Jewelry, Treasures, and Art

 All of the jewelry Azzur has on display in the Glass Staircase was made when the palace was being built. It's all custom to his wife's preferences, and he did spoil her rotten. Every piece was indeed worn by her as well. There are some pieces strictly set for men, but Azzur kindly prefers his noble Azzur House pinky ring. He never wore a wedding ring. There are some chests overflowing with rings, bracelets, necklaces from various regions of the globe, these chests don't really hold much value for the palace but it's definitely a Rogue's looting dream. These chests were discarded to the dungeons and crypt and staff really have zero care it's there either. His lordship hired the best silversmiths, goldsmiths, and jewelers to forge and cut his jewelry. All precious and semi precious stones came in by barge, it's unknown where Azzur accumulated the gold to get it all but it's probably when he was younger and just a pirate he has treasure stashed away somewhere on multiple islands.

The treasures in the palace are vast and located on every level. The crypt's floor is swarming with too much gold coins and other currencies. There are many idols and statues everywhere, all are priceless with unknown origins. Should anyone steal just one, they'd be set for life. He has statues of all kinds of animals and idols of gods and goddesses. There are even a few bizarre ones that many staff do not mess with because they are supposedly cursed. The sewers were cleaned up years ago, so no treasure rots there in this day. There's all kinds of glass, crystal, and metals, gold, silver, platinum, precious woods, stone and bone displays throughout the palace; his most prized is the chess sets and golden tarot foils. Besides small to medium treasures there are large to enormous items such as the stuffed baby mammoth, the Egyptian themed coffins, the crests of silver, velvet drapes of purple or royal blue, what's in the glass staircase, what's in all his display rooms on the second floor, and a Baphomet made entirely out of black porcelain.

All art like oil paintings, like say the one of Baron Sukumvit's palace were all painted on the spot as the palace was being made. All tapestries were sewn in the rooms they are displayed in. Azzur does not necessarily have any paintings borrowed from others, he prefers his own personal design. Avid on art, he is serious about his showmanship. The paintings down in the royal bedchambers hall are all zombie vampires who were once royals, him, having a fascination with the undead they agreed to pose for the pictures but their souls got captured in the oils. Golems were stolen from abandoned places, and the question of how they were transported is indeed a wild mystery.

So, the palace is rare and custom-made at about 70%. Whatever relics are inside it came from Azzur's long piracy reign. It's as if he knew that one day he'd have a big castle to himself and collected and then hid all his great finds, scattering them to the world in places only he would know where to look. Most gifts given to him were built from scratch, it seems artists love doing him a favor, as a thank you for allowing them to promote their creativity.

How the palace was built

 It took two years to build it from the ground up, it retained its barracks history of the main floor from when Illios was reigning in Port Blacksand. The second level was created for lounging, and the third level was built for Lord Azzur's wife. The fourth floor is strictly Azzur's abode. The main floor and any levels below it are all staff.

In Palace Square many tents were set up, they started chiseling stone and making bricks for the exterior, and began work on the walls of the palace. They toiled day and night at all hours no matter the weather conditions. Large crates of all sizes began arriving by the kart loads and ship loads. These boxes had glass, sections of windows, pieces of walls, doors, and ceiling. Given the size of many interior designs like the staircases many were carved inside the palace. Things like furniture that cannot fit through doors were obviously built from scratch within the room itself with the promise that they may never need be removed as long as the palace stands.

To make the dungeons, a large pit was dug out, that just kept getting deeper and deeper as they formed the crypts beneath the sewers. The sewers were also built and attached to the city's system. Windows had to be installed bit by bit. Anything huge like say the stuffed mammoth, couches, chairs, thrones had to be brought through before the windows were put in; Hauled up by ropes and pulley cranes. Tiles for the rooves were painstakingly added by workers resting up high at dangerous levels. Working conditions were harsh. Lord Azzur was not in Port Blacksand during the time the palace was being built, he was either on his ship or in the Desert of Skulls with his wife and her home. He didn't arrive until the third level was completed. If he did have to come, he would stay down in what is now the crypts, he stayed below the sewer line and utilised the dungeon as his office. But this occurrence of him being present is exceedingly rare. He really was too busy buying merchandise to be at the palace.

All furniture came in by barge or cart, some of it had to be mantled. Any portraits that are featured in the palace were painted on the spot, decorations, drapings, anything artistic created within the palace. No one quite knows where Azzur got all his indoor things, they just know it all arrived by every week to every month for three years straight.

Everything about the palace is custom-made, it's walls are ensued with magic to prevent cannonballs from destroying the brick or causing holes, they just bounce off. All plant life was added later, trees were brought in half or fully grown. Anything that's carved like wood, beams, stone was done during the building process. People worked and slaved like ants to finish it by its deadline. The palace had seamstresses to make curtains, carpenters, designers, stonemasons, artists, cleaners, cooks, and fire experts who installed the fire-ban spells on all fires in candles, fireplaces, torches, stoves, lamps... the fire-ban came about during the hottest summer of the year where there were many forest fires, scorched fields and crops, and water drying up. Lord Azzur didn't want his precious home catching fire inside so imposed sorcery blue flames that give off heat but don't catch fire to anything. He wanted belltowers as well including the tallest tower ever, he shipped in the wooden spiraling staircase that would later be incorporated into the Main Tower.

Items kept coming nonstop and workers were starting to run out of places to put them, including wall space. The palace was filling up fast as Azzur sent one thing after another, sometimes flowers would arrive by a hundred boxes and gardeners had to figure out where to plant them all! By the third year the exterior and interior were completed with nothing left to do.

The brick is like sandstone but pinkish brown in color, this is the majority of the palace's walls, with terra cotta like roof. Lots of interior walls are stone and very much set like a castle. Azzur wanted a soft beige look to his palace, something a bit different than most fortresses. They built upwards instead of outwards due to the limited space of the city itself, so it peaks tall over the walls and can be seen a mile away. Azzur loves authentic and rare (one of a kind) things, he doesn't want to share the same artifacts with other rulers, he wants to own stuff that others may covet. He wanted a design that was unusual and not just any other boring castle. His palace is no replica to anything else in Titan. It has many artful items with in it, even some thrones like the one in the room with dusty sparkles was custom-made.

Workers had to think up rules and ideas as they built like how to keep an aquarium the size of an entire wall heated and maintained. How to merge Crystal Warrior golems into the walls of the second floor. Which doors should be secret and which ones go where. It was like a mathematical jigsaw puzzle of what should be where and what rooms should look like. So it was building walls, ceilings, and floors while simultaneously adding the furniture and stairs.

The palace at the time of its structuring would have had many pulleys, thousands of ropes, carts full of stone, ladders and hundreds of workers. Lots of clanging, hammering, sawing and cutting. Inside, the sounds of chiseling, the smell of oil paints, random sewers measuring newly installed windows for curtains. The kitchen firing up and beginning it first meals. Staff were hired as soon as the first three levels of the palace were built, so they all toiled while it was being worked on. It was a busy time and without Lord Azzur's presence they had to basically guess their way through hoping he'd liked what they came up with. They just kept receiving supplies and parcels. It's possible Lord Azzur visited many merchants all around the world while waiting for his home to be finished, he may have bartered with pirates, looted places himself, and made deals with many royals for their items. He ordered textiles, mosaic, glass, all kinds of wood, pieces of intricate ceiling, brick powders, fancy stone, marble, and even ransacked the ocean for coral reef. He ordered hundreds of flowers and plants to be delivered, they are species from all three continents, including miscellaneous islands, deserts, and mountains. Some things like the golems may have come from lost or abandoned places of great danger. No place was spared. There was only one blueprint in existence of his palace and only one person put in charge of making sure the palace was built that way... or else.

Two years to make the exterior and interior sections, and extra year to add and build all furniture... everything. In the fourth year the palace was full functional and how it looks to this day.

Entertainment

 There is not much for entertainment in the palace except when there are banquets being held, but those in the palace do find ways to pass the time.  Games are played by guards, that could be anything from cards to dice. On some nights there's always a party in the dungeon with live music, drinking, and dancing amongst servants. The Bard sings in the guard's lounge and sometimes up on the second level in the library. Besides the local hubbub the only other means of entertainment falls when the palace has special guests like say Baron Sukumvit or any other royals. This is when the banquet hall will be utilized for shows, theater, poetry, singing, and orchestral music. The most famous shows are the live fire ones, the After Hours club for adults only (usually males), and the comedy theatricals. Lots of food and drinks are served including hallucinate drugs up in the hookah balcony. It's a night (or nights) with the Dancing Medusa, the Sun Goddess, the metal whip dancers, blood and glory, sensual dancing, and acrobatics type of ballet performances and court jester.

The Banquet Hall is a fireproof room, and has six rectangular tables put out for dining, while the other half of the room is reserved for performers. Lord Azzur will watch from the golden glitter booth. He's so weary of being assassinated he will not sit exposed to anyone. Most of the people who do the live shows are staff of the palace, this is the time they get to show off their many talents. There may be the odd guest singer or such. The serpent lady from the court room is a performer as well. During banquets, the staff that's not involved take this time to drink and be merry. It is however not the best time to sneak in or infiltrate the palace while it seems off guard, this is the time when other servants like the ghosts, golems, creatures and animals are at their most peak and dangerous. Guests must be careful where they go in the palace, it's not wise to just wander off anywhere they like. 

Summer and Autumn sees most partying, while the colder months everyone is quiet. The palace otherwise doesn't see much action, and his lordship likes to stay reserved and at peace while at home. His personal entertainment are his two vampire mistresses, his crystal ball, and observatory rooms. There is a lyre player that may perform in the saloon some afternoons on the 4th level.  

Some levels of entertainment also depends on the time of year, where in warmer seasons there might be Bays Ball type games on the grounds, a form of cricket, or football. In colder times, where most people stay indoors there'd be a lot of table games, reading, poetry, and musical instruments to learn and play. The types of music are done by drums and pipes with dancing and jigging.

Lord Azzur really doesn't oppose his staff having fun, as long as it doesn't disturb him. 

If there are outings from the palace where few servants are permitted, the gladiator games, live theaters, baseball games, pie eating concerts are enjoyed by only trusted members who are allowed to leave the grounds such as head guards, the cooks, certain grounds workers, and staff like the orcs, half orcs, goblins and gardeners.

The Gardens

 So, now that you are familiar with the plots about the palace grounds, what kinds of flowers and plants does Lord Azzur actually like? His most prized flower in the whole wide world is the lotus.

Unless you're a plant guru like Azzur it's hard to imagine all the species in his plots and why he chose them. He studies herbology, if he could he would've been a gardener and a good one at that.

Lion Plot; black lotuses, pink lotuses, leaf beasts

Front areas of palace by buildings; acacia, rose bushes (red, white, pink), daisies, lilacs, hyacinth, Amaranthus, balloon flowers, bee balms, violets, grab grass, slumber berries, begonias, bleeding hearts, bell flowers, buttercups, orange and yellow poppies and sunflowers.

Against front of palace; raspberry bushes, lilies, mint, parsley, coriander, carnations, chrysanthemum, cone flowers, fuchsia, daffodil, dahlia, primrose, dill, dandelions, foxglove

On the right side of palace; petunias (glow in the dark), olives, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, marigold, gardenia, skunkweed, wormwood, guzmania, hawthorn, blackberries

Right side of palace; flora and fauna, wild vines, holly, ice plant, lettuce, cabbage, pumpkin, squash

Fairy gardens across the driveway; iris, ixora, snowdrops, goldenrods, honeysuckle, jasmine, rosemary, lavender, large lily of the valley, stone pots of water holding water hyacinths, lupin, four leaf clover, eucalyptus, magnolia, snake plant, cranberry, mimosa, neoregelia, wort, orchids, baby tears, cherry trees, singing pansies, and jalapeño pepper plants...

There's too many to name, I only named a few.

Rear of palace; besides the herb veranda, what grows outside is cactus, ferns, garlic, hydrangea, radish, and many other wildflowers, leafy bushes, and different types of plantlife either edible or not.

Lemon tree, apple tree, plum, peach, date, olive, breadfruit and crab apple.

Lord Azzur orders in by the shipful all his favorite species, they either come in already formed and grown or imported as seeds. They are planted anywhere and everywhere. What doesn't go up into the greenhouse of the 3rd floor villa areas, goes out into the grounds. It's easy to pick a few strawberries and blueberries while you work. The scent the flowers give makes up for the rotten deathly stinky odors coming from Port Blacksand, that's why there are so many incense burners in and around the palace.

In the greenhouse are plants that need consistent care, they are far more delicate than what's outside in the elements. The fairies aren't useless they offer care as well to all the flowers. Up in the villa are tiny gnomes, they look after the plants there. The gardeners work all year round. Azzur even has flowers that grow in the snow, they're from the Freezeblood and Icefinger mountains. There isn't a set theme to the plots, things just get planted wherever there's space. Edibles are mixed with non, poisonous mixed with pollinated, and dangerous accentuated with delicate colorful. Trees go wherever, Azzur ordered a few grown trees so he didn't have to wait years for them to get into adulthood. He wants mango and coconut as well. Maybe a banana. But tropical plants are difficult to keep alive in his part of Allansia due to the changing climates. He's trying to invent a greenery spell so he may have tropical trees and such all year round.

Lord Azzur owns the gardens in Port Blacksand, he also keeps his collection of black lotus there. The kitchen harvests the fruits and vegetables grown on the grounds. Leaf Beasts do not attack gardeners, in fact when it's time for fertilizer they purr like kittens and are lovey dovey creatures. The metal flowers with their razor sharp petals grow like weeds and have to be trimmed daily, they blossom colorful flowers and bright green vines.

When a summer comes, if there are any of flowers that died and have to be replaced he makes sure he orders lots of crates. He owns property in Darkwood Forest including wheat and corn fields. His green thumb extends far out into the various regions, he can even get rice and honey. He pays exuberant amounts for exotic fruits to be imported for recipes. The palace with all its supply, it's no wonder no one tries to run away, for they are taken care of. It's better than starving and begging in the streets. It's like a mini heaven and the jobs aren't so bad. Taking care of flowers all day is better than toiling for a brass farthing and not getting a half a gold piece for a day's labor. In the morning, there are many birds come to visit, so having tea on the grounds is not so horrible a thing, it's quite the pleasant experience.

There are hundreds of flowers and plants everywhere, it would take a big book to name them all. I have given only a few for a mental view.

Main Tower

It was built as a watch tower, it almost overlooks the palace and can have a wondrous view of the city and surrounding fields. It's interior ceiling is home to doves and pigeons. Bats love the tower and can be regularly seen on it at night. The big black dragon that nestles on the bridges of the 4th level also nests up on the tower, it takes a crew to remove its nest after it has laid its eggs and flies away to come back another time. Many birds of the palace enjoy the security the tower offers and they can be seen nesting in its many windows, flying in and out of them, and gathering far up on the barriers. Lord Azzur bought the mini wooden spiraling staircase from Fang years ago and had it fastened inside the tower, it can be used, but no one really steps on it. The spiraling staircase has carvings and remarkable woodwork of vines, leaves, and angels on it and it weighs as heavy as a ton of stone. It's magnificent in itself and since there was nowhere to place it inside the palace, it now rests here.

Bilb is a big old cannon that spits like thunder and violence, it's an enchanted piece and extremely powerful in annihilation. It can hit targets out in the eastern fields with such precision, an entire army unit can be blasted to oblivion by explosive shot. The cannon is fast and surprisingly for its size? Lightweight, so it can be easily turned on its base to face whichever direction. It can even fire into midair, dispelling flying creatures with an atomic blast.

The main tower is so tall and large it can be seen from the harbor. It is made out of bricks, has thirty slit windows, a winding staircase inside, and usually is kept clear of debris on its main floor. Guards rarely go inside it. Its walls are covered in a goo or slime that eats away anything so no rogue or thief has ever tried to scale its wall. The slime is a member of the plant species and spreads by itself onto any surface it exists. Birds are usually immune to it.

The gardens, turn to .

The Stables & Barns

The stable houses six big black steeds, they can often be seen running amuck on the grounds some days as they're let out for their exercise. Their long black manes almost reach their hooves and they have healthy muscles and black shiny fur. The stable is also where two carriages rest unhitched and put away. Chickens and roosters run free on the grounds. The stable also has hot air balloons, used solely for festivals, they could also be incorporated into siege weapons. Pieces of catapults are also in the stable with ammunition. A stable boy or two usually work here and live here. They tend the barn as well. All day they will look after the horses and keep the stable cleared and clean. 

The stable has two main entrances on either end, which are wide open all day during warm seasons.

The horses are for pulling the carriage, taken for runs out in the fields, sports, and long travels. They're all named after demons because it is said their eyes can turn like embers and bleed red when excited. They are powerful creatures and enchanted as well, so they are not ordinary mares. They require little feeding and can still operate if injured as if they were undead. They are fast and can be deadly. They've got big hairy hooves that seem to melt the ground they trod upon. No one can attempt to steal these horses either, they are fiercely loyal to Lord Azzur and win all races.

The Main Tower, turn to .

The Gardens, turn to .

The Palace Grounds

One can not know the beauty of the palace grounds by trying to peer through the palace gates. It's hard enough to get anywhere near the gates in the first place. The palace is surrounded by a tall stone wall with fortification. No one has ever really seen beyond the gates, except those who work in the palace, guards who are paid so well they never talk, or those born or raised in the palace. The grounds are like a whole different world within a world. Not only are there many plots full of Lord Azzur's favorite plants and flowers but small buildings for guards and the taxes office including the barns and workshops. Let us start at the front by the main gates and work our way towards the rear of the palace.

FRONT OF PALACE

By the gates, are two rectangular small buildings these house guards, it's where many eat and gamble and sleep, there are only table and stools in these places, no beds. It's also where meetings are held. Behind the one building is a tiny hut, this is the taxes office. It's full of scrolls, quills, files, and books. A goblin works there, and he is a trusted worker of his lordship. The guard building on the other side in the only one with stairs and ladder so one may access the great wall. There is also another guard post but it's not as utilized as the others.

The gates are made of twisted black steel and iron and heavy reinforced woods. It also holds an archway above with hot oil stations in case of a siege.

SIDES OF PALACE

On the right of the palace by the main tower are a few tiny buildings that might hold ammunition, weapons and some food like beans. On the left side is the black gravel driveway and the fairy gardens.

REAR OF PALACE

By the kitchen doors, they have a chicken coup, there is a nearby stable for the horses that also houses Lord Azzur's carriages and deflated hot air balloons. Further aback is another barn that has goats, a few pigs, and one oxen. Behind the barn are fruit trees or the orchard. Going to the Catfish gateway is where the smokehouses are, the butcher, and other workhouses used for various tasks that can't be done in the kitchen. There are many plants everywhere, berry bushes, and a few tiny trees.

THE GARDENS

The most notable of the grounds are all the greens, the fairy gardens homes hundreds of active fairies and has thousands of exotic flowers all along that one wall. In front of the palace is the noble stone lion plot that has black and pink lotus guarded by leaf beasts. The four lions backed against the circular large pot have mouths drip smoke as they are also incense burners. Along the main tower area are glow in the dark flowers, that ebb a beautiful eerie green simmer of light at night. All along the palace itself are planted all kinds of bushes, plants, and flowers. Azzur has flowers and plants imported from all over Titan and he doesn't succumb to safety rules of whether they are safe or not. There is a type of flora that grows on the walls and rooves and vines as well that may hide creatures within. Inside the palace he has metal flowers that grow on the 3rd floor and in the library areas. There are a few metal flowers outside. The plots are tended to regularly by gardeners to maintain the beauty and scent and weeds are trimmed every day. The fairies have started building little homes amidst the flowers and guard their homes by biting intruders. At night, one may glimpse the glowing fairies as they fly about the grounds. The grounds attract dragonflies, bumblebees, and gorgeous colorful insects. From Spring to Autumn there is an array of colors, and there are a few trees lining the black gravel driveway. There are so many flowers and plants gardeners are having a difficult time finding places to put them as they follow the demands and bulk orders of the lord every month.

THE MAIN TOWER

This is located just outside the door of the officer's lounge. Guarded by a heavy wood door, inside is nothing much to behold, it has a spiraling staircase going up to the top. In between levels is a mini wooden spiral staircase that seems like it was glued to the outer part of the staircase. It doesn't offer much usefulness except for show. The trap door goes up onto the roof of the great tall tower that overlooks the rooftops, and has a jumbo cannon called Bilb. It can bellow out magic green cannonballs during a siege that can wipe out entire units in the fields outside the city. The tall tower can be seen like a menace from over the great wall, it sits there like an extension to the palace.

There is grass and bald spots throughout the grounds, with a wildflower collage here and there. It's lustrous wonder adds a genteel atmosphere to the palace. Lord Azzur does not walk outside to view his plots, he only knows they are there. He may be more familiar with the gardens up on the 3rd floor than what's out on the main grounds. The grounds have fruit trees as well, including grapes, olives, and berries.

Stables & Barns, turn to .

The Main Tower, turn to .

The Gardens, turn to .

The Crypt

 The crypt was never officially called that in the beginning, it had a few lavish rooms with extraordinary furniture. It was where Azzur slept and lounged before he was married. It was not turned into a crypt with actual tombs until the vampire mistresses arrived in the palace. Now, it lays in dust and ruin. It's long abandoned now and the only ones who would go down there were the vampires. 

The crypt if one is coming down through the trap door will see a rectangular room with two stone tombs up against the wall. A doorway with drapes over it lead into an open floor with more tombs. The floor is riddled with treasures now, and the brass elephant that was once up in the glass staircase remains down here in pieces. The crypt is still frequented by phantom vampires. The doors off the open plan area leads into Azzur's former lounge, bedroom, bathroom, and temple. The kitchen of the dungeon was the original kitchen before. The question as to why he stayed down here is unknown, but he is in fact obsessed with the dead, so being under the sewers in such a dreary location suited him. It was quiet and away from people.

The hag now visits this level and brings bags of black pearls with her, she dumps them all on the floor and laughs. The crypt is crawling with expensive relics but no one knows it's there and no one has yet tried to get to it. It is said that the true Eye of the Basilisk is hidden in the crypt somewhere but the dangers of vampires, the hag, and heaven knows what else lurking below the dungeons could create deadly problems for any skilled rogue.

It is a former place of pure luxury now a dumping ground of all kinds of wondrous treasure. It has no lighting, so it's a creepy level. There could now perhaps be living a wraith residing there, it's a rumor.

The crypt does get visited by a ghostly black jaguar with green eyes, it lies on the tombs, flicking its tail. This is one of the lord's many pets, it's sometimes at his feet in the living quarters when he's resting. It is unknown if the cat is dangerous or not.

The Grounds, turn to .

The Sewers

 To get to the sewers one must go to the area where staff like to party, there is a trap door (usually paddle locked) underneath all the junk. It has a few stairs that go down into the sewer system. The sewers are not guarded, and nobody goes down to it anymore. It is said a hag frequents the sewers now. The area does have a few emptied storage units, grotesque water, and slimy walls. The torches are no longer lit in the level. A gate to the rest of the sewers that go far underneath the city are blocked off by two heavy gates that are locked.

The level has a center, which is circular, and tunnels that surround it. To get to the now defunct and abandoned Crypt, one must go through the dungeons, into the sewers, and through another trap door down into the crypt. The palace's plumbing system empties at times into this sewer, it is no longer maintained so it's crawling with absolute filth and it's possible certain types of large deadly worms make it their home. Staff joke that a Bloodbeast lives down there to scare younger servants, and it's used as a form of fear tactic to make them work harder if they're getting lazy or lagging otherwise the orc cook will throw them down into the sewer without a torch.

When the palace was being rebuilt after the hanging of Illois, Lord Azzur used the crypts as his dwellings, if he wasn't also staying aboard his ship. In those days, the sewers had lots of light and were kept very cleaned. They continued to maintain the level up until the 4th floor was built and Azzur never went below again. The purpose of the offices in the dungeon were once lord Azzur's offices where he worked, but now with his own study, the offices are somewhat frequented by others for various business or for prisoners to be questioned or be mutilated.

Only one person successfully accessed the palace from the sewers, Drogo Widemouth, and he managed to sneak into Lord Azzur's bed chamber at night. He was caught obviously, was dismembered, his body parts set up in the city to warn others. This resulted in the extra gate being built and the trap door to always have a lock on it now. The hag who is in the sewers, most likely has the skeleton key to the gates and can come and go as she pleases.

The crypt, turn to .

The Dungeons

This decrepit place of torture and justice and just awful laboratory sacrifices is not a place many people of the palace like to visit, even his lordship never goes to the dungeons, not because it's barbaric but it just stinks and reeks of death and grime. There are workers there unfortunately and some (the orcs and goblins) don't mind it.

To begin, there is a main entrance to the dungeon, it is situated at the front and is a long dark corridor that stretches from north to south. So it runs parallel with the front edge of the palace but it is unseen and has no windows. When a prisoner is brought in blinded folded, he is unblind folded in the corridor. There are two main guard posts and two doors. The main door is where the prisoner will go through to enter the cell block location. The farthest door is for staff only and goes to the areas where Lord Azzur keeps his wine cellar and where the furnace room is.

The dungeon is divided into a few sections:

The laboratory, the cells, the offices, the servants quarters, the kitchen, the furnace room, wine cellar, discard room, then the corridor itself.

The laboratory is where sad unfortunate souls end up for the crazed royal doctor to experiment on. He used to frequent the third floor where the aquarium room now stands. His lab has medical tables, shelves full of formaldehyde, jars of body parts, vinegar, old mummified limbs, skulls, and other horrendous brick a brack of torture equipment.

Next to the lab is where the main cells are, they are situated you can say in the center of the dungeon, and lead up to the kitchen area at the back, These cells are large and can hold quite a few prisoners at a time. Next to the cells are where offices and interrogation rooms are, they have more cells adjoined but they are very tiny and possibly uncomfortable to be in.

On the other end of these areas is where the wine cellar is, it holds specialty wine, ales, and liquors that are mostly used for banquets. Beside the cellar is the furnace room, and near the back beside the furnace room is a large open space filled with tree roots and discarded jewels, crowns, shields, armory, coins, and other junk. This is also where the staff love to come and have a bit of a party with music, dancing, drinking, and singing.

The dungeons have a steam system to keep it broiling hot, anyone in the cells sweat and suffer damages from the steam clouds jutting out of chutes. The kitchen with one big table is also in view of the cells to add extra terror. The menu of the dungeon kitchen is not the same as the menu upstairs. The unspeakable horrors of what kind of food might be prepared down here is mostly for the stomachs of non humans.

It also has a back room with the canine unit, all of Azzur's hounds are kept down here, and they sleep in kennels, staff will also sleep in this area for warmth when it's cold out. The workers stationed to this level sweep nonstop all the soot and grime, and collect rats and mice for the cook. It's not the most hospitable area, it can be quite hostile. One will need to get used to screams, mad laughter, howling, and agonized cries. Let alone the basement is very heated and one could suffer heat exhaustion if they're not accustomed to the environment. The blade of cleaver slamming through a corpse, or someone who is still barely alive, and hitting against the table is common. Inhuman guards gamble and drink down there alot. The dungeon is home to chimney sweepers, soot sweepers, furnace workers, cooks, guards, the doctor who is completely crazy, and torturers. Some unrelated dungeon crews will use the offices for their work too.

It's a terrorizing level and being a prisoner or a worker there isn't quite the fun it's made out to be. When it comes to justice, well, down there for a prisoner it's the end of the line for any kind of peace or sympathy. They could be the doctor's next victim, a course on the menu, or just completely bullied into madness and death. A worker there gets no empathy, and being outside or upstairs for even a bit can drive them loopy because they ache for comfort and luxury and proper food.

Beds are not common down in the dungeons, you get straw. A few guards sleep at their posts, some up against a wall, some made beds out of the kennels tops.

The dungeon is inspected once a month by the palace manager, she makes sure the vermin and rodents aren't taking over, that areas are properly cleaned, and guards are doing their duty.

The Sewers, turn to .

Bell Tower

This is where the lookout stands watch, it has a tremendous view of Port Blacksand and the country side out west. It is also where Lord Azzur enters when he comes home. Servants do not use the tower staircase, they must make the grueling trek through the villa (only guards and Azzur use the bell tower steps). Servants will use the stairs up to level two only, and possibly Gunther or a head cook might go up to level 4.

This is the highest guard area, and anyone who might stumble upon here will be zapped to oblivion by a stone dragon's mouth if they aren't wearing a magical talisman. The color codes for level four are silver and royal blue. So a guard in all black cannot enter this floor, only stationed appointed guards may.

***

You have now ventured through all the floors, now it is time to retrace your steps and head down to the lower levels that are below ground.

To get to the dungeons, you must go either outside, or back to the Court hall and take the tower stairs by the battlements room. Those stairs go directly to the dungeons.

Years ago the bell tower stairs went to the dungeons but that has now been closed off, but it's still possible to reach the dungeons that way too, if you enter through the kitchen way but that door to the basement is locked and heavily fortified. Servants will still use it secretly to cut short their journey through the palace.

The Dungeons, turn to .

Floor 4, Sciences Room

 This room is the most heavily guarded and not by palace guards but creatures that exist in the room. It also can be seen from the ground as appearing as doors, but the doors are actually just a window. On either side of the window are Blood beasts of stone that can be reanimated to life. The room is coiled by a massive stone snake high above. In the center of the place is a table with slate scrolls on it, these scrolls have some kind of writing on it or symbols or sort. The best way to describe it would be an alphabetical set of runes in which words are formed in circles instead of linearly, with letters of a given word being linked clockwise in a ring form, starting from the top. It would be sentences formed with these series of rings. It's non translatable in Titan. The walls look like portals or doorways, and by the table is one main gate or portal. All are currently not activated and it is unknown if they ever have been or will be activated or what worlds they open up to.

Azzur definitely has something odd on the brain, he's curious about something he cannot get to. This rooms spells nothing but fear and wonder. It's a divination haven of something bizarre and wild and foreign. Possibly this could be extremely dangerous, but since it's secluded on the 4th levels, whatever will come of this Science room is still unforetold. It may tie in to the room across from it, both of them serving some strange purpose and experimentation. 

If you match up the Painted Ceiling, the science room, and observatory, possibly too the water citadel it could land clues into what his lordship is up to. One would have to spend weeks scouring the entire library, reading everything in sight. To start deciphering the ceiling, to just understand what any of this all means even is mind boggling.

***

By Titan's good grace, this room is locked to you, the gates are sealed shut, this is one room that would be deadly to enter. You visited the observatory and even sat in the chair but it's still daylight out and the telescope offers no insight. Lord Azzur has made it clear no one is to enter his science lab at any cost.

The Observatory, turn to .

The bell tower area, turn to .

Floor 4, Observatory

 This room's domed roof can be seen high on the palace from the docks. It's a curious sight and people often wonder what it is as no one ever survived to explain it. Baron Sukumvit is a very good friend and if he had seen it he'd never tell. In fact, he'd probably find it one of the most intriguing rooms. It's a cylinder-like room etched in stars, constellations, the moon, the sun, and the constellations and for good reason. In the center is a platform with a big chair and a large eye spying glass pointing up to the dome. A simple pull of chains and the ceiling opens revealing the night sky full of stars. All someone need do is sit in the chair and observe the outer realms of the planet. It's also curious as to why Azzur appears obsessed with interstellar matters.

The telescope is always pointed towards Saturn.

The markings on the walls appear mathematical, as if someone was trying to figure out Astro-physics and horoscopes. The room has nothing else special to it, it's made of grey stone, and the roof is all white wood. It is lit by various torches.

A wondrous yet interesting room with nothing much to it, one has to wonder why it's there?

Science Room, turn to .

The bell tower area, turn to .

Floor 4, Guest Bedroom

 This room is located outside and across from the southern part of the palace, it's the wall that the lounge window faces. Inside is a different story, it's sectioned into two parts one is the living area and the other is where a massive bed is. The living area also is the only room in the palace that has a tub set deep into the floor. It can be filled with hot water and soap suds to create bubbles. The floor is whitewashed and has an almost peachy hue to it. There are a few mandala drawings painted on the walls. The tall windows face out to the backyard. The ceiling has an array of broken glass and mirror which teases the light. There is a couch and a dining table with three chairs present as well. The bed is so wide it almost takes up its entire section, its bedding is off white and ivory with countless pillows. It's fit for royalty, and the only person that has ever slept in here is Baron Sukumvit.

No one else has utilized the room since.

Once exiting the royal guest bedroom one comes out onto another mini stone bridge. There are two doors on either side. The door on the right goes into the observatory while the iron wrought double gates go into the science room on the left. Going further down the bridge takes you off the bridge and onto the lookout which can see all the town, including the Catfish River below. Nearby is the highest bell tower and the stairs Azzur uses when he arrives or departs. An ensign of Azzur flies high above, and this is the most guarded areas, around the living room/kitchenette building is walkway for guards and more stone dragon heads.

The black disks seen in the interior are actually from Midnight Rogue to stop laser beams from jutting through. This is to stop any type of assassin attempts from above or below.

The Observatory, turn to .

The Science Room, turn to .

Floor 4, Private Quarters of his lordship

His living area consists of a few sections, the dining room, the study, the front room (living room), and adjoined kitchenette.

Dining room

After he is done being dressed he will walk over to his private dining room which is a very tiny room with just a circular table in it and a curio that holds his fancy dishes, cutlery, and cups. The table has one chair and a sheer pinkish curtain hanging down around it for added privacy. The table is usually already set for him, he doesn't have five courses, he only eats once. His meals do not consist of any meat. His faithful servant Gathrun usually serves the food after it's been inspected.

Study

Once he's done eating he will go to the adjoining room separated not by an door but a small archway into his study. This room is wracked with papers, globes, hour glasses, quills, ink pots, wax blocks, a mini desk and chair. The windows for the dining room and study are like the glass stained windows in the battlement room except these ones are all white in design. They let in a lot of light but you cannot see through them. The view from the four windows if you could would be the patio outside and a wall.

In his study, this is where he signs documents, writes letters, looks over contracts, and finances. He works closely with the goblin "Grovelsnitch" that works down in the tax office, just outside the palace but still on palace grounds. Azzur can also approve death penalties, but this is rare. He also receives paperwork on daily and weekly events, including invitations, and anything else that requires his attention.

Patio

When he's done eating and looking over documentation he can come outside and sit in his little private patio, it doesn't have a view unfortunately as it is situated between the dining room/study wall and the building where his daily living quarters are. Fresh bouquets are brought up to the patio every day, and there is also a small bbq he can use.

Living room

Going now into the living room it is one giant room set with a very large couch, a table that has a big crystal ball on it, a big fireplace, more of those stone dragon heads, lots of portraits of lords and ladies, including taxidermy animals like muskrats, rabbits, and birds of all kinds. His kitchenet is at the back and he has usually one trusted cook in there, she usually cooks and bakes, if he doesn't want food from the main the kitchen. The kitchenette is open at all hours. If he wants food at 4 am, he gets it. The room has lots of rugs and pelts, including pillows, blankets, and memorabilia. 

This is where he spends his time relaxing, scrying in the ball to see what others are up to, reading his scrolls and spells, and writing. He can nap in this room, eat, and lie by the fire in the hearth. Like any nobleman, he enjoys the sole comforts of his rich home, but his complete privacy is most critical as sometimes his face isn't covered here and he may be in only his housecoats. 

Kitchen

This little kitchen is all stone and has a tiny cooker and oven. It's stocked with fruits and vegetables and all kinds of sweets like tarts, cake, and bread. It's Azzur's private kitchen, and although he may rarely cook himself, there is usually one cooking servant that attends the kitchenette. All of his fresh foods are prepared and ready to go once he's in the dining room. Gathrun will come and grab the tray and bring it over.

The lighting is candles, lamps, and a few torches. He edged on the builders to hurry up the renovations and so the theme of the room is not so much like the other floors, it's basic wood, stone, and hay stuffed into the ceiling beams. He didn't care so much to make it spectacular because no one would ever see it.

***

Can you imagine a man full of anger relaxing in such a place? It's touching nonetheless and good to know he's not so different from everyone else. Would he cook for himself? It's quite possible and interesting to think what kinds of food he'd create for himself. He doesn't require company either, he's got the entertainment of the powerful crystal ball. But there are other things that can keep him preoccupied such as his Observatory and Science room.

You have to see these places, but will get to them eventually, they are located over on the far left, or Northern part of the palace. You can see another mini bridge from the patio, it's lit up with little twinkling lights.

The Guest bedroom, turn to .