Shrine of the Claw

The Shrine of the Claw was constructed by a sect of kuo-toa in the Lake of Shadows who revered the fiendish kraken that laired there.

Location
Located in the north-western end of the Lake of Shadows, the Shrine of the Claw stood upon a large rocky island.

Exterior
The Shrine of the Claw was a cube-shaped building made from blocks of granite and windows peppered the sides. A smaller cube adjoined the larger building, which was entered via a stone door flanked by a pair of kuo-toa statues. The entirety of the building was carved with fish, squid, and humanoid fish-folk images.

Interior
Beyond the stone door that served as the entrance, a foyer greeted visitors with a statue of the Claw, the leader of the kuo-toa in the shrine.

A few inner rooms housed and supported the inhabitants of the shrine. These included quarters for the templars that protected the shrine, a mosaic-tiled hall, and a gallery overlooking the shrine's sacred pool. .

The central and arguably most important area of the shrine was the sacred pool. This area was decorated with an elaborate mosaic that detailed the exploits of the Claw and the kuo-toan battles against nearby stone giants, along with a kraken. The mosaic wrapped around a dimly glowing pool of blues and greens that occupied roughly half of the room's area. The pool itself was faintly magical and any water drawn from the pool operated as a potion of cure serious wounds for up to an hour.

Beneath the surface structure was a cavern known as the Cave of the Claw, which was entirely submerged. Here the leader of the shrine, the Claw, resided and was faintly illuminated by natural bioluminescent algae of blues, greens, and purples. Much of the donated wealth of the Shrine of the Claw was kept here in sealed urns. Additionally, the cave had a section of the wall that radiated transmutation magic and would move aside if the correct passphrase was intoned. This opening was large enough that even a creature as large a kraken could enter.

Services
The Shrine of the Claw was a place for the kuo-toa to pay their respects to the fiendish kraken that laired in the Lake of Shadows. At the sacred pool cultists could offer sacrifices to the kraken and in return could drink of the magical healing waters.

Defenses
The first stumbling block for any would-be attacker was the Shrine of the Claw's location. Only those willing to swim across the ice-cold waters of the Lake of Shadows, or with the capability to sail or fly to the island could even reach the shrine.

The entrance was warded with a potent glyph of warding that would bestow a debilitating curse. Each of the denizens were willing and able to defend their temple by working together.

Lastly, if the deepest sanctums were breached, then the kuo-toa would call upon their mighty kraken ruler to aid them by opening the lower caverns.

History
Built by a kuo-toan cult who revered a fiendish kraken that inhabited the Lake of Shadows, the Shrine of the Claw's construction was overseen by nearby stone giants.

After the construction of the Shrine of the Claw, under the guidance of the kraken in the lake, the kuo-toa began attacking the local stone giant population. Eventually, after much warfare, the stone giants and kuo-toa came to a grudging truce.

By 1372 DR, the kuo-toa and the stone giants had an unsteady truce, especially as the Claw had begun inciting the kuo-toa against the giants once more. During the Silence of Lolth, drow refugees from Maerimydra encountered the kuo-toa and the kraken near the Shrine of the Claw, losing half-a-dozen of their number. The kuo-toa had even tied a drow lord from House Chûmavh to a sacrificial rock for their kraken master.

Notable Inhabitants

 * The Claw