdark city deep beneath Firedrake Bay (just north of the Starspire Mountains that held the Cloister). As of 1370 DR, no one had verified his claim, but ancient court records did seem to indicate that Halgar was found by fisherfolk washed up on a beach and close to death near a sea cave in the Bay of Bormul. Some sages thought Halgar's journals had been lost, but the grand library in Candlekeep claimed to have the original volumes and the War Library in the Abbey of the Sword in Battledale was said to have a copy.

Notable Inhabitants
In addition to those mentioned above, one of the most famous prisoners incarcerated in the Cloister was Julian Gallowglass, son of the infamous Lord-Mayor Ernest Gallowglass. He was captured by Queen Zaranda and her followers in the, after setting himself up as a tyrant king of Ithmong, following in his father's footsteps from a decade earlier.