======================== Description Of The Manor ======================== Exterior Actually, from the outside, there's almost nothing to see. In the netherworld, the entrance is simply a keyhole in an otherwise apparently normal "stone" wall. In the real world, there is only a mahogany door in the back of Diamond Jack's (1850) and The Steel Wheel (2000). The only persons outside of the group who is known to be aware of the manor's location are Shar-Pei and Mr. Wan (the original owner of the manor). In 1850, examination of Diamond Jack's suggests that the mahogany door should lead out the back, where there is a stack of crates. If the crates were to be moved, there would be no corresponding door, which is presumably why the crates are kept there. In 2000, the wall with the mahogany door is shared with the video store next door. It's known that Alex the barkeep, at least, believes that there is a stairway down to a basement area behind the door. A careful pacing out of the distances involved would show this to be impossible, however. Interior =============== Central Chamber =============== The central chamber is circular, and about fifty feet across. The "northern" half (more on that below) is dominated by a staircase sweeping up to the second floor. The staircase is built into a pillar of sorts, which is about twenty feet across. Between the pillar and the chamber wall there is a minimum of five feet of space (on the north side). The floor is done in a black and white checkerboard pattern. There are six doors leading from the central chamber: four of them (N,S,E,W) lead to bedrooms, the SE one is the mahogany door, and the SW door leads to the new infirmary. In the center of the southern half of the chamber is a fountain, about ten feet across. Much of the time, it is simply a fountain, but if the main key is touched to the bottom of the pool, it opens a gate leading to a a pond in 69 AD China; Bunter suggests opening the gate briefly every few days to refresh the water in the fountain (and to replace the fish which Chad occasionally wipes out). A grandfather clock stands beside the mahogany door. It is a netherworld clock, and it's face is rather different from a normal clock. (If any of the newer folks want a longer description of netherworld time, I'll send it.) A small table stands beside the door to the infirmary. Bunter sits on this table. His cord runs into the wall, and apparently passes into The Steel Wheel, as he is able to place calls to 2000. ============ Second Floor ============ The walls at the second floor are set back ten feet from the first floor walls, so that a walkway ten feet wide runs around the central chamber, looking down into it. Three large picture "windows" are set into the wall at the top of the stairs. The left window shows an arctic tundra, the central window shows the San Francisco Bay, though without any city there, and the right window shows the forest glade where the fountain's gate exits in 69 AD China. There are four doors on the second floor, as well as a dumbwaiter next to the kitchen (the other end of the dumbwaiter is by the door to the East Room). The dumbwaiter is somewhat unusual in that one has to _lift_ to move things from the second floor to the first floor, while one only has to _let down_ things from the first to the second floor, the opposite of what makes sense. The NE door leads to a kitchen and dining area. Groceries are delivered to the casino; every so often, someone has to haul them in and bring them to the kitchen. While there is enough equipment for a PC to cook here, that's usually handled by the staff (whom no one has ever seen). Breakfast is usually left waiting outside the bedrooms in the morning, and Bunter can arrange for other meals if asked. The staff seems to be competent at preparing food, but nothing special (a common alternative is to order from the Noodle Pagoda, a Chinese restaurant above the casino). The SE door leads to a conservatory. There is a grand piano here, as well as a small assortment of traditional Chinese instruments, as well as a few comfortable chairs. There is a fireplace and oddly stocked liquor cabinet here. It was the custom of Mr. Wan to order truly crappy wines and liquors; some of these, when passed through the mirror in the North Room, became wonderful tasting as their molecules were flipped. The SW door leads to the library. Most of the books seem to date back to the Four Monarchs timeline, but there is an encyclopedia that seems to come from immediately following the critical shift. There are a large number of books of unknown origin and language. Finally, the NW door leads to the bath. This consists of a hot spring, apparently transplanted all in one piece from somewhere else. ============ The Bedrooms ============ Each of the bedrooms has some things in common: a bed, a desk, capacious closet space. The rooms themselves are rather large; plenty of room to keep stuff. There used to be one bedroom in the central column; after a new bedroom was requested, that bedroom seems to have lowered (you have to step down to enter it), and another, raised bedroom was formed above it (you have to step up to enter it). The interior design of the bed rooms is apparently based, at least in part, on the principles of Chinese astrology and feng shui. Each cardinal direction (and the center) are given associated colors, elements, animals, seasons, flavors, senses.... Many of these motifs show up in each room, worked into the bedsheets/covers, the desk, the walls, artwork on the walls, etc. (Based on this assignment, in fact, it is possible to assign each room a direction, and this is how I'll refer to them.) North Room: Predominantly colored in black, but with lighter colors to offset the dark. Ice is the 'theme' of the room (north is water and winter). The bed is the simplest of the set, being basically a pile of cloth on the floor. The artwork on the walls has a decided native american, particularly Inuit, flavor. This room has a large, ornately framed mirror; objects may be passed into the mirror, exiting as mirror-images of themselves. This is the most quiet of the bedrooms. Chad lives here. East Room: This is the Japanese-styled room. It is done mainly in shades of blue and green, and the furniture is purely wooden (The lamps are the only exception, and since they're made of paper, it's not all that much of an exception.). The lamps respond to verbal commands (in Japanese) to turn on and off, brighten or dim. The artwork is decidedly Japanese and depicts springtime scenes. Wei lived here. South Room: This room is done in an Arabic style, with Arabic artwork depicting fiery scenes. There is some African art as well. This room has an ornate writing desk, which appears to be made of brass. On the desk are a pen and inkstone which are known to be magical. This is Camaxtli's room. West Room: This room is done mostly in white. The style of furniture and artwork is European; the bed is a large canopy bed. Metal predominates in the furnishings. There is a metal door on the wall opposite the entrance, which has a combination lock. The combination is known, and the door leads to the dojo. This is the only room with a definite smell...a very faint perfume or incense odor is detectable here. Lightning is a recurrent element in the artwork. Center Low Room: Yellow is the chief color here, and the style is definitely Chinese. This room holds a locked chest, which can only be opened if the key to the front door is passed through the mirror in the North Room; it contains a Gate to 2056 Kansas City. Clouds and forms of darkness recur in the artwork. Center High Room: This is the new room. It has the same furnishings, but everything is simply gray, in a very simple style.

Created by Doug Dawson.

Last modified November 17, 2000.