Priory of the Depths

The Priory of the Depths was a hidden temple dedicated to Umberlee, the Bitch Queen, located on the Sword Coast North.
==Location==
The Priory of the Depths was hidden within seaside caves, roughly halfway between the town of Port Llast and Luskan. Its unassuming entrance was decorated with seashells and strange aquatic plants. The cavern's maw was located at the base of a seaside cliff, pounded by angry waves.
==Interior==
Once someone entered the cavern, they were forced down a descending tunnel that plunged underwater. Those who needed to enter the temple were forced to swim underwater along the tunnel until they reached the pool at the temple entrance. The Priory of the Depths itself was a temple complex of carved stone walls, looming pillars, and streams and waterfalls of running seawater.
The entrance hall of the Priory of the Depths held a shrine to Umberlee – a set of five altars. Each held a symbol of the Bitch Queen, a stack of drowned skulls, a boat, a statuary of the goddess' avatar, a duo of crossed anchors, and another pile of skulls. A single placard was placed before the shrine. It read: "Those who would enter the Priory of the Depths will pay - first in gold, then in mind, third in blood, and fourth in song. Infidels are not tolerated in this temple. Believers will be tested and must first leave an offering equal to or greater than the weight of this statue of our Queen." The placard provided instructions on how to access the temple's chambers.
The first door in the altar room was opened once visitors left a tithe of gold – 2,000 gold pieces or 150 trade bars. Once the donation was presented, the gate opened into the first chamber of the temple – a U-shaped room of paintings, carvings, and pedestals – all depicting images associated with the Bitch Queen. A larger-than-life statue of Umberlee, an image of a beautiful woman with fins protruding out of her elbows, with hair of kelp, holding a trident, loomed over the chamber, located at its center. Those who sought to continue further into the temple had to converse with the stature. It came to life and asked a series of questions that, when answered correctly, opened the door at the back of the room. Umberlee asked in a menacing and melodic voice: "Who should fear the Queen of the Depths?" The answer was "everyone." The second question: "Death comes in many forms. What form does the Queen of the Depths covet most?" – "drowning." "What is Umberlee's divine symbol?" – "A blue-green wave curling left and right." "What domain does Umberlee rule?" – "seas and oceans." Once all questions were answered correctly, the goddess' statue directed the pilgrims to the Drowning chamber.
The Drowning chamber was a large lozenge room with four sets of stairs descending into its depth from each of the lozenge's sides. The chamber was always wet, with streams of water trickling from its ceiling and aquatic vegetation growing along its floors. The room had no furniture, just a collection of large columns that displayed skulls of drowning victims high above the chamber's floors. The entire chamber was sealed and flooded with a single push of a lever. The only way to continue past the chamber was to survive the Drowning ritual. Those who wanted to unseal the exits were to face the chamber's guardians, drowned ones, elder air and water elementals.
The last chamber of trials was a large square room decorated with a magical glowing mural on its floor. It depicted ornate tendrils of water swirling out from the center, each ending in a rounded inward curl. Each of the rounded curls emitted a note when stepped on, and the passage to the cathedral was hidden behind a certain melody that had relevance to the Church of Umberlee. Those who failed the task faced a magical punishment. Finally, past the usual chamber paid the cathedral – a long, high-ceilinged chamber with a massive statue of Umberlee at its furthest end.
==History==
In the late 14 century DR, the Priory of the Depths was headed by a blue-skinned woman only known as The Prioress. She was a member of the Kraken Society. In the , a fellow member of the Kraken Society, one of the High Captains of Luskan, saw an opportunity in Neverwinter's weekend state. The Prioress rose storms around the town of Port Llast, allowing Luskar ship, The Platinum Pride, to take over the settlement while blocking the Neverwintran fleet from approaching. However, Luskan decided to betray the Prioress and refused to pay her for the service. Scorned, the Prioress battered Luskan ships with Umberlee's storm, stopping more northern ships from docking and not allowing the forces to sail away until the gold that was due was paid – 6,000 gp.
Luskan sent an official to renegotiate the storms with the Prioress, but Khralver Irilingstar failed to survive the temple's trials. Soon after, Luskar enrolled the aid of a group of adventurers who worked with merchant Sa'Sani in dealing with the storms. It was unrecorded how the adventurers handled the situation. They could've paid the tithe to the Prioress and secured her aid in destroying The Platinum Pride and trowing the Luskar out of Port Llast.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Temples
Category:Dungeons
Category:Umberlant locations
Category:Locations on the Sea of Swords
Category:Locations on the Sword Coast North
Category:Locations in Northwest Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Year of Manuscripts