Linguistic Dragon was able to free another two shrines in Ultima 6 recently:

…The locals [in Skara Brae] had mentioned Horance the wizard living on a small island just to the north, and Marney let me borrow the skiff at the docks to reach it. The man was an odd one, to be certain, speaking in nothing but rhyme, and his own thoughts on the murder were cryptic. He was, however, quite willing to offer me spells and reagents – though perusing his wares, I noted that his selection focused mainly on attack spells, and some part of me wondered what a man who already seemed a little out of sorts might do with such an array of magical firepower. Still, Horance seemed stable enough, and so I bought a few spells to bolster my own magical abilities, and then made for the Shrine of Spirituality. The Shrine itself had been left unguarded, which made using the rune and obtaining the moonstone that lay atop it a very simple matter. Once we had done so, we made for Britain once more, stocking up on ammunition at the fletcher’s before turning south to head for Trinsic.

…

Though it made for a pleasant time, there was work to do, and we continued on our way to Trinsic. Our search for the Rune of Honor took no time at all, as it sat on a pedestal in the middle of the city – the mayor told us proudly they never worried about guarding it, as who in Trinsic would be so dishonorable as to steal it? It was a relief that obtaining this Rune was so simple, compared to some of the tasks we had undertaken to reclaim previous runes. Likewise, the battle at the Shrine of Honor, further down the road, was much simpler than some of the others, as we only had one winged gargoyle to deal with, and several new spells to make use of on top of it. I must admit there was a certain satisfaction to be had from being the one dealing out the paralyze spells I had been on the receiving end of on numerous occasions. The fireball and magic arrow spells I had also purchased made short work of the wingless gargoyles even as Shamino and Dupre charged at them, and it wasn’t long before we claimed victory and the moonstone atop the Shrine.

And the Codex even merits a mention in Linguistic’s after-action thoughts:

I also broke my self-imposed rule of walking everywhere first before I use the Orb of the Moons to shortcut once today, using the Orb to get to the Shrine of Spirituality, partly because I’m not exactly sure how (or even if!) I can walk there first. My choice of this particular playstyle, however, coupled with Withstand the Fury Dragon’s remark over on the Codex about the expedience-slash-greater safety of using the Orb to gate in and back out of the guarded shrines did get me thinking. In my past attempts at Ultima VI, I’ve used the safer method, whereas here, my personal “restrictions” have made me play the game a little differently – and to an extent, the way the story unfolds has been different as well, especially as far as the Gargoyles are concerned. Between the opening of the game and the moment the player enters the Gargoyle lands, the best glimpses – and therefore, characterization – of the Gargoyles are via the fights with them at the Shrines. The way I’ve gone about it, they’re very much a presence and in some instances a very real threat. By choosing the frontal assault approach, the Gargoyles reveal themselves as formidable foes when one goes in against them unprepared, capable of potentially devastating magic when used appropriately, and strong in numbers. Though it can take them a while, they are in fact able to wear down a party in a prolonged fight (I’ve needed a fair few Great Heal spells to get through some of the bigger battles).

The more ‘stealthy’ approach, however, demonstrates the fact that for all their power on the front lines – it’s all smoke and mirrors. Whether it’s due to a lack of skill or a lack of resources or a lack of understanding their enemy or whatever, the Avatar – the chief antagonist in the Gargoyles’ own eyes – can simply slip in, nab the moonstone, and slip out, without so much as a scratch on him. Not only that, once the Avatar’s done so, they desert their post – apparently, they can’t afford to expend the manpower or the resources necessary to retake the Shrines for themselves. Through this method, the Gargoyles are barely a threat at all – they don’t strike out anywhere else through the course of the game, and are almost laughably easy to get past when using the Orb of the Moons. This way of playing the game paints the Gargoyles as more… desperate, than anything else, and what’s more, incapable of saving themselves, as the one man they need to take down continues to slip out of their grasp with little effort at all.

Both approaches reveal a different facet of the Gargoyles’ situation, and it even brings about a different sort of effect in the game’s later “reveal” in the Gargoyle lands, when the player learns the Gargoyles are less trying to destroy the Britannian way of live as much as trying to save their own. If the player’s taken the frontal assault approach, the reveal invites the player to consider whether it truly was necessary to fight their way through the Gargoyles they’ve encountered thus far, and as they pursue the path to a diplomatic resolution, amenable to both sides, it can lead to the player considering their actions at the Shrines in a different light – it’s subtle, but the invitation is there.

As usual, you should read the whole thing; Linguistic has written yet another lengthy and engaging missive.