Alaise Manor House, first floor
FIRST FLOOR
Main Entryway & Foyer (1): Approximately 30’ wide by 50’ deep: The two main doors into the residence are each 6 foot wide. Made with iron bound oak, they are surfaced with the same marble material as the rest of the building, giving the exterior a uniform look. Eight foot tall stained glass windows are set to either side of the main doors, both of which are set with images of the legendary dragon creatures purported to have roamed the mountains hundreds and thousands of years ago. The ceiling of the foyer is actually the ceiling of the house, as the room is fully open to the 2nd floor. Also, a large section of the ceiling is made from the stained glass, just like the windows, which allows the sun to cast kaleidoscopic images on the floor as it passes overhead. Twin 8 foot wide stairways are set in the western end of the room, leading to the 2nd floor, flanked with balustrades made from the same black marble of the rest of the house and covered with a thick blue carpet. Two sets of double doors are set in the southern wall while a 10 foot wide arched doorway in the northern wall leads to the Main Parlor. The walls of the room are unadorned by paintings or decoration, except for a 10” X 10” silver plaque set in the northern wall with an inscription in a long forgotten language.
Main Parlor (2): The main parlor on the first floor is 62’ X 30’. There are two sets of double doors in the western wall. The first set opens into leading into a ladies sitting room (Room 10) while the 2nd set opens into the hallway surrounding the Sand and water garden (Room 4). E Main Parlor is set with several divans, chairs and ottomans, allowing for those present to relax if they would like. Set in the easern wall is an extended window setting, with a large clear crystal glass window set there. Several paintings of long dead nobles decorate the walls and each corner has a large floor vase, all hand made by the same artist, who’s initials are etched in the base inside the vase.
Mirror Library/Garden (3): Nobody is really certain of the purpose of this 20’ X 28’ room, other than the fact that it appears to be a very large, very delicate, very pretty distraction. The room extends the full height of the house, a full 24 feet. Every inch of the walls, floor and ceiling are covered with mirrors and crystals, set flat as well as in an almost random series of depressions and nodules. The meaning of these becomes obvious when the room is in use. Cunningly carved panels are set into the exterior of the house. A series of windlasses and gear systems allow anyone in the room to open these slits to varying degrees, allowing in the rays of the rising sun. Using another set of levers, any person in the room can have the light pass through a series of clear or colored crystals, reflecting and refracting those rays to bounce around the room, bouncing the rays off the aforementioned cavities and protrusions. The kaleidoscopic effect is stunning to say the least, with an almost hypnotic aftereffect. The main windlass set in the doorframe along with the rest of them, is a winding gear of sorts. When fully wound and the tension behind it released, a clockwork system will open the slits and move the crystals through their full rotation, allowing for a spectacular 20 minute light show.
Sand and Water Garden (4): This 50’ Wide by 38’ deep room is a large series of interconnecting pools and waterways surrounded by different colored sands from around the world. The northern section is filled with a type of very fine but granular black sand, supposedly from the lands of Darka to the north. The western section is filled with sands taken from around the capital of Talerium. The southern section is filled with pearly white sand taken from the beaches of Abington to the south while the eastern section is filled with sands from Minas Ithil to the east. The ponds and waterways are lined with intricately carved pieces of the same black marble that is so prevalent throughout the house. The small tiles are so tightly fitted together that they do not allow for a single drop of water to escape. Small stepping stones wind their way through all four sections, allowing a person to traverse from one side of the room to another without touching the finely sculpted patters in the sand. Open doorways are located in the eastern and northern section while doors are in the western and southern walls.
Training room (5): Originally designed as a massage and relaxation chamber, Samuel has recently converted this 32’ X 24’ room into a weapons training center. Heavy padding lines the walls, with movable mats to pull out onto the floor. These heavy mats are usually stacked in one of the corners. The large size of the room allows for training with everything from swords and daggers for close quarter fighting to pole arms, although given the fact that the ceiling is only 14 feet tall, it is somewhat limited for that purpose. The length of the room even allows for training with throwing daggers. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room for training with missile weapons. Changing Rooms (5A) are set in the eastern wall, with a door leading to the Steam Room (6).
Steam Room (6): Stone benches are present here to allow people to rest and enjoy the comfort of the room. A stone fireplace, with chimney, set in the back wall allows for the heating of metal bricks that can then be taken out using a set of tongs and stacked in a chimney like structure in the center of the room. This structure has a swivel cross bar that overhangs the place where the bricks are stacked. A ceramic jug can be filled with water that will then slowly leak out of deftly made slits in the jug, causing a thin, but steady stream of water to drip onto the red hot bricks, allowing for a nice, thick steam to fill the room. The doors in the southern wall lead to the Cold Bath Room (7).
Cold Bath Room (7): This 18’ X 18’ sized room has a large cold water pool in one corner (9’ X 9’ X 4’ deep). This pool is used for cold water soaks after steaming and has a wide bench around the edge of it, at a depth of 2 feet. This water is fed into this room by a fresh stream from a sub-strata aquifer that was discovered here when the building was being constructed. The flow from this aquifer is regulated by two foot square marble drop-gates. This allows fresh water to flow in through one and out through the other. Also, there is a pump jack in the corner that can be used to siphon water out of the pool and into one of the three large bath tubs here. There is another stove/furnace here that can be used to heat those same metal ingots as in the steam room. Those ingots can then be placed into the bathtubs to heat the water there to the temperature desired.
Kitchen (8): This 20’ X 28 foot room is a large, well stocked, well maintained kitchen. Several large ovens are situated in the back wall, actually cut into the cliff side that the house was built flush against. Cunningly constructed chimneys carry the smoke up through the mountainside to where they open out into the open air approximately 500 feet above where the house is. There is even a large open fireplace in here for use in roasting meats or boiling larger cauldrons of soup, stew or water. Another pump jack in the corner allows for the drawing of fresh water, while several drains allow for the disposal of waste liquids into an even deeper aquifer (down 150 feet). A series of dumbwaiters allow for the easy movement of food and supplies from the basement to the kitchen and from the kitchen to the 2nd floor, right by where the circular staircase (q) is.
Buffet/Mixing Room (9): This 24’ X 30’ room is decorated in the same fashion as the Formal Ballroom (11). Murals adorn all four walls, depicting open fields and woodland scenery. Blackwood buffet tables and cabinets are here, for the display of food at formal occasions. A large table in the center is dominated by a 5 foot wide lazy susan. This room is only ever used of there is a formal occasion or ball being held in the Formal Ballroom (11).
Store Room (10): This 20’ X 14’ foot room is filled with spare furniture to be used in the Main Parlor, Sun Parlor and other rooms as needed. While the chairs are upholstered in a plush royal blue or silver colored cloth, all wooden furniture has been constructed from Blackwood. There are double doors in the
Formal Ballroom (11): This 76’ wide X 52’ Deep Room is exclusively used for formal occasions, such as balls, state dinners and commemorations. Otherwise, all the furniture in here is kept covered. Six large chandeliers hang from the ceiling here, each constructed using oil lamps rather than beeswax candles. There are also large floor to ceiling mirrors, 2 on each of the 4 walls. Double doors are set in the northern, southern and western walls while arched open doorways are in the Northern, Western and Eastern walls, all of which open up onto the main first floor hallway.
Formal Dining Room (12): This 20’ X 58’ room is dominated by a massive T shaped Blackwood dining table, large enough to seat over 60 people. This dining room is only used on formal dining occasions, but that are small enough to be kept out of the Main Ballroom (11). Private family affairs, local dinners with the important business men and civic leaders, or even affairs regarding other region lords and revered holy men were held here. Since Samuel had taken over the residence, this room has been unused. This room hadn’t even been used for his inauguration ceremony. The back wall, though cut into the mountain face, has been surfaced with the same black marble as the rest of the house. This room is lit by silver and glass oil lamps set every 10 feet along the walls. In addition to this, there are candelabras which are laid out on the table.
Sunroom (13): A 28' X 18' sitting room that is primarily dominated by a massive stained glass window, of the mountains and the sun rising over them. Plush chairs and two large sofas allow for easy comfort, with a well stocked liquor cabinet in one corner. There are 3 paintings here; one of a Lord, standing in the main foyer with a large hunting dog, the 2nd of a lady seated on a divan, hands folded demurely in front of her, and the third of a castle. None of the paintings have any identification as to where they were from or who or what they depicted.
Blue Room (14): This room is constructed from the same materials as everything else. However, the Blackwood that had been used for the cabinets and furniture here has an almost bluish tint to it. This room is more for ornamentation than anything else. There are several display cabinets, all of which have exquisite pieces of china and hand blown glassware on display. Arched doorways are in the eastern and southern walls.
Household Chapel (15): This 40 foot by 28 foot room was long used by the residing family for household worship services. Blackwood benches are set in two columns, with a 6 foot wide walkway running from West to east up to the raised section in the eastern end. There is also a smaller, 4 foot wide aisle that runs from the set of double doors in the northern wall, connecting with the main aisle down the center of the room. The eastern end of the room is set with a raised section sporting a large altar, with stained glass windows behind it. This room has also been unused since Samuel’s arrival in Alaise.
First Floor Study/Den (16): Situated in the South Eastern corner of the house, the first floor den is 24’ X 20’ in size. The room has several book cases interspersed between the windows in here, containing books primarily dealing with the arts of war. A full sized writing desk is set near the southern wall, allowing the light of the windows to shine on it during the day and the light from the fireplace at night. On the wall opposite from the desk is a wall map depicting the region of Alaise. There is also a removable floor panel that covers a locked floor safe directly beneath where the desk is. The exterior corner is a massive inset stone fireplace, with an opening that is easily 5 foot wide and 4 foot tall. Next to the fireplace is a marble wood bin, for keeping the fire fed and burning brightly. Two stuffed chairs flank an exquisitely carved chess set that sits in the corner near the eastern wall. The pieces are made from black marble and alabaster while the board is inlaid with silver and gold. A door in the northern wall opens onto the main hallway while the door in the western wall opens onto the First Floor Office (17).
First Floor Office (17): The first floor office is 14’ X 20’ and is a repository of all the journals and daily reports gathered by the stewards of the region. These ledgers contain everything: food production and consumption; warehouse storage and settings for trade; production reports from the many mines and quarries that operate throughout the region; police and civil authority journals, even records for births and deaths, when they could be tracked. There is a 2nd set of logs kept in the upstairs office as well. Several of the previous region lords have also kept logs of their activities and observances of the happenings of the region. A door in the northern wall opens into the main first floor hallway while a 2nd door in the eastern wall opens into the First Floor Den (16).
Game Room (18): This 48’ X 28’ room has three well crafted card tables, a cloth covered, slate billiards table, as well as a large scale model table. The scale model table is one large piece measuring 6’ wide by 10’ long. However, the surface is actually made up from 4 smaller, wooden pieces, each being 3’wide by 5 foot long. One side depicts a city, including all the buildings (coded by height) and sewer access; while the other side displays a field and woodlands scene, with the same coding to designate the height of the land or the depth of the valleys and water. The scale model table has a hexagonal map grid laid over it, which allows for mock war games to be played out on it. This would allow for the practice of new stratagems to be implemented on the battlefield. Several cabinets have velvet lined drawers that contain the ‘forces’ to be used: infantry, cavalry, mixed infantry, archers, special forces, even rogue forces such as monsters and undead, as well as specialty items to depict siege engines, carts or covered wagons, walls for dug in forces and the like. All of them were cast and painted with attention to detail. The room has double doors for entryway in the northern and western wall, as well as a wide set of glass paned double doors that lead outside onto the southern porch. Several more paintings decorate the walls of this room, most depicting scenes of famous battles throughout history.
Art Gallery (19): This large 20’ X 30’ room has over a dozen antique and valuable paintings hanging here. There are also 4 large ceramic vases in the center. When Samuel had arrived here, this room had been devoid of paintings, and he has since replaced them with family pictures and the like. Two of the paintings are of Samuel alone, another is of his sister Samantha, and then there is one each of his father and mother, and several with various members of the family together. However, there are no paintings of Sammael or of the entire family as one group. A set of double doors face in a south easterly direction, while another set is in the western wall opens into the Library (22) and there is an open doorway in the northern wall that leads to the Statuary Room (21).
Statuary Room (20): This 30’ X 18’ room contains several pieces of valuable statuary, including busts of famous leaders. It also includes a recently carved bust of Samuel. There is an open doorway into the main first floor hallway, another open doorway which leads to the Art Gallery (19) and a third that opens into the Music Room (21).
Music Room (21): This 20’ X 26’ room is occupied by several divans and chairs, along with several cabinets that containing instruments for display and use. There is also a grand piano and a large standing floor harp. The eastern wall has two open doorways, one leading into the first floor hallway and the 2nd leading into the Statuary Room (20). There is a set of double doors in the southern wall that leads into the Library (22).
Library (22): The library is a two floor room, 30' X 42', with 2 story stained glass windows set in the southern wall. The 2nd floor of this room consists of a balcony like walkway that is 6’ wide and goes around the entire span of the room. There is a circular, wrought iron stairway in the south eastern corner, which allows for easy access to the 2nd floor. Double doors in the eastern wall lead to the Art Gallery (19) with a 2nd set in the northern wall leading to the Music Room (21). The final door in the room is a single door in the eastern wall that opens into the first floor hallway. There is a fireplace set in the south western corner, with one of the recessed chimneys that are cut into the mountain itself.
