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 .

Floor 4, Azzur's Bed Chamber

This is the immediate door on the right, when coming in from the glass staircase. The room is not massively huge but comfortable. It has a large emperor bed in the center, circular shaped not boxy, laden with pink curtains hanging and cascading down from the ceiling over the bed. There are strange black disks set in the floor, walls, and ceiling. The room is magnificent because it's not enclosed and lit by windows, it actually opens out onto a circling terrace guarded by six live gargoyles. He can see the countryside from his bedroom, in colder months a screen is pulled across the terrace and covered with bear fur rugs. He does not have much decoration to his bedroom, save for a portrait of himself unmasked (it just looks like a dark hair young lad, it could not be Azzur at all), a few blue Turkish lamps in a corner, and a couple of vases on the floor. His bedding is pink and purple with one white tiger fur blanket, his bedding is Bohemian and Indian in design.

A door leads into the bathroom. So, once he stirs in the morning (or night) he is to go take a bath and be dressed.

Bathing room

The bathroom is set between the bed chamber and the lounge. The small room has a tub with dragon clawed feet, shelves full of oils, perfumes, and ointment. One shelf opposite the tub is where all the cloths, towels, and toiletries go. There is a white curtain around the tub area. After he has a hot bath, servants must carry hot water up and dump it into the tub, he will go into the lounge next.

The Lounge

This room has many rugs, a fireplace, a couch, a large window, many decorations, and a mini wooden ship that lights up on the mantel. This is where he comes to rest after his bath and this is the room he will be wrapped up in the cotton fabrics, then dressed in his regular clothing for the day. He does not don armor in the lounge.

The view from the window is not spectacular, in fact, it faces the wall of the guest bedroom. He didn't want a window that where people outside could see him. He can close his white drapes anytime though.

The room is cozy, it's warm, quiet, and comfortable. There is sometimes a wooden lute laid out on the couch, a musician will come in and play it some days so he can hear it wherever he happens to be dwelling on this floor. This is not Azzur's main room to stay in, he has his living room and kitchen area he prefers to be in. These rooms are not fully lit with much light, as his eyes are more accustomed to the dark, he does have other preferences.

Once he's dressed, he will go next to his private dining room and study.

***

He certainly does like colorful textiles. Who knew a badass like him would consider sleeping with the color pink? You have discovered a secret. It is no doubt his favorite color... along with blue and black. 

He bathes every day too no doubt, so like every royal on the planet, they are obsessed with perfumed oils and fresh hot water. A luxury you don't have, you bathe at the inn, and it certainly isn't hot enough water. His perfumes and oils smell floral and a bit spicy, they are just vials stuffed with herbs.

His lounge is rather cluttered with lots of his belongings, it's like a creature comfort room. His belongings consist of trinkets he collected, statues, vases, lots of throw blankets, pillows, a ship that lights up, peacock feathers, dried flowers, a witch compass, maps of unknown places and times, and tea cups.  

It kind of feels like Lord Azzur doesn't really like sleeping and resting in lavish luxury, his rooms on the 4th floor are rather dull compared to what's downstairs. You begin to wonder now, what does he honestly desire in life? His status no doubt is extremely important otherwise he wouldn't dedicate a whole dressing room to his attires.

Private Quarters, turn to .

Floor 4, Royal Dressing Rooms

Leaving the staircase now and passing through the almost enclosed bridge, one comes to a door of oak with a lock. Opening the door, there is a short but very dark corridor. On the walls are a few candles and old worn tapestries of distant royals centuries ago. There is also a stone head of a dragon set into the wall. This dragon can activate and shoot out a laser beam that will dissolve anything it hits, guards or workers must wear a certain type of talisman around these stone guardians. The hall is all stone and has three doors, two on the left, one on the right, and one door at the very end. Also, off to the further left is yet another set of doors. One door on the far right.

Going into the first door on the left, one arrives in the room where all of his lordship's clothing and attire is kept. One wall on the right holds up to forty spinning spools of cloth used to wrap Azzur's body set in blue, black, and cotton white. To the left of the room is a brand new armor, darker blue and gold, he has not worn it yet. Against the walls opposite each other are wardrobes, one contains his everyday clothes, the other is only for when he dons his armor or leaves to visit his ship. His twelve fancy turbans are featured in here on shelves, including his shoes, boots, and cloaks.

The room is all stone, painted blue, with red framing. An archway leads off to the right which goes into the main dressing room. This would be the second door on the left that's in the hall outside. The room is adorned beautifully with elegant silken draping on all the walls to cover up any bare spots, the ceiling is hidden over by more drapes pinned into the ceiling to create a fancy tent-like atmosphere. There are no windows in this room, it is only lit by a few candles, so it's quite dim.

Leaving this area and heading through the archway one comes now to where his lordship is dressed in whatever is chosen from the other room. In the center is a flat square block covered by a purple drape. On the backend of the wall is where all his swords are displayed. The famous blue armor he wears is displayed in this room against the wall by the two swords and 2 different sized daggers. The floor is covered by satiny fabric, the walls covered with more colorful drapes. It appears to have a sort of Madam Star or metaphysical circus look to it, but extremely lavish. This room is where he will only be dressed in armor, he is never clothed into his regular clothes here.

This room is also dim in nature, and has 1 tall mirror with golden framing and lush molding. He is adorned by only his trusted servants. The door to this room leads back out into the hall.

***

So this is where his lordship keeps all his clothes and body wrappings? The vain man. The spools are on the wall and layered so it's easy to pull out a wrapping and cut it clean off. Seems sometimes he wears cotton or silk. The fabrics are expensive too with a fine thread count. You open the wardrobe of one and see he's got trousers, tights, long white shirts, cloth boots, and cloaks to keep warm, some set with fur.

Going now into the other room through the archway, you can imagine him being dressed in his armor here, not saying a word, as they put on his gauntlets, forearm bands, his chest guard, boots and the such. His face staring at the mirror callously. You touch the swords and admire their craftmanship, they are nothing like you've ever seen. You wonder who made them? One is a cutlass, obviously what he takes to sea with him, it looks silver, the other is his golden Kopesh. He also has two daggers, one for his belt one for his turban. And he has many fancy turbans already! His designers must be nuts. 

How does Lord Azzur sleep at night? If he sleeps at all? You're certain you'll find that out soon.

Bed Chamber, turn to .

Floor 4, The Glass Staircase

 The staircase resembles a fragile giant box, the outside is stone-framed, the inside is glass. Stairs go up against the walls to the 4th level. In the center once sat a tall tarnished brass elephant but was long replaced with a man-eating plant when Azzur decided the staircase was where he was going to showcase all his royal jewels. This magnificent staircase not only has jewelry, but it also has stamina potions, luck potions, skill potions in pristine condition too which glow in their vials. Stairs encircling the room (or plant) the walls are windows with gemstones behind on display. Lord Azzur's wife's necklaces are featured here on half human busts that are still alive and ever watching. There are bangles, necklaces, bracelets, rings, extremely large (breast covering) traditional necklaces, golden chainmail, anklets, pendants, earrings, talismans, gold bars, mint coins from various parts of Titan, every gemstone imaginable, pearls, diamonds, fancy painted porcelain tea sets, gold rimmed tea sets, tiaras,  gowns made of gold thread.

There is so much displayed, Azzur no longer wears any of it, he only did during his married younger years.

Amongst other things on special display is a pink pendant tiara, with extremely fat diamonds, it is 500 karats and white gold. There is a pearls of jade and emerald stone necklace with a big diamond pendant, emerald measured to be as big as a 5x9 picture frame. A black diamonds necklace, with 1 large black diamond pendant. A rare blue diamond in 94.8 karats worth 52 million gold pieces, the diamond is surrounded by little diamonds. One has 3 fat diamonds, 1 small, 1 medium, 1 large, 930 thousand diamonds set in 1,000 karats with two large rubies of 234.65 karats, and 1 yellow diamond. The last necklace on display is worth over two million gold pieces, it has 11,5551 diamonds, 24 stones of jade, 19 blue mini diamonds, 600 pink diamonds, 114 white jade, 1 small dragonfly, 1 large butterfly.

Azzur displays his precious turban dagger full of gemstones, and a golden letter opener and seal breaker.

All necklaces are fastened with satin, the pearl chest necklace has 900 white pearls. There is a rare golden and turquoise turban pendant of a scarab, and a gold scorpion talisman.

Set in ancient gold, reds and blues are various necklaces, neck collars, armbands, earrings, bracelets, wrists, gold for fingers, ankles, and whole ear of Egyptian times. Three large talismans of a spider, a beetle, and a smaller scorpion.

In tumbled raw stones not polished or cut are ivory, lapis lazuli, citrine, emerald, amethyst, sapphire, quartz, jade, ruby, coral, carnelian, tiger's eye, jasper, turquoise, thousands of stones to name...

In painted rock, decorated shells, conches, carved bone, metals of iron, bronze, brass, and copper. As well as gold paint for Azzur's tunics and armor. There is also platinum.

The live busts feature all his wife's old chest necklaces, and when anyone comes close to them their eyes flick open, if it's someone they don't know they'll shriek, waking the plant up. They are up on the second levels of the staircase.

The staircase doesn't only hold fancy jewels, it's also home to spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, saffron, pepper, curry, and a non spice but very rare plant of poppy opium.

The glass ceiling is pointed upward like a triangle or pyramid, sparkling light escapes from it. A single door on the second level leads out to a small bridge that halts at another heavy door: Lord Azzur's dwellings....

***

You make sure not to wake the sleeping plant, you look in awe and probably disgust at the amount of wealth in this room. You did not know so many gems and gold could exist. You ponder where he even got it all from, you have heard he had once personal jewelers. Since he's a pirate he may have random treasure maps stashed somewhere. On the second floor you can smell the hint of spices, there must be barrels of them! And the stamina potions, if only you can grab a couple and save them for adventuring, why does he need them? Perhaps, you could take just one? No one will notice.

As you walk over to a strange sight, six half women are displaying these wicked over gawdy necklaces. They open their eyes and gasp gently. One starts to sob and begins to scream, the others scream too, and you hear a big plop! as the plant falls over and starts to stir, vines beginning to shift. You will not be made a meal of, and run to the nearest door which takes you outside onto a bridge of sort. Once in awhile this is where a black dragon perches and sleeps, but today, there is no dragon thankfully. You slam the stair's door as hard as you can and head to the other door.

4th floor, turn to .

Floor 3, The Villa

This area is not enclosed at all but it does have tiny housing units, gardens, peacocks, and stone walkways. It was built as a private dwelling for Lord Azzur's wife, she'd have everything provided for her in this villa of sort. Someone would come up from the kitchen and set up a stall or bazaar, making sure there was all kinds of breads, cakes, fruit to choose from and even textiles. She never needed to go downstairs for anything. Everything essential was brought to her. Now with her passing, the villa is still maintained by gardeners, but the Kukulak shrine, the bazaar, the main house, the bunks are all but abandoned. Azzur had spent a great deal in this villa while level 4 was being completed, it is even rumored he stayed down in the crypts below the sewer level when his palace was being constructed. The walls of this outer floor are protected by long sharp pikes of metal that are coated with a lethal slime that is not only poisonous but acidic. The villa has two levels to it, further back to the palace the villa has steps going up to to a second level. This higher floor is where guards stand around the most, they have a few posts here for shelter and there is the infamous glass staircase that goes up to the 4th floors. The villa overlooks the town.

The villa has many little gardens and lots of places to sit, the  buildings are white washed walls with terra cotta rooves, vaulted and compact in size. When the place was active it was like a little mini town built in the palace. It was a favorite of staff for years to pretend to go on vacation at a nice resort outside/upstairs with a room nearby with pool, sauna, and steam rooms.

Starting from the doors of the third floor, the cobblestone walkway circles around a miniature Kukulak temple, the temple has a small idol of the God of Winds in it. There's a stall where a pretend store would be set up, four huts with a single cot within, used at the time by servants and staff, and a 2-story house having living room space and a ladder like stairs to a bedding area. This was the official house of Azzur's wife so it was not spared in anything lush, it was exceedingly comfortable, and spilling over with wealthy furniture.

The second half that is adjoined by a stone staircase is further back to the palace and has a small guard tower, huts for them to rest and sleep in, and a square glass house of sort that has a man-eating plant in it. This is called the glass staircase and it goes up to the 4th levels. This upper villa spot overlooks the backyard. It is also joined to the guard post by the door that goes back into the dining room of the 2nd floor, one can just climb or descend a ladder to it. The tall tower nearby stretches high up to the tips of the palace and can only be accessed by the grounds below.

***

For you, being back outside is a pleasant thing. You walk amongst all the flower plots and poke your head into the temple, it smells of old incense and candles and looks like it requires a good upkeep. The main house has a couch in it, plush chairs, fireplace, dining area and a bed on the upstairs balcony landing. There's not much to see here and there are two peacocks that run about freely. Going to the higher level you can see the looming 4th floor with its bridges and peaking arches. You're curious what could be up there with the famous dictator? The glass staircase inside has a two-story high plant in it, set in the center. There are winding staircases against glass walls. Behind each glass is where Azzur keeps all his jewels, porcelain, chinaware, and gold. No one would dare to steal any of it, the plant is a giant Venus Fly hungry not for insects, but flesh and blood and it has many vines everywhere for quickly snatching a passerby.

Glass Staircase, turn to .

Floor 3, The Museum

Museum

There are wide and elegant white stairs guarded by two big stone angels, beyond is a tomb said to hold the crying remains of Lord Azzur's undead wife. Further back is the Carsepolis area having all kinds of ancient pottery and jugs. He had his museum made a certain way it not just displays old relics it also depicts them. Surrounding the exterior are half buildings of old Blacksand, and in center are three Egyptian sarcophagus, a coffin or a container to hold a coffin of a mummy. It's like walking in a neighborhood of how it might have been back then. Hardly no lighting either, it's gloomy and dark and creepy. One can walk along the homes and fake street which goes nowhere, walk where the Egyptian site is, look at pottery that is no longer available to find anywhere, so how he attained it is a mystery, or go look at the tomb. All of this before Port Blacksand was invented how it is today. The walls and floor are like Taj Mahal. No one likes coming into this area because of the rumored undead and out of respect that it's not just a museum but a gravesite. It's possible that one sarcophagus has a mummy in it, while the other two are reserved for the vampires. The tomb has no inscription on it, did he bury his wife here and forget her? Or is he keeping her identity a for longed secret? There appears to be a door that goes out to the outside patio too but it's locked. It's just a place that's abandoned after the sun goes down.

The Greenhouse and Ship room

These are located on the left side of floor 3, the greenhouse has all of Azzur's indoor tropical plants and exotic animals like lizards, birds, and snakes. It also has a big flowing fountain trapped in overgrowth. Here, to, is where Azzur's famed red parrot lives. He can mimic human talk and has a little orange gem for his missing right eye. It's humid and one can hear the trickling of water in here.

The ship room has a mini display of Azzur's pirate ship the Face of Chaos. It is a galley ship, a caravel, and set in red oak and red paint. Every detail is not spared, and painted on the walls is the wharf and taverns. The sounds of wind and a ship's bell tolls sometimes. The anchor stretches about the room and hoisted from the ceiling. The greenhouse appears to be trying to make it way into this room too, it's starting to get out of control. He loves his ship too much, just had to dedicate a whole room to it. The ship is not big enough to go aboard it, but it does come apart so one can see inside the ship's interior, and see how it was built. It's rather an eccentric piece.

Leaving these areas one passes a double door on the right which goes outside to the Villa and straight on towards a hallway.

The Royal Bedchambers

Also known as the Hallway of Portraits. There are four pictures on the walls between each bedroom. They have strange powers too if anyone gazes at them for too long. One can become possessed or mesmerized. It is unknown who painted these three noblemen and lady, obviously someone with a sick sense of humor. The males' skin is rotten, like they've are still alive after two centuries, rather zombie-like. The female wears a tall headdress of early medieval times, she too has decomposed flesh. One man will yell and curse the person looking at him, the other two cause paralyses, and she is often heard humming to herself and can grab the onlooker and tries to pull him or her into the painting. Across from them are narrow slit windows, and two statues, one of a sun goddess and one of a medusa. It's not the most happiest of halls or something one must endure just to get to their room but it's the reality. The two statues are in fact golems too and also perform during banquet shows, the medusa is the most feared form of entertainment but Azzur finds it amusing nonetheless. At the end of this hall hides a secret door to a towering staircase which goes down to the pendulum room and scullery. There's supposed to be more stairs going up to the fourth floor but they were ceased.

There are five royal bedchambers in this hall which all join to each other by a single door, possibly for visitors to visit each other instead of venture out into the hallway. The ones are named from the major Arcana: Hierophant, Temperance, Sslloyd, Hermit, and Communication. Each has a four poster bed, bearskins, wardrobe, tables, chairs, fireplace and mirrors. Each room is also haunted with something in it, ghosts evil spirits of the palace frequent these rooms a lot. Communication has a rare portrait of River Kok of Chiang Mai which images moves once in awhile.

***

You look at one of the paintings and grimace a bit, you can swear you smell something dead and rotten coming from it, like a decomposing hamster, it's awful. The male in the picture spits in your face causing you to reel backwards in disgust. You head back out to where the pillars are, wiping your face clean with your shirt. You head over to the Turkish Bath area its just a place where someone might want a massage, there are little fountains in the walls to wash one's hands with. You assume that the plumbing to this floor must be gargantuan in design. If only you could take a dip in the pool, or sit in the hot tub, it all looks refreshing. You can hear sound kind of faint drumming once in awhile from the museum but there's nothing or no one there to makes this tunes. Did Lord Azzur's wife really get buried alive? If you hung around the greenhouse any longer you might get malaria, but you did see a little parrot who told you it has a glass eye. Does the red parrot perch on his lordship's shoulders? He must be an animal lover as well as love flowers and plants. You didn't stay long in the dining room, the fairy dust made you sneeze and lightheaded. To look after that aquarium you think to yourself as you decide to head to the villa, must be a job in itself. What you have learned so far being in this palace is he likes to showcase his life in it, not just collect things, and the baby mammoth of how the hell they even got that thing indoors is also a spectacle. Things may have had to be brought inside when windows weren't installed, if not built within the room, like the table in the Battlements room. Also, there are NO steps to the fourth levels here, it's basically floor 1, 2, and 3. All of floor3 looks bigger than it's supposed to because it has mirrors for walls, and the pillars make it appear regal and infinite. Once in a few minutes, you can hear water gulping within the glass of the pillars, and they do let off a bit of heat. You can smell incense burning somewhere, but could not find the burner anywhere, it's possible it's coming from the dining room. The whole floor should be suffering from condensation, but surprisingly it does not. The museum is as bone dry as anything and the greenhouse is taken care of by gardeners and animal caretakers.

Time to go outside now,

Villa, turn to .

Floor 3, Hall of Pillars

Floor 3

Behind the porcelain lattice wall, by the sky windows is a winding staircase made entirely out of bones. It is unknown what kind of bones it's possible to be animal and human. They wind up to the right to a landing or balcony of sort where rests a taxidermy baby mammoth with curly horns. On the landing is a wide doorway guarded by two stallion heads. Lord Azzur has a collection of chess, dice, and tarot cards here. The theme is black and white like a harlequin, lots of glass mini tables and chairs, and glass shelves holding all sorts of dice (think D&D), some tarot cards are created from gold chips and come in various sizes. There are four black ebony steps that go up through the doorway to floor 3. Floor is checker patterned, walls white, railing made of whale bone. Elvish vines line the ceiling with little lights in areas only highlighting the apparatuses. The scent of strong incense comes out of the doorway.

Hall of Pillars

Going through the doorway one comes to a massive open floor plan marked with 30 pillars of blue cobalt, these pillars are filled with water and sometimes bubble. The area is sectioned into many parts with adjoined rooms and at the very far back is the museum, outside on the right is the Villa, and in this great room is where there is a pool, hot tub, and Turkish Bath. The pool is set in the floor on the right, it's rectangular and has an amber glow to it, the water almost ripples crystal clear, there are lights within. Nearby the pool is a curtained area where sits a clawfoot tub. The walls of this room are all mirrors, the floor granite, and the ceiling decked in carved designs in square panels. On the left is situated the hot tub which is filled with very hot water. On either side of the doorway are stone rooms, these are referred to as the sauna rooms or steam rooms. A wide staircase leads to the museum guarded by two large angels with swords. On the right is another doorway which leads into more rooms, one being the glittery dining room, aquarium room, and terrace that overlooks the Dome of Last Hope. The doorway to the right behind the Turkish Bath and hot tub leads to a greenhouse of sort, and the Ship of Chaos display room. Far beyond in the back next to the museum is located royal bed chambers area.

The dining room is guarded by a nesting blue mini ice dragon, the room has a table and only one throne chair, fireplace and glass shelves. What makes this room unique is that it's completely covered in all kinds of fairy dust. It looks abandoned with the foods on platters like cakes, chocolate, sweets and empty dishes and mugs. The room might be painted all black, but it is hard to tell with all the glitter. It may no longer be used at all. The dust is sparkly and tinged blue and seems to resemble wind blown snow, a door leads into the next room that has an aquarium set into the walls heated by two statues spewing fire from their palms. This is also known as the vampire's lounge because of the posh purple and red chaise lounges, Oriental cushions and Persian carpets and velvety red drapes. The fish tank is a salt water one having all kinds of school fish in it, coral reefs, an octopus, an eel, starfish, one jellyfish and crabs that appear to glow in metallic hues as they edge about. There are all kinds of stuffed weasels, peacocks feathers, and snake statues with ruby eyes and fortune telling table with crystal ball. The dusty French doors of the next room leads outside to the patio guarded by blind sword belly dancers. There are three of them standing in their own private alcove. This is to ensure no one scales this area hoping to get inside the palace alive. One may sit out here, look up at the stars, drink a bottle of blood and vodka, and admire the top of the dome and the fairy gardens across the way; It also has an absinthe station. The belly dancer golems were imported from a Sultan in the desert. The outside terrace would be lovely if it weren't jammed packed with jars of human remains, skeletal pieces, mummified body parts, formaldehyde jars, and human heads. There are small chests filled with silver coins covered in dust, and some coins replace the eyes of the heads. There area was renovated recently, it used to be all closed and used by the mad scientist who now resides in the dungeons in his laboratory. A brazen filled with ash and coals remains that was once used to brand victims. Here, the scientist would conduct bizarre and cruel experiments and here is where the vampires would line up for food from him. He also specialized is powerful drugged wines made of blood and wormwood. It's not a welcoming area. The dragon in the dining room is perched inside the wall, breathing cold ice down along the wall which melts closer to the floor.

To go to the museum, turn to .

Floor 2, Court Hall 2

After visiting the Court room, there are a few more things to explore in the court hall.

The Dome of Last Hope

The bulbous dome has meticulate patterns that tease the light from outside and looks particularly sparkly and glistening when the sun is out. It was created there to give prisoners a sense of lost hope, it is located directly above where the stairs (in the court hall) make a sharp right turn up to the second level. It bulbs outward from the ceiling to the outside like a half bubble. It does offer lots of brightness to the room below. It was installed long after the palace was built as a last notion of peculiar architecture.

The 2nd level landing

All that is up here is the lattice window stretching across the wall, one can look down upon the court room from here. At the rear of this level is a doorway to a tower that goes down to the kitchens, dungeon, and all the way up to the 4th floor. It's the stairs used by Azzur mostly.

The Battlement Room

There are four glass stained windows in here almost resembling the ones down in the lobby, but these ones however have no graphic art or images, it's just multi-tinted glass. Set in the center of the room is squished in this heavy table. There are two fireplaces in here one on each wall and the room is lit up either by the colorful windows or candles in holders on the walls and on surfaces. The windows cannot be seen through but the view from them would be the front yard. All the available wall space is covered in musket pistols (think Magehunter), all kinds of fancy bows and arrows, sacks of gunpowder, very special daggers and swords. All of these weapons are enchanted and when fired create a lot of explosive damages. Upon the table is a tabletop war game of sort and many scrolls and maps. The room is a bit of disorder actually. There seems to be miniatures located outside of Port Blacksand standing guard nearby the town, and blueprints of an extension to the city referred to as Azzurtropolis. Does he plan to make Port Blacksand bigger? He also is trying to incorporate an army along with his Elite guards. Whatever his plan is, he's hoping to be stronger and more advanced than Salamonis. There's also treasure maps in here revealing secret caves full of jewels and gold chests and lost cities of deserts. Anyone getting a hold of these maps would be rich beyond their dreams. There are two doors into this room from the court hall. A hidden tower with spiraling staircase is set in the corner outside this room, and is used by guards to bring prisoners up from the basement to await trial.

The servant's quarters hall

This is accessed by exiting the court hall via the back door, this plain stoned corridor stretches far along the backend of the palace and cuts off at the glass lounge. Servants use this hall. It has many window slits showing the back yard. This is where unwanted things are stored as well, so the hall is a bit messy and uncouth. It has three entrances, one to the secret tower stairs, one to the court hall, and one way far down that goes into the corridor between the Banquet and Glass Lounge rooms.

***

You have toured all of floor 2, you can now return to the foyer area and go up the bone staircase to the 3rd levels. You wonder mostly as to what Azzur is planning for Allansia and will he be successful? Could he be promoted from dictator to emperor of the western coast? After seeing the court room you are glad you don't work here, for the rules are uncanny, unfair, and deplorable here. Even the bloody drapes must be fashioned a certain way so their pleats show perfectly in a mathematical fold. It's just craziness. He must not visit the servant's cold dark corridor, for if he did he'd have a humid fit! It's still swept and dusted but it's cluttered with all kinds of things like old bear pelts, crates full of musketshot, cannonballs, sacks of hay, old pieces of wood from rooms, and broken or discontinued furniture. There are old dusty empty wine bottles too, which deem rather suspicious, as they should not be there. It's time to retrace your steps, you take a shortcut through the court room and go through one of the hidden doors to get back out onto the landing of the foyer steps.

Floor 3, turn to .