Hearth The massive floor-to-ceiling fireplace provides the halls of the manor, as well as other rooms, with an efficient source of heat to warm the room. It provides heat both directly from the flames and also by radiation collecting in the thick and heavy stone that make up the walls of the manor. You may notice an odd looking character dancing about the flames of the hearth. He beckons you to sit down. As you take a seat near the roaring fire, the strange little fellow (which you now can see is blue!) dances up to you and stops directly in front of you. Cocking his head to one side, he asks "Warm enuff fer ya?" then fades back into the dancing flames over the ember bed. "The hearth is the heart of the family life. To keep the fire alive on the hearth is the bounden duty of the family gods."
Fan At the far end of the greatroom , above the map table, on a large fan is a breathtaking scene of the manor in the morning, with the sun just behind the house, illuminating all the land before it with the single stretch of shadow coming to rest on the fishery lake, Powin's face sketched in the ripples on the water. The fan was created by her smallest fan, Prizm.
Mantle On the mantle proper, six realistically posed glass dragons of detailed craftsmanship , a crystal ball, brass panthers prowling around a piece of driftwood, a small golden settee with brocade cushions, a vase of crystal roses which have ever-burning flames captured within their hearts, a small silver filigree box, and several crystal bells. The music box, a carousel of silver and ivory unicorns plays a soft melody. There is also a sloop in an orb sitting on a teakwood holder. Centered above the hearth is an exquisite dark wooden carving of a panther with eyes that seem to follow you about the room.
Tapestry An elaborate fountain is in the center of the Garden, the light spray of water arcs from the top in addition to trickling down the brims of white marble basins spilling down from one to another to be finally caught in a pool at the base. There are trellises with wisteria hanging down and arbors with climbing roses surround the fountain. Beds of fragrant gardenias and lavender perfume the air. Butterflies flutter on and about the flowers. Bees buzz along from one flower to another collecting the pollen and pollinating. Beside the fountain are stone benches, upon which a maiden is sitting. The morning sun is shining on her long silver hair, highlighting a circlet of pearls set upon her head. She is wearing a royal blue gown enhancing her slender figure and accentuating her pale gray eyes. Watching a hummingbird drinking nectar from a flower, an enchanted smile touches her lips.
Butlery A serving room, silverware, drinkware, hutchbar and etc. Delicate crystal glasses and chinaware fill a wooden cabinet with a glass door. There is a linen closet lined with shallow drawers for the storage of table linens. Located between the greatroom and the dining room.
Dining Room The dining room features natural slate floors and oak wainscoting. Landscape murals are three walls of the room with windows overlooking the garden and terrace on the fourth. Swinging double doors lead into the kitchen and an arched doorway leads into the greatroom. Lighting is by candles of bee's wax and Oil lamps in bowl form on a stand, or suspended in a ring, provided better illumination, and flares sometimes hung from iron rings in the wall. An antler chandelier hangs over a floral centerpiece on a long, elegant permanant dining table covered with white cloths, clean and ample. A salt cellar and full table setting is in front of every seat at the table. A laver is a stone basin built into the wall. It is used as a wash basin for washing the hands before and after meals. A refillable tank with bronze taps sits above the basin. The laver is highly decorative and has spouts in the form of animal heads. Absorbent towels await on a shelf over a hamper.
Study Leather bound tomes, scrolls and maps fill the shelves lining the walls of the study. Open books, closed ledgers, papers and inkwells cover the desks which face each other braced by comfortable and well used armchairs. Small reading lamps are secured on the tables and bookshelves, providing light for reading. A small fireplace with a plush rug in front of the comfy couch addressing it. An arched doorway to the east leads to the greatroom.
Stillroom The Stillroom's Mistress, Lady Bera is an Apothecary, Darkmoor's equivalent of the pharmacist. She prepares herbs and medicines for the people and prescribed them as well. The Stillroom apprentices require skills in diagnosing sicknesses and identifying and cultivating the herbs with which the cordials and unguents are made. They must also have the skills needed to manufacture such potions and poultices. Some reading and writing skills to keep records of the recipes are necessary as are bargaining skills as the Apothecary students will usually continue on to become a master with his own shop. It contains a room for preparing the materials used in the unguents and potions dispensed by the Master and a storeroom for keeping the prepared ingredients. The Apothecary keeps records of all the different preparations that he can supply and notes of the quantities of ingredients on-hand to ensure that important items do not run out when they might be needed urgently. Common preparations for burns and minor wounds might be mixed in a few minutes (the preparation time being the time for ensuring that the ingredients are properly cured, dried, crushed, steeped etc.). More complex unguents and cordials might take several hours to prepare. The Apothecary may often have the ingredients for simple drugs although the more powerful drugs are usually only researched in order to learn details of the preparation of antidotes.
Nursery There are elven guards outside the door to keep those who are not allowed into the nursery away from the children. The room is light, airy, colorful, and huge, plenty of room for lots of children to learn and play in. There are also numerous big comfy chairs for storytelling and being comforted. A learning area complete with books, tables and stools as well as writing materials and colored chalks for creative drawing on the parchments or whitewashed wall. The life lessons the children are taught are as much through play as they are through 'school' time. Shelves of roll-about toys, hobby horses and stick dragons, games for all skill levels and ages, baskets of balls, stuffed toys, skipping ropes, marbles, jacks, jackstraws, tops, and spinners. There are blocks of all shapes and sizes with which to build and scale size carved soldiers and animals of all varieties including toy castles, manors, and smaller homes to fill the new worlds a child might devise. Also available are child size dragon bowed boats, war machines, quintains, wagons, blunted swords, shields, helms, leather armor pieces, and gambesons of all sizes. A child scale kitchen with wooden dishes and small pans , toy foods, household items, and linens for the table as well as little cradles with dolls and baskets of clothing for them. A small stage is available for little plays and skits, a puppet theatre is available for such shows with trunks of puppets and costumes. Masks are carefully hung on the wall. Music is also a part of the lives of the children of Darkmoor so lutes, sitars, harps, drums, rachets, rattles, tambourines, bells, recorders, whistles, and flutes are made available. A box of toys intended for outdoor use is near the stairs that lead to the kitchen, kites, windsocks, ribbon twirlers, propellers, windmills, and skittles (lawn bowling) sets, racquets, bats, hoops, stuffed balls and bow and arrow sets. Individual beds with footlockers at the end of each for personal belongings and along the walls for the children a pile of hides and furs and pillows with a trunk of a tree with thick branches all set up for lounging cubs. The play area is carpeted to stay warm and soft be it for toddlers learning to walk and youngsters crawling about and playing.
Bottlery The room where wines, ales, spirits, and ciders are dispensed from barrels and a storeroom for provisions. Darkmoor has its own brewery and distillery so the bottlery is well used Another door at the back of the bottlery, leads to the garden and is used for regular and special event deliveries. About the room are various tools; glass funnels, silver cups, a mallet, bungs, corks, and various containers; butts, hogsheads, barrels, casks, bottles of all variety and kegs.
(to be added) Infirmary |