As detailed in the Guide to the Labyrinth, the Labyrinth is the “space between worlds.” Though most of the Labyrinth consists of tunnels, bridges, and stranger passageways, bottled cities and pocket dimensions lie within its twists.

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A shrine makes for an odd storefront, but the Shrine of Portals and Passages is not a standard place of worship. It appears no different than hundreds of other shrines lining the roads and byways of various kingdoms. However, the Shrine of Portals and Passages can appear in any location across the Labyrinth, molding its form and decoration to match the conditions and culture of the area. The lintel of the shrine always bears the symbol of a blue gateway.

Shrine of Portals and Passages

Type Temple Services
Size Roadside Shrine (bigger on the inside)
Location Varies (Anywhere in the Labyrinth)
Proprietor Martin Kristoph
Notable Staff Stathera (Minotaur custodian)
Typical Goods Magical transportation, gates, portals and leyline travel

The shrine is a stone building perhaps 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. The front is open with a covered alcove featuring niches for prayer to the right and left. Each prayer niche has a faded painting of the god, a male figure in a dark robe and wide hat. The face of the deity is blurred with age and neglect, but the position of the body and the angle of the head suggest the impression of a question. Below each painting is a stone bowl built into the brickwork of the shrine so that travelers can offer a bit of food or coin after their prayers are complete.

Past the alcove stands a wooden door painted in faded and chipped blue. With perhaps only 5 feet left of the structure, visitors might expect the door to lead to a small closet or storage space. They would be very mistaken. However, the door only opens for the shrine’s keeper or its custodian.

The current keeper is Martin Kristoph, an older human man with a well-developed stomach. A former adventurer, Martin bears the signs of dungeon delves and desperate battles in the scars on his arms and face, and his two missing fingers. Martin first encounters travelers as he lazily sweeps the front of the shrine. This lets him see trouble coming quickly. He offers visitors the use of the prayer niches for anything they care to donate (or for free if they don’t). If asked about his deity, Martin is evasive, saying that since gods come in all shapes and sizes, it hardly matters what bit of picture or statue you pray in front of. He seems sincere, but a DC 20 WIS (Insight) reveals he’s dodging the question.

 In case of trouble, Martin calls for the custodian to step out of the blue door. The current custodian is Stathera, a powerful minotaur. She long ago pledged herself to guard and protect both keeper and shrine and will use her horns and axe to keep that oath.

If Martin judges the traveler to need the services of his god, he offers the possibility of opening a magical portal to ease the journey. If pressed, he confesses that he is a retired hierophant with both arcane and divine powers of some note. While this is technically false, he can temporarily become an avatar of his god. As such, he can open a portal to anywhere, on the current plane or elsewhere in the Labyrinth.

When he does so, Martin’s eyes fill to become a field of stars and he gains a knee-bending divine presence. In avatar form, he opens a shimmering gateway and, in a distant echoing voice, says “Door?” Travelers can step into the portal, crossing vast distances in an instant. However, the avatar sometimes sends travelers to where they need to go, rather than where they want to go.

Before assuming the form of his god, Martin does set a price for his portal service. The cost depends on the destination the travelers indicate, any not always in coin. For ease of gameplay, the prices below are listed by magic item rarity.

• On the same continent: 1 gp per mile.
• On the same world: An uncommon magic item.
• A different world in the same plane: A rare magic item.
• A different plane: A very rare magic item.
• A forbidden or shielded plane: A legendary magic item or an artifact.

Martin also buys, sells, and trades magic items with those who earn his favor. With the entire Labyrinth at his disposal, his “supply” is theoretically infinite, though it might take him a while to track down a specific item. Together, Martin and Stathera also dabble in creating their own items.

Secret. The blue door opens into a 40-foot-diameter, circular marble temple with columns carved in beautiful but archaic styles reaching up 80 feet to a domed ceiling. Two rows of circular stone benches partially encircle a 50-foot-tall statue in the center of the chamber. The features of the statue shift each time a viewer sees it. One moment is it an old, hunched man with a long white beard, the next is it is a powerful looking youth with a cocky grin, then a dignified lord in ceremonial garb.

This extradimensional chamber is the last surviving temple to a faded godling once known across the Labyrinth. Among other identities, he was once worshiped as Karakhune, the god of portals. Today, if he is spoken of at all, he is called Hune the Doorlord.

A cleric who pledges themselves to Hune’s service in this temple can learn the path of the portal domain (see Tome of Heroes).

New Magic Item: Portal Orb

Martin and Stathera are willing to part with these trinkets for a noble cause. And the right amount of gold.

PORTAL ORB

Wondrous Item, Rarity Varies                             Price Varies

This small, walnut-sized crystal sphere has a golden glow deep within its cerulean matrix. While holding the sphere in one hand, you can activate it as a bonus action by uttering the command word, “Door”. When you do so, the sphere creates a small magical portal, no bigger than your torso, to a space you can see within the item’s range. You can take an action during your turn through this portal, as though you were at the location where the portal opens onto. Afterward, the portal closes and the sphere crumbles to dust.

For example, you could activate a lesser portal orb and make a weapon attack through it. Treat ranged attacks or spells cast using the portal as if they originated at the destination portal. The portals allow only the speaker of the command word to take an action through them. The range, type of action allowed, and price vary according to the type of bauble.

Orb Type	Range	Actions Allowed	Rarity	Cost
Least	60 feet	Ability checks, such as DEX (Sleight of Hand)	Uncommon	500 gp
Lesser	90 feet	Melee or ranged weapon attacks	Rare	2,625 gp
Greater	120 feet	Any	Very Rare	7,000 gp

Tales from the Shadows is now available on D&D Beyond!
These adventures for levels 1–8 are tied to the darkened world of the Shadow Realm.
Available starting today, 14 adventures are now playable in the virtual tabletop of D&D Beyond virtual tabletop!

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