The massive Temple of the Gargoyle squats imposingly
on the corner of Temple Street and Old South
Road,
leering at worshippers and passers-by. Inside its
dark
gates, broad steps lead up to the towering statue of
Arghrasmak,
God
of Gargoyles.
His worshippers claim this is the
long-dozing
living god himself. High
Priest
Laghar
oversees daily operations of the Temple during his deity’s
lengthy slumber and advises the lesser priests under his tutelage. They in turn lead the
20 adepts
and 38 acolytes who aspire to better serve
their stony master.
Whatever the claims of the temple's faithful the statue of Arghrasmak sits inert on his
stone nest
at the top of the steps, appearing to all as a stone
idol. The ritualistic (and incredibly painful) sacrifice
of three living, sentient beings on the steps of
the
temple is said to be enough to rouse the god from his rest but none can remember when this
ritual was last performed.
The
tithes
of the faithful are deposoted in a vault beneath the statue which the priests
claim can only be accessed when the god moves and is rumored to
contain
many thousands of gold coins.
There are many
gargoyle “statues”
that
decorate
the perimeter of the sanctuary; these at least are known to be alive
as periodically they are
dispatched into the city with the
priests
to quell noisome opposition to their worship
or to show infidels the error of their ways.
Worshippers claim they can hear the god slumbering
and an especially deep snore
can
empty the mind of a nearby being resulting in
a short case of amnesia which is taken as a sign of favour from the god.