Places of Interest
Court of Roses
The Court of Roses in entered through a Rath hidden in an alley in Northern London. The Rath is always open thanks to a judicious combination of Chronos and Wayfare. Once in the Near Dreaming, the Court is a huge castle with a complex and somewhat rambling assortment of towers and battlements, seeming to shine brightly. Inside the castle is the Royal Library, a Great Hall for feasting, a large kitchen, the throne room, the presence room, the private quarters for courtiers, servants and others, the offices of the various royal officials, an armory, the Bes Din Forge, a lounge reserved for the nobility, rooms given over for the use of each of the five main Houses, smaller dining and breakfast rooms, an observatory, a ballroom, a barracks and all the more mundane sorts of storage rooms even a Freehold has to have. The layout of the castle sometimes seems to shift and there are said to be a great many secret passageways known only to the Sluagh. The courtyard, in particular, is famed for a large fountain in the form of a gryphon which spews chocolate milk instead of water. Despite being outdoors and frequently used, the chocolate milk is always pure. In addition to Kinain and Kithain servants, the castle has some unusual denizens. The paintings on the walls are able to move about with a life of their own as are many of the household objects. The suits of armor rarely move but all are, in fact, animate chimera and will move swiftly to keep the peace, forming an even more protective guard than the guard.
The Freehold itself extends beyond the walls of the castle itself and thus it is safe to go outside as long as one does not leave the grounds by any other path than the Trod which runs from the castle gates into the Dreaming. The grounds consist of sloping lawns, flowerbeds, vegetable gardens, a large lake, a forest, training grounds, lists and greenhouses. There is also a stable, a kennel and a mews as well as a menagerie for more exotic creatures.
Billy Blind’s
Billy Blind’s is a Freehold which takes the form of a pub that seems closed down to mortals but lively to Kithain. It’s a cozy place with a warm Balefire, hearty food and drink always available and solid wooden furniture old enough to have real character. There’s often someone behind the bar but, when there isn’t, Kithain are welcome to help themselves. The pub, however, is just the front of the hold.
A doorway leads to into the back. Here is a gym/training room, the offices of Freehold officials and four serviceable spare bedrooms. They are about the quality of the rooms one might find in a cozy but not especially fancy bed and breakfast. However, they are known to be the equal of the Freeholder’s own room. At the end of this hall is a set of stairs which leads down to a set of nine rooms, one given over to each of the eight main Commoner Kiths. The Boggans have a cozy room to sit and work in private. Eshu have a room full of exotic tapestries and scrolls where they might sit and tell stories. Nockers have a small workshop, although nothing like the forge they have at Court. Pooka have a warm room for playing, filled with plants and toys and open for enjoyment in both normal and animal forms. Redcaps have, well, a little place for butchering although only non-sentient creatures are taken there. Satyrs have a room well-stocked with drink and instruments. Sluagh have a musty, quiet room with dusty old tomes and Trolls have a sparring room. There is another door at the end of this hall but it is generally locked. It leads to the private quarters of the holds permanently residents, much the same as the guest rooms but only the occupants have a key.
|
