Something new is coming to town
Oct 24, 2022 17:46:48 GMT
Anthony, Delilah Daybreaker, and 2 more like this
Post by Jaezred Vandree on Oct 24, 2022 17:46:48 GMT
New Town, Port Ffirst
10th Marpenoth 1499
After losing a few minutes to wrong turns and erroneous map-consulting, Mr. Fitzwilliam Webb finally arrives at the building that is soon to become his tea rooms. With several businesses scattered across the Sword Coast to his name, the former gentleman explorer finds it a little difficult to locate his properties sometimes, especially in his advanced age. Port Ffirst is a town he has only visited a handful of times, and on this latest visit, he was both shocked to see the damage that Old Town sustained and relieved that New Town is rapidly moving towards recovery, regaining some of its former opulence. The latter is where the Gossamer Threads Tea Rooms will be and where — with his tailored baby blue suit, pink waistcoat, top hat, monocle, and handlebar moustache — Mr. Webb fits in most well.
The building on Silk Street is clearly still under renovation, but some of the furnishings have already been set into place. It has not made enough progress to give a good picture of how the finished property will look like, though it is obvious to passers-by that it shall be more refined than even most other businesses in New Town.
In front of the façade, where a door will eventually be placed, is a dwarf standing on a small stepladder, who appears to be overseeing some alterations being made to the design plans with a few men and women, completely covered in specks of various coloured paints, gathered around him. The dwarf, wearing a slim-fitting slate grey suit with a deep green waistcoat, is gently stroking his short-clipped and waxed beard as he seems to be contemplating something, whilst the others look on, awaiting some kind of answer. Finally, he points to the plans before them. “And it’s here? It must have been an old internal downpipe, probably from the roof drainage.”
“Really?” a red-haired woman with sunburnt skin replies. “Seems odd to have it in the middle of the building. The gutters are at the front?”
“Yes, but you know how quick this whole section of the city was put together. It wouldn’t surprise me to find more cavities like this where someone decided to cut corners now and again.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” a stout man with a messy, knotted beard chimes in. “Jacob and I worked on the Hoarthwight place a few streets over last summer. They had a whole basement area no one bothered to build stairs down to.”
“Precisely. Now, it’s only a few inches wide so it shouldn’t impact our layout too much, but do let me know if you find any more. I’d at least like them marked out on this plan to avoid any future surprises. Once the decorating is done, I can see about possibly getting them filled in from the roof. Wouldn’t want any rats using them to get around!”
“You sure?” the red-haired woman speaks up again. “We already got it open, we could start filling it now?”
“No. To fill it in from here we would have to rip the whole wall out again and that will just set us back too far. Cover it up for now.”
The crew nod their agreement and head off inside, leaving the well-dressed dwarf to roll up the plans again, neatly tucking them into a purpose-made leather holder. As Gyrok Stonecast — or Stonecast as he is simply known to his associates — descends the steps of the ladder, he notices the silver-haired half-elf watching him from across the street with his hands behind his back.
“Ah, Mr. Webb, I have been expecting you! I trust you are feeling well today?”
“Quite well, quite well, Stonecast,” Webb says, coming closer and glancing around the premises. “I see that everything is going wonderfully! Is there anything that requires my attention, my good man?”
“There is, actually. Nothing too strenuous, the crew here are quite competent — I had them vetted myself to be sure. No, just some small details you might like to weigh in on before we finalise them. If you don’t mind the noise, we can have a quick walk around?”
“Of course.”
Through the empty doorway is a large, bright room — it appears to have once been two rooms joined into one, mostly empty due to the ongoing works but pleasant to behold regardless. The wooden floors have been sanded back and a fresh coat of ebony stain applied to it. The far wall, exterior wall, and ceiling have been painted a dark grey with a subtle hint of green, leaving the sides of the room a soft white, again with a very subtle hint of a green to them. The overall effect, whilst relatively monochromatic, serves to add a sense of the room being longer than it actually is.
“Please don’t mind the bleak colours, once the seating is in, a floral print of cream, green and gold edgin, it will certainly bring the place to life more. No, what I had wanted to ask first was about foliage. Now it has been suggested to use decorative flower pieces on each table, perhaps prosthetic to save on costs, but in either case some colourful roses and birds of paradise at least, with some seasonal rotation. I’m rather more fond of having a living feel to the setting. Over here, for instance…” Stonecast gestures to one side of the room. “We are going to have a couple of booths built into the wall. Rather than just having a solid wall separating each booth, I do quite like the idea of having high planters behind the seating with tall dracaena or philodendrons making up most of the partition, with more decorative specimens interspersed as decoration. This should doubly serve at providing a fresher atmosphere for guests I should think… Oh, don’t mind the hole there, I’m having Sharna cover it back over later today. Lastly, up here—” He beckons to a vast white space of wall behind the suggested seating area. “I’m thinking of having a triptych commissioned to sit in place of actual windows. A natural landscape most likely, perhaps of some nearby landmark, but the artist is yet to be instructed. Now, how does the that strike you so far? Any preference on the scene, or did you have another motif in mind? This is, of course, the public area, we have the private rooms upstairs where I think a more thematic approach would work well for.”
“A triptych!” exclaims Webb. “Why yes, yes. I think…well, it must have wood for a base. Perhaps, in accordance with the theme, a painting of tree branches, with faint webbing hanging off them, connected the branches to one another. With woodland critters and insects around, naturally. Squirrels, sparrows, dragonflies, spiders…what have you. Oh, as for the plants, I know a fellow, an arcano-botanist, who can provide us with musical plants, if you think that would add to the ambience.”
The dwarven man raises an eyebrow. “Provided we can specify the music, I should think so. Very well, I shall relay that to the artist and see if we can start getting some preliminary sketches sent over. Shall we continue?”
Webb gestures for him to go ahead. “They’re very good musical plants, mind you. Very elegant…” he mutters, mostly to himself, as they proceed to the back of the room.
“There will be some rotating decoration in the centre of the room, suitable to the season with the option for extra tables if we are busy or for special events. Over here is where the main service area will be.” Stonecast points at the right side of the back wall .” The focus, of course, will be our selection of teas, but a small kitchen is being added behind that door there for the accompanying food items — sandwich selections and assorted cakes. I understand you have quite the refined taste when it comes to desserts, so I do hope that comes as good news to you. The main display will be directly behind the counter here. I’ve commissioned a local cabinet maker to construct us a suitable storage unit: natural bark-covered wood sides with branch-like shelving to match the natural themes we are going for. I’ve also taken the liberty of ordering some glass mosaic sliding doors to be fitted in with a spiderweb and leaf motif.”
Next, they head to the left side of the room where a staircase leads up. “The private rooms are upstairs and we can discuss their themes once they have finished the plasterwork,” continues Stonecast. “Something I presume will be of interest to you, however, would be the office space through here.” He walks towards a door under the stairs and opens it, revealing a small empty office space.
“Oh wonderful, wonderful. Yes, we can discuss the theming for each private room later. I’m sure you have many a worthy idea, Stonecast…”
Mr. Webb shuffles into the office with all the careful slowness of an old man and Stonecast follows behind, shutting the door after him.
“This will be my office, and when you decide to visit us, Lord Jaezred— Please don’t mind, we are quite safe here. I have already had the wards put in place, when you visit it will also serve as your office should you wish. ”
Satisfied with that, Mr. Webb takes off his top hat. His aged, elegant features and his baby blue suit blur into inky shadows that melt away from his form. A much younger-looking, pale-haired drow aristocrat stands in his place, brushing the dust off his hat of disguise.
“The real reason for your particular interest, however, I think lies through here.”
At the back of the empty office is a large plant wall already installed, with a wide variety of plant life growing out of it. As Stonecast approaches it, he reaches through the thick foliage and Jaezred hears a soft click. A small section of the wall parts to reveal a secret entrance to a small, dark passageway. He stands to one side and allows Jaezred to enter first.
Jaezred grins wickedly at the other man. “Most excellent.”
The passage extends into a partitioned section of the building, tucked away behind the office and kitchen, and leading to a small room. Save for one area with a neat desk and filing cabinet, every inch of the walls and a central small pillar are completely lined in small, open-fronted glass boxes, half of which are holding various oddities: twigs, small rocks, piles of dirt, plants. Among all of these are hundreds of tiny, very neat spider webs, each hosting at least one arachnid resident.
“This will be the central hub for the information-gathering,” Stonecast explains. “As you can see, we have plenty of ‘agents’ in already with copious space for more to be bred and trained. By the time we are open, we should have enough to begin utilising them for gathering information from the tea shop while allowing some shift rotation for them. It’s essential we maintain a good quality of life, I’m sure you can appreciate.”
Jaezred’s grin morphs into a positively giddy smile at the sight of the walls of terraria. “Yes, most essential indeed. Our ‘agents’ deserve the very best.”
He approaches one of the tanks and slowly dips a hand in for the resident spider, a noble false widow with a black and brown carapace, to crawl onto. With the effects of the speak with animals spell on him, he converses with her in the quiet, clicking language that only spiders can understand, asking her how she likes her new home, how the flies are, et cetera. The widow is exceptionally happy; she is particularly elated with the formation of twigs in her habitat that allows her to make what she considers to be the perfect web. There is a distinct lack of predators and a regular supply of food, going so far as to simulate capturing her prey. If spiders have dreams, she is living it right now. Jaezred smiles.
“I’ve put some consideration into protecting our agents while on field work too,” says Stonecast. “Thankfully my time in the mines was actually helpful here for inspiration… I presume you heard the conversation outside concerning the void spaces? Truth be told, I had them…‘accidentally’ constructed to serve as transportation tunnels and listening posts for our agents. It would not do to have them killed in action, so there is already an elaborate tunnel network reaching every corner of the premises; the private rooms included, obviously. Secondly, the additional purpose to the dense foliage I have suggested is to act as staging posts for agents where the tunnel network is unsuitable. The foliage will provide ample cover and safety while also providing the earlier mentioned benefits. The training regime we have is quite strenuous, but as you can see”—he pulls a large scroll from under the desk and lays it out on top of it, revealing an extraordinarily complex chart of lines and small notes—“we have an extensive network we need covered, and any agents we send out need to be able to navigate the tunnels without direction and find their way back.”
He stands back to let Jaezred inspect and appreciate what has been put together so far, a look of pride crossing his well-groomed face. “I myself will take upon some of the filing and recording when you are away. We will also be having a very select few employees direct from the Court, appointed by the Queen to cover additional shifts, with appropriate resources made available to ensure smooth communication with our agents. As you can see, Lord Jaezred, your idea has been considered with the utmost care and — I trust you’ll agree — executed with precision. From the outside, it will appear to be nothing more than the premier location for exquisite tea, good conversation, and delectable food, of course.”
Jaezred turns back to face Stonecast, looking deeply impressed and proud of all the work that has been put into this fledgling operation. He strides towards the dwarven man and shakes his hand with vigour. “You have far, far exceeded my ever-high expectations, Mr. Stonecast. I do not know even what to say, for a simple ‘well done’ would not suffice as praise for you. I have full confidence that we will make our Queen proud.”
“No thanks are necessary, Lord Jaezred. You presented our Queen with a good plan. I’m just here to see it done right. Shall we? The office is rather small, we should make a move before the crew wonder what Mr. Webb is up to.”
“Well, it’s only natural that my lair would breed gossip at the most rapid pace,” Jaezred chuckles, puts his hat of disguise back on, and follows his trusted man out of the secret room.
Co-written with Anthony.
Origin of the tea rooms: Menace to Society
The tea rooms: Gossamer Threads Tea Rooms
10th Marpenoth 1499
After losing a few minutes to wrong turns and erroneous map-consulting, Mr. Fitzwilliam Webb finally arrives at the building that is soon to become his tea rooms. With several businesses scattered across the Sword Coast to his name, the former gentleman explorer finds it a little difficult to locate his properties sometimes, especially in his advanced age. Port Ffirst is a town he has only visited a handful of times, and on this latest visit, he was both shocked to see the damage that Old Town sustained and relieved that New Town is rapidly moving towards recovery, regaining some of its former opulence. The latter is where the Gossamer Threads Tea Rooms will be and where — with his tailored baby blue suit, pink waistcoat, top hat, monocle, and handlebar moustache — Mr. Webb fits in most well.
The building on Silk Street is clearly still under renovation, but some of the furnishings have already been set into place. It has not made enough progress to give a good picture of how the finished property will look like, though it is obvious to passers-by that it shall be more refined than even most other businesses in New Town.
In front of the façade, where a door will eventually be placed, is a dwarf standing on a small stepladder, who appears to be overseeing some alterations being made to the design plans with a few men and women, completely covered in specks of various coloured paints, gathered around him. The dwarf, wearing a slim-fitting slate grey suit with a deep green waistcoat, is gently stroking his short-clipped and waxed beard as he seems to be contemplating something, whilst the others look on, awaiting some kind of answer. Finally, he points to the plans before them. “And it’s here? It must have been an old internal downpipe, probably from the roof drainage.”
“Really?” a red-haired woman with sunburnt skin replies. “Seems odd to have it in the middle of the building. The gutters are at the front?”
“Yes, but you know how quick this whole section of the city was put together. It wouldn’t surprise me to find more cavities like this where someone decided to cut corners now and again.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” a stout man with a messy, knotted beard chimes in. “Jacob and I worked on the Hoarthwight place a few streets over last summer. They had a whole basement area no one bothered to build stairs down to.”
“Precisely. Now, it’s only a few inches wide so it shouldn’t impact our layout too much, but do let me know if you find any more. I’d at least like them marked out on this plan to avoid any future surprises. Once the decorating is done, I can see about possibly getting them filled in from the roof. Wouldn’t want any rats using them to get around!”
“You sure?” the red-haired woman speaks up again. “We already got it open, we could start filling it now?”
“No. To fill it in from here we would have to rip the whole wall out again and that will just set us back too far. Cover it up for now.”
The crew nod their agreement and head off inside, leaving the well-dressed dwarf to roll up the plans again, neatly tucking them into a purpose-made leather holder. As Gyrok Stonecast — or Stonecast as he is simply known to his associates — descends the steps of the ladder, he notices the silver-haired half-elf watching him from across the street with his hands behind his back.
“Ah, Mr. Webb, I have been expecting you! I trust you are feeling well today?”
“Quite well, quite well, Stonecast,” Webb says, coming closer and glancing around the premises. “I see that everything is going wonderfully! Is there anything that requires my attention, my good man?”
“There is, actually. Nothing too strenuous, the crew here are quite competent — I had them vetted myself to be sure. No, just some small details you might like to weigh in on before we finalise them. If you don’t mind the noise, we can have a quick walk around?”
“Of course.”
Through the empty doorway is a large, bright room — it appears to have once been two rooms joined into one, mostly empty due to the ongoing works but pleasant to behold regardless. The wooden floors have been sanded back and a fresh coat of ebony stain applied to it. The far wall, exterior wall, and ceiling have been painted a dark grey with a subtle hint of green, leaving the sides of the room a soft white, again with a very subtle hint of a green to them. The overall effect, whilst relatively monochromatic, serves to add a sense of the room being longer than it actually is.
“Please don’t mind the bleak colours, once the seating is in, a floral print of cream, green and gold edgin, it will certainly bring the place to life more. No, what I had wanted to ask first was about foliage. Now it has been suggested to use decorative flower pieces on each table, perhaps prosthetic to save on costs, but in either case some colourful roses and birds of paradise at least, with some seasonal rotation. I’m rather more fond of having a living feel to the setting. Over here, for instance…” Stonecast gestures to one side of the room. “We are going to have a couple of booths built into the wall. Rather than just having a solid wall separating each booth, I do quite like the idea of having high planters behind the seating with tall dracaena or philodendrons making up most of the partition, with more decorative specimens interspersed as decoration. This should doubly serve at providing a fresher atmosphere for guests I should think… Oh, don’t mind the hole there, I’m having Sharna cover it back over later today. Lastly, up here—” He beckons to a vast white space of wall behind the suggested seating area. “I’m thinking of having a triptych commissioned to sit in place of actual windows. A natural landscape most likely, perhaps of some nearby landmark, but the artist is yet to be instructed. Now, how does the that strike you so far? Any preference on the scene, or did you have another motif in mind? This is, of course, the public area, we have the private rooms upstairs where I think a more thematic approach would work well for.”
“A triptych!” exclaims Webb. “Why yes, yes. I think…well, it must have wood for a base. Perhaps, in accordance with the theme, a painting of tree branches, with faint webbing hanging off them, connected the branches to one another. With woodland critters and insects around, naturally. Squirrels, sparrows, dragonflies, spiders…what have you. Oh, as for the plants, I know a fellow, an arcano-botanist, who can provide us with musical plants, if you think that would add to the ambience.”
The dwarven man raises an eyebrow. “Provided we can specify the music, I should think so. Very well, I shall relay that to the artist and see if we can start getting some preliminary sketches sent over. Shall we continue?”
Webb gestures for him to go ahead. “They’re very good musical plants, mind you. Very elegant…” he mutters, mostly to himself, as they proceed to the back of the room.
“There will be some rotating decoration in the centre of the room, suitable to the season with the option for extra tables if we are busy or for special events. Over here is where the main service area will be.” Stonecast points at the right side of the back wall .” The focus, of course, will be our selection of teas, but a small kitchen is being added behind that door there for the accompanying food items — sandwich selections and assorted cakes. I understand you have quite the refined taste when it comes to desserts, so I do hope that comes as good news to you. The main display will be directly behind the counter here. I’ve commissioned a local cabinet maker to construct us a suitable storage unit: natural bark-covered wood sides with branch-like shelving to match the natural themes we are going for. I’ve also taken the liberty of ordering some glass mosaic sliding doors to be fitted in with a spiderweb and leaf motif.”
Next, they head to the left side of the room where a staircase leads up. “The private rooms are upstairs and we can discuss their themes once they have finished the plasterwork,” continues Stonecast. “Something I presume will be of interest to you, however, would be the office space through here.” He walks towards a door under the stairs and opens it, revealing a small empty office space.
“Oh wonderful, wonderful. Yes, we can discuss the theming for each private room later. I’m sure you have many a worthy idea, Stonecast…”
Mr. Webb shuffles into the office with all the careful slowness of an old man and Stonecast follows behind, shutting the door after him.
“This will be my office, and when you decide to visit us, Lord Jaezred— Please don’t mind, we are quite safe here. I have already had the wards put in place, when you visit it will also serve as your office should you wish. ”
Satisfied with that, Mr. Webb takes off his top hat. His aged, elegant features and his baby blue suit blur into inky shadows that melt away from his form. A much younger-looking, pale-haired drow aristocrat stands in his place, brushing the dust off his hat of disguise.
“The real reason for your particular interest, however, I think lies through here.”
At the back of the empty office is a large plant wall already installed, with a wide variety of plant life growing out of it. As Stonecast approaches it, he reaches through the thick foliage and Jaezred hears a soft click. A small section of the wall parts to reveal a secret entrance to a small, dark passageway. He stands to one side and allows Jaezred to enter first.
Jaezred grins wickedly at the other man. “Most excellent.”
The passage extends into a partitioned section of the building, tucked away behind the office and kitchen, and leading to a small room. Save for one area with a neat desk and filing cabinet, every inch of the walls and a central small pillar are completely lined in small, open-fronted glass boxes, half of which are holding various oddities: twigs, small rocks, piles of dirt, plants. Among all of these are hundreds of tiny, very neat spider webs, each hosting at least one arachnid resident.
“This will be the central hub for the information-gathering,” Stonecast explains. “As you can see, we have plenty of ‘agents’ in already with copious space for more to be bred and trained. By the time we are open, we should have enough to begin utilising them for gathering information from the tea shop while allowing some shift rotation for them. It’s essential we maintain a good quality of life, I’m sure you can appreciate.”
Jaezred’s grin morphs into a positively giddy smile at the sight of the walls of terraria. “Yes, most essential indeed. Our ‘agents’ deserve the very best.”
He approaches one of the tanks and slowly dips a hand in for the resident spider, a noble false widow with a black and brown carapace, to crawl onto. With the effects of the speak with animals spell on him, he converses with her in the quiet, clicking language that only spiders can understand, asking her how she likes her new home, how the flies are, et cetera. The widow is exceptionally happy; she is particularly elated with the formation of twigs in her habitat that allows her to make what she considers to be the perfect web. There is a distinct lack of predators and a regular supply of food, going so far as to simulate capturing her prey. If spiders have dreams, she is living it right now. Jaezred smiles.
“I’ve put some consideration into protecting our agents while on field work too,” says Stonecast. “Thankfully my time in the mines was actually helpful here for inspiration… I presume you heard the conversation outside concerning the void spaces? Truth be told, I had them…‘accidentally’ constructed to serve as transportation tunnels and listening posts for our agents. It would not do to have them killed in action, so there is already an elaborate tunnel network reaching every corner of the premises; the private rooms included, obviously. Secondly, the additional purpose to the dense foliage I have suggested is to act as staging posts for agents where the tunnel network is unsuitable. The foliage will provide ample cover and safety while also providing the earlier mentioned benefits. The training regime we have is quite strenuous, but as you can see”—he pulls a large scroll from under the desk and lays it out on top of it, revealing an extraordinarily complex chart of lines and small notes—“we have an extensive network we need covered, and any agents we send out need to be able to navigate the tunnels without direction and find their way back.”
He stands back to let Jaezred inspect and appreciate what has been put together so far, a look of pride crossing his well-groomed face. “I myself will take upon some of the filing and recording when you are away. We will also be having a very select few employees direct from the Court, appointed by the Queen to cover additional shifts, with appropriate resources made available to ensure smooth communication with our agents. As you can see, Lord Jaezred, your idea has been considered with the utmost care and — I trust you’ll agree — executed with precision. From the outside, it will appear to be nothing more than the premier location for exquisite tea, good conversation, and delectable food, of course.”
Jaezred turns back to face Stonecast, looking deeply impressed and proud of all the work that has been put into this fledgling operation. He strides towards the dwarven man and shakes his hand with vigour. “You have far, far exceeded my ever-high expectations, Mr. Stonecast. I do not know even what to say, for a simple ‘well done’ would not suffice as praise for you. I have full confidence that we will make our Queen proud.”
“No thanks are necessary, Lord Jaezred. You presented our Queen with a good plan. I’m just here to see it done right. Shall we? The office is rather small, we should make a move before the crew wonder what Mr. Webb is up to.”
“Well, it’s only natural that my lair would breed gossip at the most rapid pace,” Jaezred chuckles, puts his hat of disguise back on, and follows his trusted man out of the secret room.
Co-written with Anthony.
Origin of the tea rooms: Menace to Society
The tea rooms: Gossamer Threads Tea Rooms