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 .

Floor 2, Court Room

 There are two entrances from the Court Hall into this room, one is a single door that private only to Azzur, and the double glass doors which is what everyone uses. It is most famous this room and has a reputation outside of the palace even, it's where Azzur sits upon a throne-like chair behind a wooden screen, and can be often heard shouting angrily at prisoners and he whispers into his assistants' ear, usually one of his priests, and the person receiving his command will announce what sentence the prisoner will take.

The room is divided by a sliding wooden screen, it has thin mesh which is slightly see through. By the two way mirror is a fountain of Justice holding scales spewing not clear waters but red. By the wall are three parliament chairs in green, this is where palace goblin judges might sit to watch proceedings unfold. The floor is carpeted, the walls wood paneled and green paisley, as well as the ceiling. Behind the screen is a big cushioned black and silver chair with a tall carved back. It resembles a throne. Over by the nearby wall of it is a serpent lady statue. There is a bar up across the sliding screen where usually a vulture is perched. Above the doors is a lattice window where nosy staff can watch from. The two hidden doors that lead back out to the corridor by the banquet hall are still not seen, one must push on it to open it. The judges are usually the ones who enter and exit of these doors. From the two way mirror anyone in the court can see a person pass by it outside.

On a scheduled date, this room is bustling with lots of people hollering and wagering bets even before the lord arrives to take his seat. He sits behind the screen in all his best black robes, the screen would only be opened if Azzur seriously wants to make his point known and to yell no doubt. A prisoner will be dragged in by guards crying, screeching, begging as the vulture flaps its big wings.

"Here! Here!" One person yells

"Sing! Sing!" Cries another.

"The prisoner approaches the bench, milord. His crime? Stealing berry wine from the cellar." says a guard in all black platemail.

"Into the dungeon!"

"Kill him!"

Lord Azzur is usually not so talkative from behind the screen, he does whisper over to his assistant however, and he will say "His lordship decrees that this man be beaten until he is almost dead."

The prisoner on his knees will make a plea that he never stole a damn thing.

"Lies," says the one judge.

A bald headed man in green robes holding a scroll speaks, "Death shall not fit the punishment, he must be taken to the laboratory and injected with this wine he stole until his parched tongue is swollen with the very berries he was famished of!"

"Beat him, scold him, burn him..."

The prisoner starts sobbing, "I did nothing of the sort. I am innocent."

"There is no proof of your innocence, you were reported by many palace workers. They believe you loathsome. Are you NOT the dungeon cleaner? You must clean out the cellar, do you not?"

"Yes."

"Then you will know where the expensive wine has gone to?"

"Sirs, I know nothing about missing bottles of wine." He cries, wrists shackled. "It is not my duty to keep count of what liquor is stored in the ale room, that is the job of the cooks!"

"Blaming others of your evil deeds, I see. For shame!"

Lord Azzur whispers something, and the cloaked assistant says "How many bottles have been taken?"

"Your lordship, greatness, this has been happening for months ever since he started work down there. He was once a barn worker, cleaned them out. He is known for his drunkenness."

There's silence now.

Lord Azzur sits there for a long time as the prisoner claims he did nothing wrong. Then there is a growl, a grumble, "Bring forth the cooks." He exclaims quietly but angrily.

"That wine, sire, is not cheap to make. It comes from the Vale, and made of ice slumberberries, and to have servants help themselves thinking there are no ill consequences of their actions, they cannot be allowed to place accusations upon others."

More silence...

Lord Azzur decides that the prisoner will be taken below stairs and locked up for a month, beaten, and starved for awhile, but not tortured. The cooks are very protected workers and to blame them for stealing is a major offense.

Loud voices thunder the room upon the verdict, and Lord Azzur rises from his chair and exits the room without another word. The prisoner is relieved he didn't get the death penalty. Of course, since he's sentenced to the dungeon keep he will never be seen again.

This is what happens in the Court Room, the serpent woman is in fact a golem and can reanimate to life and attack, she has six arms holding each a weapon and has snakes for hair like a Medusa. Her snake tail is coiled, and her back is pressed up against the wall. With the screen closed, the ones on the other side cannot know she is there. She is one of Azzur's private servants and quite deadly, if the court demands immediate death like say someone spied Azzur's face uncovered, they can watch the golem lady maim the prisoner right there in the courtroom.

Where to now?

Go back out to the court hall, turn to .

Floor 2, Court Hall 1

 The corridor is narrow as well, set between the banquet hall and the court room which can only be accessed from this hallway via two hidden doors set in the wall. No one knows the doors are there, they just assume it's a regular hall, there is a door at the back that does lead into another section of the palace. This corridor has dark green silk wallpaper, wood, and jade floors, three small skeletal chandeliers, and up front it goes back out to the foyer areas.

Rather than utilize the secret doors, let us go through the rear door. Once through you arrive at a bright area that is carpeted stretching back to the front of the palace. This area is referred to as the Court Hall. It has a staircase against the wall that goes up to a balcony, a table against the wall between two doors, the table is where the winged creature that sits on Lord Azzur's carriage rests, if anyone passes the table it spreads it bat like wings slowly. This area is very well lit, with a lot of white themes, and at the front along the palace is two more doors but they lead into the Battlements room. To the far left while turning the corner one can walk down this dark hallway that ends at a black iron lattice window with a view of the foyer below. There is a single chair here too, possibly where someone going into the courtroom to be charged would sit quietly watched by an orc guard as there is a guard post in this area. There is also a massive mirror or window set in black tint in this mini hall too, but one cannot see the courtroom beyond from the outside, for it is a two way mirror.

The court hall floor is situated above the head guard's barracks below. There are some windows lining the wall where the staircase is but they are very narrow and don't offer much a view. The heavy double glass doors to the courtroom is where the prisoner would go through, the other single door is only for Lord Azzur's private use. Above the curling staircase is a big dome window set in the ceiling, it is nicknamed the Dome of the Last Light and Hope because it was built to allow the sunlight to play in it, giving a sense of beauty of outside and the last light the prisoner will ever see before going down to the dungeons. It's a cruel intention but it works psychologically. The balcony above is just having a wooden lattice window peering down into the court room, and is busy with staff watching nosily proceedings happening that day. There are two hidden staircases, one staircase by the battlement room is used by guards bringing up prisoners from the basement. The other spiraling staircase in way far back behind the stairs and is used by servants mostly, it is the same staircase that goes down to the kitchen mess area and up to the 4th levels and used by Azzur.

When not in use by court dates, the area can get very busy with staff, Azzur is only seen here when he has to be at a meeting. His angry voice can be heard thundering as he hollers at some unfortunate soul.

***

If you were a staff member would you come here to watch someone get sentenced to be killed or tortured? It's the only bit of political entertainment the palace gets. You could sneak into the battlements room and spy on what his lordship is planning, unfortunately the room is usually locked. There is this ugly humanoid creature with bat wings seated upon a wall table. He slowly extends his wings as if warning the person passing by to not go into the Courtroom, if it's not preoccupied. The area is extremely well lit up and lots of white paint, floors, and curtains. It's as clean as the Great White Hall is. There must be a fountain or something beyond the double glass doors, you cannot see through these blocks of window of the doors, but you can definitely hear running water beyond. You follow the mini darkened hall back to a lattice window, it's a bit of a boxy place set with a single rickety chair. A place to sit and observe the foyer before you die. Obviously done on purpose to tease, as if you're about to die or be locked away in the dungeons forever who will you tell you saw the foyer?  No one. You cannot see through the two way mirror either, but it is rumored that a black cloaked ghost with a scythe can be seen floating in it some nights. You're curious about the court room, what's in there?

The Court room, turn to .

Floor 2, Theater, Fountain Room, Armory

Theater

Leaving the banquet area through the red doors it opens into a big bar room with a mini stage and red curtains. It could be filled with chairs if there was a live show on. There are two other exits from the room, one on the left and right. The left one goes into an armory, and the one the right goes into some sort of fountain room. Good showcase rooms for roaming guests to tour the palace floors while they stay. The kinds of plays of this theater may be mostly political, comical, opera and perhaps Greek and Roman. There is a dancing mime, a female who dances about like a ballerina. Above the room is an overpass with window, this is where Azzur coming from the gold booth would secretly watch the plays from. It is accessed from the hookah balcony. Room is wood, with polished obsidian floors, and lit by big candles and solo standing candelabra branches. This is also the location to the After Dark club when the activities in the banquet Hall have retired for the night. It is interesting to know what happens in the After Dark but it's possibly a whole lot of hard liquor, strong wormwood and absinthe, opium, hallucinating drugs or certain poisonous plants ingested for their ill effects, and a heck of a lot of chains, leather and nudity. It starts roughly 2 am sharp and ends at dawn. It's strongly a vampire's abode too, so cannot be completely safe.

Fountain Room

There are three active fountains in this room, so the palace has a continuous supply of water and excellent plumbing systems. Frost Giant swords line the walls, with fancy hilts, they twinkle and sparkle in a cold hue with the lighting of torches. Room is brown and cream, off-white, two small circular lamps above, and another exit which leads into the corridor between the Glass Lounge and Banquet room. One fountain is made entirely out of citrine and has water with peachy color to it. One fountain is made of green stone and bellows water strongly in a refreshing cold torrent. And the third fountain is made of rock from the ocean having fossils of shells in it, there is a metal statue of a naked man standing in the center of it, water cascades around his legs. It is unknown who the man is, but some whisper that it could be Azzur actually, the statue's manhood has not been chiseled.

Armory Room

Leaving now from the fountain room and passing through the theater one arrives at Azzur's personal museum of armor, weapons and helms. Collected from places like Hachiman, a red vampire metal suit from Mauristata, metallic dragon scale armor is displayed, silvery Elvish armor, metal shields, gladiatorial helmets, different types of fancy rapiers, gold scepters for terrible royals, jeweled swords on purple velvet cushions that cause aging death spells, elite Roman soldier armor cursed with nightmares, and a spiked platemail one from Neuberg. He may have tried these pieces on at one point, but some of them are cursed items and hex the wearer such as the suffer-insanity spiked one. One helmet of brass makes the bearer a serial murderer, one set of gauntlets (which cannot be removed after being put on else the person taking them off gets turned to gold) turns everything they touch into gold cursing the wearer to starvation, and a broadsword covered in emeralds turns anything the blade touches into an ornament, and one piece of armor from the Dead City turns whoever puts it on into an irreversible flesh-eating monster. Not very pretty pieces and best to be touched either. The room has fur carpets, glass, red and white themed.

Leave out the door now to go out into the corridor, turn to .

Return to the Banquet Hall, turn to .

Floor 2, Banquet Hall

 Banquet Hall

The narrow hall between the library and Banquet hall has polished green floors, floral red and black walls, dark ambient lighting from two ruby iron wrought chandeliers with crimson candles, there is a very large door to the banquet room, one door at the back and up front opens back out to the foyer areas.

The banquet hall is where guests are entertained, it has live music, foods, and a hookah balcony. The cannibas balcony is located above the hall and overlooks the room. The floor is decorated in intricate designs of mandalas. The room is usually divided into two parts, where the balcony is below it is where performers dance and sing, watched from a glittery golden lattice booth where Azzur sits behind. The booth has a table and chair and ladder up to the balcony. The hall is fireproof, it has live fire eater shows, and pyro tech dancers. Next to the area where entertainers work, is an empty area where tables might be put for guests and onlookers. Above it this massive three tiered chandelier full of a thousand mini lights that dance and mimic to the orchestra music being played. It resembles that of a Christmas tree, full of optics, lasers, and blinking flashing lights of all colors, held up by heavy chains. It is as wide as a fountain. There are red double doors off to the backend that lead into the theater. Up on the hookah terrace are pillows, cushions, seats and hookah shishas of orange, forest green, cobalt, they are a waterpipe with a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco, or weed. Azzur does use this area, he's not a stranger to it. When the room is being occupied it can set all kinds of different lighting sources from dim, rainbow, a single color and even the mandalas can light up upon contact. There are usually about four rectangular table set under the chandelier where food and beverages are served, and instead of chairs very long benches are used. There is a doorway under the balcony area that goes into another corridor similar to the other one, but this one leads to the courtroom opposite. If Baron Sukumvit is visiting, he sits in the gold boxy booth with Azzur.

***

The chandelier above you is slight pulsating in tones of white, as if it's asleep and breathing heavenly. There are no tables, everything is put away for the time being. Nothing activates as you walk in, it's dark and lonely, much different to what it might look like during parties. You heard there is an After Dark club but it's unclear as to what it is exactly you can only conclude it's adults only. Up on the terrace, you can smell the tobacco and marijuana lingering in a slight odor on the air, you can assume it's coming off all the cushions and pillows. The texture and design of the hookah balcony is bohemian and only meant for sitting and lying on the floor. There is also a sitar nearby. Seems like a nice place for meditating. You go back down the ladder to the booth, there is a single fancy chair and circular table facing the dance floor outside. Through the lattice the view isn't so altered but it's no doubt used as a shield from any performer possibly being an assassin. You can smell incense and perfume but don't know where it's coming from. There is a door that leads out into a corridor, and another door that goes out into the banquet room.

Theater, turn to .

Skip the above rooms and leave the Banquet Hall into a corridor, turn to .

Floor 2, the Painted Ceiling

 Directly above the library is this awesome illustration of imageries of people and cosmos. There was lots of blue, purple, black and yellow inks and paints used. In general references to what is exactly painted up there there is an oversized naked goddess in yellow ribbons, celestial worlds, strange planets, a solar system possibly our own, an elvish baby in blue suckling the tit of its saintly mother, almost floating forgotten ancient places, a red crazy haired goddess in a chariot pulled by fiery lions in outer space she races for a kingdom of crystal mountains,  blue clouds, crystal castles and odd landscapes not known to Titan, tarot cards featuring only the major arcana, portraits of village people and farmers with pointed ears, gods and demons that look Oriental or Arabian dancing with these people by pyres, strange animals being hunted, and a giant dragon-like Pegasus, and people with glowing blue fists as if having psy powers. The painting of outer space is fancy and done in 3D not 2d.

Above the music room is where the suckling infant starts, above the library is the yellow ribboned seductive goddess floating in space without a care she rather resembles Venus, and above the glass lounge is the celestial paintings. Along the walls of the library on the left is the white flying horse, tarot cards and villagers, and on the right is the red haired vixen in the chariot and the strange worlds she's chasing. The question is what do they all mean? Lord Azzur was very specific in the details. The ceiling took an entire year to paint and everything in it is nothing that exists on Titan. Someone might decipher it and say it looks like its from Femphry or far eastern coasts of Allansia. The Painted Ceiling depicts secretly Azzur's hidden heritage and lineage from his mother's side, to her ancestors home on another planet, their culture and belief system were taught to Azzur as a child by Zelakar. The man who raised him. To anyone in Titan, any scholar reading the ceiling without having zero knowledge of the Gith would deem impossible to understand. The questions raised is Lord Azzur a Gith or just remotely a fan of them? His mother claims she has hereditary background of it, but it is unknown if she's telling the truth because she died when he was born leaving only scrolls of slight information. As far as Lord Azzur knows, he's human 100%. Azzur owns a replica Githblade of gold and has many scrolls and books on the Gith world that either Zelakar told him about or that he made up himself. The images in the Painted Ceiling are of the gods and goddesses, peoples and creatures, places of the Gith World. The suckling infant may be Azzur himself as a celestial child in a far away land with his mother. There must still be more research done on Lord Azzur's background to determine what his true nationality is. The ceiling cannot answer these questions. According to Titan, this Gith propaganda is indeed foreign, and the cosmos painted above is where they exist. But in Titan's timeline of 200s AC there are no spaceships in the medieval lands so it's impossible to even know these places survive still or that there is even a way of getting to them. Its all nothing but a marveling prodigy. There is even a question as to why Lord Azzur dreamt of a Beholder, as this creature does not exist either in Titan. Perhaps more will be explained later.

Banquet Hall, turn to .

Glass Lounge, Library, Music Room, turn to .

Floor 2, Glass Lounge, Library, Music Room

 It is named the glass lounge because of the windows and glass drinks bar. The windows starting from the floor and all the up to the ceiling like a tremendous bay window are tinted blue, the view from them is the backyard below, one can see the little huts and stables and barn and fruit trees. The bar where hard liquor is served is also made of same tinted glass, there are glass shelves holding all sorts of wine and spirit bottles. The bar has stools to sit at and it is also where all the glass wine goblets are stored. This area is not a single room, in fact it shares the same space as the library which is located in center, and the music room which is situated at the front. So it is a massively huge room. We will account them by divisions on this page.

The glass lounge is where one may drink booze, it serves no other purpose than that.

The center of the room has the library, shelves on either wall, that are two storey high balconies. In between them is a circular lounging couch set in the floor, and within the circling couch is a giant firepit spewing blue flames. It is a good place to rest, read a scroll, and put your feet up to keep them toasty. Ladders that slide can be used to go up to the second landing to search more books or whatever is on the shelves, and in the cabinets. All of Azzur's books are here from necromancy, interstellar sciences, physics, tarot reading, palm reading, leaf reading, sorcery, spell books, ships, herbology, plants and flowers of Titan, animals, pet care, grooming books, sewing, castles, blueprints, maps, scrolls with ancient texts on them, bottles of potions,  religion, outer space, astrology, metaphysical, spiritual, mathematics, personal journals and diaries by Azzur, time travel, creatures and monsters of Titan, seas, mythology, cook books, carpentry, masonry work, stone cutting, jewelry making,  health books, anatomy, embalming, mummification, pharaohs, all types of kings and queens, deities, demonology,  world maps, pirates, clothing, fabrics, textiles and materials, divination, witches, angels, weaponry and armory, gods and goddesses, history books, books by scholar academies and many others. Everything is all wood and the floor is set in white. The ceiling however is painted in intricate strange and questionable art just like the Sistine Chapel. The room is not just made up of the three sections, there is an Elvin tree growing up out of the floor by the pendulum room doorway. When the palace was being built the tree had rumored to suddenly sprout without stopping after Illios Valentis was hanged and Azzur said to just build around it. Someone has decorated the tree with purplish and white twinkly lights. The circular lounge in the floor is in themes of paisley blues and whites with cushions and pillows strewn about it. The firepit is made of marble. Around all the exits of this great room are metal flowers, which grow in crazy veined and blossoming bursting spouts, and although very colorfully gorgeous, they are as razor sharp as a knife so it takes a special gardener with a special machete to trim them before they start getting out of control. They make good guardians and can quickly block doors. The library on the left side also has a big wooden wind-up clock that chimes, and on the right side opposite the clock is this aptly placed mirror? It is unknown as to what the mirror signifies or if it might have something to do with the clock? Perhaps more secret divination ideas.

The music room is closed off by a heavy velvet red drape with golden tassels, in the music room is set into the wall a brass and wood organ, there is a big gold harp, and a few wooden benches for sitting. Besides the organ piano is a hidden door that goes back out into the Great White Hall. Little naked flying Cupids adorn the room with ribbons.

Two large doorways of the library area lead out into a corridor, this corridor will take one back out to the second level foyer stairs and also across to the Banquet Hall. The doorways have a sheer curtain for privacy.

***

Most impressive you think, miracles of art can indeed be invented, for the room is busy and so full of eye candy you don't know where to start. Above you is a very wide arched ceiling painted in images of things you do not understand or can translate or decipher. It would take you months just to go through the library in total, but what does his lordship write about? What might go through the mind of a dictator? You're not in the mood for drink so you skip the glass lounge. The firepit gives off a steady warmth with its blue flame, to modern times, one may say it's natural gas, but the flames are blue for a reason. One summer during the building of the palace there were forest fires everywhere because everything was so scorched and dry. Lord Azzur put a fire ban on his palace, so those who installed the torches, lanterns, stoves, candles, fireplaces, indoor fire pit had to use sorcery to recreate the flames. The result was them turning blue. So if one lights a match outside, the flame is normal, but once it comes inside the palace it becomes blue. It still gives off heat but will NOT catch fire to anything. It was a safety precaution implemented. You read that somewhere, you just can't recall where, but that is one fact you know. You go up to the second level balcony of the library scaling one of the ladders and spy a diary by Lord Azzur, in it he writes about...birds. Apparently he likes birds and owns a red parrot and a vulture somewhere. He also likes tending honey bees at his forest dwelling chateau. He writes about how to preserve honey, care for bees, and how to look after bats. You half expected him to talk about destroying the entire world! but nope. He has another diary on his dreams and how to understand them, apparently he dreams about other planets, flying through outer space, and befriending a Beholder. One other diary is about Giths, and you are unfamiliar with that species, but he goes on talking about their world and you realize sharply that the ceiling above also depicts this fictional place and peoples. You wonder what he's going on about because it makes no sense. Either he's crazy and overly imaginative or he's really been to this other planet somehow. You slam the journal shut hard sending up a cloud of dust which causes you to sneeze. You can now examine the ceiling further or leave this room entirely.

The Painted Ceiling, turn to .

The Banquet Hall, turn to .

Floor 2, Pendulum Room

 It is the room that separates the dining room from the Glass Lounge. The room is circular with a large dripping pendulum of silver hanging above by a metal thread. Below it is a disc full of yes no maybe answer runes. There is a semi circle mosaic glass window up above that when the sun shines through it the beams hit the pendulum just right and the tip of the pendulum shines a light down upon the disc, so anyone using divination can get a quick answer either every dawn or dusk. There is an archway leading into the next large room. A secret doorway that goes up to the third levels and back down to the scullery in the kitchen is concealed behind a wall of stone that must be opened using a hidden lever. Small metal tables hold hour glasses filled with the sands of the Desert of Skulls, there are wood and metal world globes, and glass boxes with different types of sand in them on the floor, some of the sand appears to have spilled out of some of them and no one has swept it up yet. It is unknown what the sand is used for.

This room only serves the purpose of scrying and is located here because of the sun's positioning. It may be used by Lord Azzur or even his priests. The floor is all stone but networked in fancy designs and the walls are lined with stone beams making the room look like a twisting cylinder.

***

You leave the dining room finally and arrive in this peculiar room, above you is a hanging teardrop of silver and glass crystals and at your feet is some sort of circle of runes. You turn a large hourglass upside and watch the sands fall through into the chamber, it's an hour one, but there are various other sizes too that help tell the time. It's not quite the correct time of day to ask the pendulum a question and expect an immediate answer, you'd have to come back in a couple of hours. If you did want to ask the divination tool a question, what would it be? Through the arched doorway you spy an impressive room beyond and don't waste any more time in here.

The Glass Lounge, turn to .

If you wish to retrace your steps, you can always do so by going to the

Dining Room, turn to .

Floor 2, Dining Room

 Dining Room

It's a giant open floor plan and not as well lit as the Great White Hall is adjoins. Guarded by two oriental dragon windows, the room is divided into two sections. On the left side are three pillars decorated with large broadswords and shields. There are two twenty foot golem statues against the wall, and long flowy tapestries of Lord Azzur pinned to the walls beside them. These three pillars hold up a heavy wooden ceiling full of fancy beams. The theme is all stone, and stone that's in the least bit exciting. Torches line the walls giving the left side a dark ambient feeling of a dungeon.

On the right is where the extra long dining table sits. There is also a staircase against the wall behind it that veers up to a walkway, and a rather useless one and that, as it appears to serve no purpose. The dining table can seat up to twenty people, and has a throne like chair at the end of it obviously where Azzur might sit. The tabletop is all mirror, and above it reflects Turkish lamps of various colors. The most magnificent thing though of the entire room is the main wall on the right, it's made entirely out of iron lattice and lets in the air outside. On the railing of the useless walkway are heavy brazen incense burners along the balustrade most likely burning granular Dragon's Blood or myrrh. The exits to this room being the main archway one, is a door on the very far end of it leading into some dark hallway. There is another heavy wood door atop the stairs which leads out to a guard post. At the base of the steps is a third twenty foot statue of a soldier.

This room only serves dining for guests with an appointment with his lordship, Lord Azzur does not eat in this room. It's more like for meetings.

It has three twenty-foot soldier statues that can come to life with the pikestaffs and attack. Not much detail had been given to this place, except that Azzur wanted a castle feel to it and nothing spectacular.

***

On the dining room table is a large glass bowl of fruit. You grab a grape, and here, you also eat that lemon you stole from the officer lounge. You wonder why it looks so drab in here, so lonely and destitute. It's still beautiful, large and regal, it's just you've seen better dungeons in Vatos than this. You sit in Lord Azzur's throne chair and pretend to eat. If he caught you doing this, you'd be dead meat.

You now go up the stone stairs to see what's beyond that wooden door and see only a tiny place outside with a firepit. This is a guard post, you can see the tall tower outside from here too. You close the door after going back in and head down the stairs to another door nearby, beyond it is a short hall that leads into this very strange room.

The Pendulum Room, turn to .

Floor 2, The Great White Hall

 The Great White Hall

Spanning the entire length of the front the right side of the palace, this well lit hall has eight narrow slit windows and a bar over each to cover with a white curtain. There are many cannons resting here, a massive fake fireplace set in gold, taxidermy animal heads such as elk, tiger, deer and polar bear, and many coat of arms from various regions of Titan. The floors, walls, and softly vaulted ceiling are all white. The ceiling is adorned with carved leaves and vines and carrying the brunt weight of three golden and brass chandeliers each holding up to thirty candles. There are many fancy tapestries, flags, and a life-size portrait above the fireplace of Lord Azzur seated upon a black horse and not in his blue well-known armory but in all his regal black robes. The picture is in a dark forest, the steed has glowing red eyes and fiery hooves. The frame of this painting is set in gold trimmings and carefully painted by some unfortunate unknown artist. The fireplace is all marble and carved with red coral and has real large wood logs in it, obviously never fired up.

The view at the start of the hall is a bone staircase behind a porcelain lattice wall going up to the third floor, the area lit by sky windows and glass.

Going further down the great hall and away from the bone staircase, the hall ends at an Arabian door which opens to a mini balcony. The balcony does not seem to serve much of an important venue except the empty view of the grounds below and a big tall stone wall where the guards frequent. On the immediate left, is going into a dining room, it has a big arched doorway having that of two oriental dragons carved right through the wall and made to appear like windows.

The Great White Hall's lights can be seen from outside as the sun sets, the hall is mainly used by those using the dining room, music room (which has a secret door by the fireplace) and can be completely avoided by utilizing the second floor walkway of the foyer to just go up the bone staircase. The bone stairs are hidden from view by the lattice wall however and cannot be seen  from the foyer stairwell and the Great Hall also cannot be seen from the foyer areas.

***

To you, seeing this, the first thing that comes to mind are the animal heads along the wall... did Azzur hunt these creatures or were they gifts? For someone so apt not to eat meat, it must mean then he does go hunting just won't eat them. You do not know what any of the flags mean, being a tourist of Allansia you're not familiar like he is of other nations. So him displaying these means perhaps he is a fan of those places? Or were they conquered by him? The banners are of royal people who you also have no idea of. The hall is as white as a snowflake. Above hang these ominous chandeliers almost too large for the hall but stunning nonetheless. You assume the cannons, like in the Water Citadel, fit into the windows? The cannons have not a drop of dust, rust, or old oil on them. It's so pristine in here you feel like you should remove your shoes in here.

The painting back at the foyer area of Baron Sukumvit's palace was painstakingly brushed by some madman with a lot of unnatural patience. His house is not built upwards like Azzur's home but outwards with lots of land to cover and mountains in the background. It must be an amazing palace to be in, but no one has ever seen its interior. Why Azzur had decided to even have a portrait like that done up is a mystery but so are other things you've seen so far. It's obviously a homage as they are indeed friends. You can tell that much craftmanship was created here, you can slightly imagine workers and artists busy at work: chiseling, painting, hammering, and decorating as if their lives were in peril if they didn't get it right the first time. How many artists died in the making of the palace?

As for the staircase made of bones, you will come back this way later after you've seen all of the second floor. The sky windows are all squares set with shady glass for windows, there are twelve windows in total starting from the bottom and all the way up to the ceiling! but it surely brightens up everything, it makes the area chirpy, merry, and happy unlike the gloom of other rooms. The lattice wall is smooth and off white, you deduce that it's there for privacy so no one in the foyer areas can see someone using the third floor staircase. The stairs are behind it, you couldn't see that at the foyer steps, but now you know. Looking out one of the windows you can see the front yard and the wall that surrounds the fortress. Guards meagerly walk by along the top of the wall, bored out of their tree, unaware they are being observed by you. If you poke your face against the glass you can even see the exterior of the lobby below. It has a vaulted roof and sticks out like a sore thumb, the windows from up here just look like color stained glass, you cant really make out the details of them as you did when you were in there earlier today.

When you go back to the Fang painting and look up at the ceiling there is this disgusting creature with its back embedded into the ceiling. Who in their right mind would use such a beast, an ugly thing, in their house like this? To what serves such a purpose? It may be some sort of prisoner here, but you also do not want to know what it is meant for, something unpleasant no doubt, and if you stand around long enough gawking at it you just might find out. You quickly head down the Great White Hall towards that dining room you've seen earlier.

Dining Room, turn to .

Floor 2, Top Staircase Landing

Floor 2

Top Staircase Landing

At the top of the stairs of the foyer, it divides off to either the right or left corridors of the second floor. The top is all open, only being overlooked by railings of the floor, above is embedded a giant Swamp Monster with a jewel for a third eye, and it acts as a minimum light for the area. It does make some movements of its long tentacles and blinking two eyes. Resting against the wall of the top landing is a six foot tall kite shield of Azzur's crest, adorned by two royal blue drapes. The crest is of a dragon with extended wings, it's belly the shield having the image of a caravel sailing quietly under the darkness of a sun and moon, below the shield is a House of Azzur credo in a foreign runes, the dragon's two hind feet stick out. There is also incense smoke of frankincense seeping out of the dragon's beak. The crest is painted in blue and silver and its metal hammered. In each corner of the wall are two eight foot golem guards of crystal holding onto a pike, its base stuck into the floor. They are in fact Crystal Warriors imported from overseas and enchanted to stay put unless the palace is under attack, they can detach from their corner and walk. The strange light creature above if provoked can come to life will grab is victim and tear him to shreds in a violent bloodbath. The landing also has carpet runners of blue Persian design. Starting on the left is a dark hall going further backwards into the palace, its walls are in dark green silky wallpaper and wood, the floor is polished green jade, and it has a short spanning railing that ends at what appears to be some iron wrought lattice cage, without knowing what lies beyond it. It's possibly a window. To the right of the landing the theme is white with a long banister of wood stretching towards the front of the palace. This walkway of sort is decorated by a massively long rectangular painting spanning that entire wall. It depicts Baron Sukumvit's gigantic palace in Fang painted in random colors of purples, white, silver and pinks. Above this incredible painting are four candelabras holding each four candles. This area is a bit more lit with natural lighting from all the sky windows on the front of the palace, blocked off from any other view by a giant porcelain lattice wall, for privacy no less for someone coming from the Great White Hall to the stairs behind. The Great Hall is unseen but bends around the corner top the right of the house. There is a mini corridor from the walkway going towards the back of the palace.

Going up to the walkway on the right, one may peer over the railing to the foyer below, examine the painting, and walking further will take you to the Great White Hall on the right and a bone staircase behind the porcelain wall going up to the third levels.

The foyer and upper landing area is one open plan most likely designed to showcase the Swamp Beast above, which can detach also from the ceiling if enraged enough and acts as a guardian as well.

***

Going up the stairs from the main Foyer you find yourself at the top of a very busy landing with an incredible view. You do look at the crest and recognize it, it sometimes depicted on gold coins of Port Blacksand and upon flags therein taverns and such. You will not investigate any of the two corridors yet as they appear to be attached to main large unknown rooms you have not explored yet. It's the bright light of the area at the front of the palace that attracts you, so you'll start there. You realize that there is a big hall off to the right over there too, so there you'll go next. When you turn to give the foyer one last look below, you notice a white and blue glass-stained half crescent window above the lobby doors letting in speckled sunlight. You didn't notice that before! Quite superb discovery, it's pretty no doubt but depicts no imagery.

The Great White Hall, turn to .

Floor 1, Kitchen extensions rooms

 The Preservation Room

A worker stays in this tiny room of the kitchen to can in glass jars all kinds of fruits and vegetables. This process is done all summer with squash and pumpkin in Autumn. The foods from this room are usually consumed in winter months. Jams, peaches, sandwich spreads, herbs, nuts and seeds, and even sugared fish line the wood shelves and there is a tiny work table.

The Salting Room

This twin room to the preserving room is where beef, fish, and vegetables are dried, salted, and placed into containers for winter. Pork hock is famous here, even zucchini, carrots, and potatoes are made into thin salty crisps for a snack. Chocolate is ground here for hot cocoa, most spices created, including herbs, teas, coffee, and plants from the veranda. This room must be cared for continuously by the exterminator to avoid aphids and other insects from spoiling the goods.

The Butcher's Cold Room

It's not necessarily that cold like a refrigerator, it's the mud in the hole that makes it a bit chilly. Carcasses hang from the ceiling and whatever needs to stay cooled like fish or seafood goes into the hole. This room has to be protected from rats, mice, and bugs. On extremely hot summer days this room is useless, but in colder months like the Fall, Winter, and Spring it's ideal for use.

Return to the kitchen, (turn to ) or if you've already seen everything you may now go to Floor 2, (turn to ) .

Floor 1, Royal Dinnerware room

 Candles are placed strategically in here to illuminate all the glass and crystal. There are gold trays on display, silver goblets, glass plates, silver utensils, oversized fancy platters on the walls, some dishes or trays are etched with red or blue designs. The walls are designed with colorful mosaic glass pieces, two glass shelves in center of room, and more glass shelving on the walls. They hold preciously dishes, large plates, cups, and bowls, and the utensils are fanned out decked in fine metals and gem-studded handles, all rested upon a lace doily. The room gently sparkles and appears expensive yet fragile, and Azzur probably doesn't even know this room exists as he rarely or never frequents the main level. Whatever belongs directly to him to be utilized had better be in its best, untarnished and harshly polished, condition... or else. The dinnerware room screams quality and he had actually collected these items himself so that is why they must stay preserved and looked after daily. The theme was to make the room look like it's made entirely out of glass, and to be done artful compared to the many other places of floor 1.

***

Walking in here you feel like that if you accidently bump in to something the whole room will break and collapse! Does Lord Azzur really eat off these? It's utter madness it is. There are two big glass shelving units full of things on it, you examine a crystal cup and put it back gently. You decide to stand safely in one spot and observe, the walls are overly decorated, for some crazy person with a lot of patience to conquer the devil has painstakingly glue or pinned the teeny mosaics piece by piece. Could it be the same individual who did the clam shell wall in the lobby? Azzur must have a serious yet deadly eye to detail to showcase a room full of his dinner stuff in a nutty but fashionable sense. His eatery items are kept separate from the kitchen's low class dinnerware in a snobbish and regal manner. Do these candles burn 24/7? Even they have a daunting hardship. Now that you've toured floor one, it is time to return to the foyer and head upstairs.

To look at the extra rooms in the kitchen before you go, you can visit the preservation rooms, (turn to ), otherwise, you can just head up to Floor 2, (turn to ).

Do you prefer to retrace your steps to view this floor again?

You can go back to the foyer, turn to .

The kitchen, turn to .

The veranda, turn to .

Floor 1, Water Citadel

 Guarded by two heavy doors of the veranda, it is nicknamed the water citadel due to its ceiling which is of heavy glass chambers filled with water; the roof creates a fun ripple effect onto the room below. It is called a citadel for unknown reasons; it's more like a fake mausoleum and museum. It has three iron statues in the center: one of god Titan, naked, and grasping onto the world as if it's heavy and he might be in danger of dropping it, the second statue is of a male Gith in futuristic clothing holding onto an orb in one hand and pointing up to the skies with the other, and the third is of a man fighting with a flying octopus, it appears to be trying to engulf his face with its desperate tentacles. The statues and whatever they depict is a mystery. There are many confusing interstellar paintings on the wall too, not portraits but painted directly onto the walls. There are six narrow slit windows facing the front and side of the grounds each accompanied with a cannon. There are three tombs set in the wall. Wild moss now grows out of the stone floor. It seems that the room is abandoned, and why Azzur had it built the way it is is perplexing.

***

You must force the doors open, it's as if they were closed years ago and never touched again. The water roof surprises you, it's most impressive though. The statues are bit confusing and when you look into the tombs set in an alcove of its own in the wall, you're stunned not to see human remains, but a skeleton made out of stone. Skeletons carved of stone in these strange vaults? And the skull of one has some strange helmet on of anything you've ever seen before in your life. The black helmet is bulbous with a dark glass rounded visor. To anyone of the future, perhaps, this mask makes more sense but to someone of medieval standards it's just creepy and ludicrous. What does it all mean exactly? Grass and moss and mold have taken over the room so the smell isn't' overly pleasant. There are six cannons by a window, which would be stuck into the window and fired at anyone invading the grounds during a siege perhaps. The sunlight tickles the waters above and it kinda looks like the roof has a blue hue to it, like the waters of a tropical island. The bizarre room raises many questions but no one can answer them unfortunately. You go back to the veranda and take a seat by some leafy plants, and now that you've seen a majority of floor one, you wonder what the second level hides? On to the next...

Royal Dinnerware Room, turn to .

Floor 1, Herbal Veranda

 It's a porch alright, a type of Romanesque one with pillars and flowy sheer drapes hanging down, and the fairy gardens are just located across, so the view is quite a peaceful and pretty one. The veranda has hundreds of herbs, edible flowers and plants like aloe vera, cute stone flowerpots, a stone bench for sitting and a metal table. If someone from the kitchen wanted to take tea or eat they could do so out here. The Water Citadel adjoins this area sealed off by two blue doors.

***

You would eat out, have breakfast instead of in the kitchen because it's most beautiful here and to be surrounded by all these plants. Everything is set in stone too and stunning bleached floors, walls, and ceiling. Azzur cannot hide the fact that he has a green thumb, for this palace is ripe with all kinds of flowers, trees, and plants. He must be a student or fan of ancient cultures.

Water Citadel, turn to .

Floor 1, Kitchen

 The kitchen is a large room to cover for details, for it takes up the entire length of the back end of the palace and is the major room for dining, cooking, preparing foods, laundry and keeping warm by the hearth in winter. The room is divided into three parts; the dining section by the barracks, the center, and the far end on the right is the scullery. There are also three extra tiny rooms: the preservatives room, salting room, and butcher's cold room, and one door off the scullery is Lord Azzur's personal dinnerware room. There is one massive fireplace, two exits to outside, one locked door of a hidden stairwell, and one portcullis to the herbal veranda. Four exits extra: one to the barracks, two that go down the corridors that lead back to the foyer, and a closed off door to a hidden abandoned stairwell which is now barricaded behind the scullery. 

Starting on the left of the kitchen is referred to as the mess hall where guards and staff eat; it has two long rectangular tables and plain chairs, it is by the portcullis, hidden stairwell Lord Azzur uses, and the barracks. The veranda is full of edible plants and herbs, the door to the stairwell used by his lordship whenever he leaves or arrives at the palace, his carriage usually parks out back, this stairwell goes down to the basement as well as way up to the 4th levels.

In the center of the kitchen, is a very long sturdy old table that is used by the food preps, bakers, cooks, and the butcher. The table is in front of the fireplace and an outside exit, so whoever is at it gets a hot, uncomfortable, and sweaty disposition. There is a large cabinet against the wall that holds bowls, plates, cups and cutlery, cutting boards and baking equipment. Hanging from the ceiling above the table are pots, pans, skillets, metal sheets. There are overhanging baskets full of whatever fruits or vegetables were picked that day from the gardens, could be grapes, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, radish, apples for pies, bell peppers, and purple onions. As well seen in visible view are sacks of grain, lentils, flour, beans, oats, barley and rice. Hanging herbs decorate the kitchen such as oregano, parsley, basil, dill, coriander and long strings of garlic. There are dishes of all sizes, non decorated, just plain stoneware; butcher tools, knive blocks, baking pans, and granular blocks of salt and sugar. There are lots of torches, candles, and lanterns places anywhere its possible for as much light as possible. All kinds of salted meats like pork, fish, and goat hang down, ready to be prepared the next day.

Now, onto the right end of the kitchen where the scullery rests. This is where the laundry personal work, including the seamstress and dishwasher. They wash clothes, curtains, drapes, bedding, horse blankets, and many other things that can be washed. Garments are sewn, created, and mended here, and dishes are done here as well. It's the hottest part of the kitchen and extremely unbearable due to the steam, blistering vinegar water, and lye. Lord Azzur does not want anything dusty, pet hairs, stinky and moldy so the staff in this section work long hours cleaning things that don't even need to be cleaned. The head housekeeper also visits this area barking angrily about keeping to the time sheets.

Lord Azzur is not on the same schedule as his staff, he eats whenever he wants and even when he doesn't request food, it's prepared anyways at all times. There is an around-the-clock menu, nights included. He does not eat meat due to risk of poisonous contamination or parasitic infections, he is a vegetarian. In winter, the kitchen keeps its hearth lit nonstop for meals, warmth, and to prevent the items in the kitchen from freezing. There is also a rodent exterminator who's main purpose in his miserable life is to catch and kill rats, mice, and insects. Surprisingly, the palace is so well kept that it doesn't suffer a horrid vermin problem like most castles. Every morning, the aroma of fresh bread fills the halls and foyer and someone can be heard singing out a cute operatic tune as they work hard with the rising and falling of the sunlight.

***

If you had to be a worker in the kitchen what would your shift look like? Having to meet the demands of your dictator all bloody day and all bloody night, cook, clean, launder and not just for him but for everyone who lives in that palace. You can see the room when it might be filled with workers, including people eating at the tables. A kitchen that never stops at least until the quiet hours hit of 3am to 5am. Two hours to sleep. Workers hollering, squished in, moving about to their next station, rattling of pots and pans, bubbling pots in the fireplace, dough banging on the table as it's being kneaded, hot fumes and steam from the scullery barrels, foods being chopped, diced, and seasoned. Heaven forbid the summers are scorching, you'd probably die in this kitchen. The angry cook chops up a carcass he killed earlier this morning, fancy platters are being made up for Lord Azzur and carefully decorated for him in painstakingly detail like an unfortunate radish being carved by a small knife into a flower now. All the fruit and vegetables that can be turned into a work of art so he doesn't get mad. It's difficult to get a second chance with him if the person messes up the first time, death could result for serving an orange with its skin still on. Butter and milk are churned, the hen coup outside voided of its brown eggs and maybe one chicken for a stew. You can smell the wondrous reminiscent lingering aromas of cinnamon cake, roasted pork, and hot apple pie. There's a faint scent of the rosemary herb, the green stems of cherry tomatoes, and freshly cut salads. In the night, you can imagine the head cook resting in his chair by the fireplace, snoring and having his tattooed arms up over his potbelly. As the dawn makes her way up through the dark skies, the kitchen that fell asleep for a nap wakes up yet again. Amazingly, you kinda enjoy being in here; it's hearty, warm, and has a kind welcoming feeling, your stomach is starting to grumble, just the thought of the good foods is making you hungry. 

You walk passed the mess area to a doorway blocked by a portcullis, and see a Greek-like veranda outside which is full of greenery. there's nothing else of interest here, you've poked your head into the preserving room and seen nothing but glass jars, dried fruits, and vinegar, the other room beside it was filled with salt and dried up meat and vegetables, and as for the butcher's cold room? Just a hole dug out in the floor where he temporarily stores his fish and carved meats until the next day. You did however notice a room off the laundry area by one of the corridors, it was a room with sparkly crystal and dishes. 

You may go outside now, all you need do is pull the chain down to lift the portcullis, you'll go back over to that dinnerware room later.

Veranda, turn to .

Floor 1, Barracks Area 2

 It is all bunkbeds, a tiny crude looking rectangular table that's seen better days surrounded by rickey chairs and stools. From another doorway the kitchen can be seen, there are jugs of rum everywhere (some emptied) and all the beds are made up nicely. There are two trays: one for cheese and one for bread, three large casks of bitter ale on the floor, and one apple bowl.

***

Once again there's not a lot to this room, it's much like the first barracks room, and you assume that the room can sleep roughly up to ten men, those fortunate guards lucky enough to get a roof over their heads on a rainy or wintry cold day. Obviously, if the officer barrack is locked or occupied, the men must then enter here via the kitchen route. They'd come in to freshly crisp baked bread and warm beer and a mattress instead of a hard floor. The room is very clean too, for housekeeping does a superb job. You head to the kitchen now.

Kitchen, turn to .

Floor 1, Officer's Barracks

 For the head guard with no family, he gets a room to himself, a fancy but not too posh suite. The room is situated at the front of the palace and has an oak framed bed with perfect thread count sheets and fur blankets. there is a table with a fruit tray and wine on it, a bit of lounging furniture, a wood burning stove, bowls filled with nuts and seeds, casks of passionate ales, plush stools, and a jug of well water and rum. the room is just another extension of the barracks area 2, whereas area 2 goes back towards the kitchen.

***

You think to yourself that the head guard, whoever he is, sure rests in luxury compared to his comrades, for the room is also snug and cozy with that mini wood stove on heating up the place in comparison to other rooms which are drafty. You do however with a quirky smirk steal a lemon, throw it up into the air and catch it like a baseball. The ale smells like peaches and probably tastes very sweet. So, before the guard returns here to retreat for a kip, you head through the next door.

Barracks Area 2, turn to .

Retrace your steps?

Barracks Area 1, turn to .

The Foyer, turn to .

The Lobby, turn to .

Floor 1, Barracks Area 1

 Barracks Area 1

Stretching towards the backend of the palace is this odd plain and very narrow corridor-like room filled with boxy rooms, which are only suitable for one person each. There are twelve of these tiny bedrooms, their doorways covered by a sheet for privacy., and at the end end is their loo also privatized by curtains. The walls are basic stone and wood and the ceiling is wood with straws stuffed within to keep out the cold drafts. There is a door across from the red door which leads into the Officer's presumptuous barrack.

***

There isn't much to see here, the details to this room is not quite ideal, it's as if it was left undone and forgotten. Surprisingly however the toilets are scrubbed viciously clean by housekeeping. In each individual barrack here is just a cheap cot with wool blanketing and a pillow. You decide to go through the next door and investigate more of the barracks.

Officer's Barracks, turn to .

Floor 1, Guard's Lounge

 The door opens to a fairly large dark room lit by candles in wooden or brass holders, the room is furnished with cushioned chairs, stools, carpets, tapestries and a billiards table by the windows. There is a small Bard's stage complete with a lute, small hand harps and a chair. The stage is by a wooden door that has an extra door of iron cell bars, so when the main door is opened to let in fresh air the room still maintains some of its security with the gate having one single lock. The fancy dim lounge has a few small oil lanterns, casks of ale, wine bottles line shelves, books, scrolls, maps, ottomans, cushions on the floor, keyrings on the wall, weapon racks, foot scrapers for taking off mud and snow, and cape racks. The theme of the room is blue, stone, and wood. There are two narrow slit windows that face the front yard, a nearby backgammon table set in beautifully polished teal, ivory and green velvet. There are tiny card tables, marble dice and fancy chips. For some strange reason there are two empty cages on the floor. In the opposite wall from the windows are two narrow doors that lead into a small armory room; the armory holds cannonballs, broadswords, chest guards, bits of plate armor, bows and arrows, two cannons, staves and clubs, casks full of oil, and hay strewn about the floor.  

***

You can imagine some lazy fat guard asleep in the big cushiony chair, while the door is open to the sound of crickets on a long summer night. A few guards come in chatting and demand entertainment, so the palace Bard is summoned and takes the stage to sing, as the guards sit in the night playing games and gambling, drink, and listen to music. Yes, you think to yourself, and then examine a scroll of a map of some unknown island also having weird languages and you wonder why it's even in here? This is truly a guards getaway and a posh one at that. You wonder what they bet in here during games because if their lives are in the palace and they can't go out into the city then what good is gold pieces? What would the bard sing about? You can't seem to find any music notes. The room also smells dank and of old tobacco pipes. Seeing enough now you head back into the foyer and walk over to the red door by the bench.

Barracks Area 1, turn to .

Main Foyer, turn to .

Lobby, turn to .

Floor 1, Main Foyer

The Main Foyer  

The first magnificent thing you see upon entering the foyer is the fancy grand staircase, which is carved out of white swirling marble, has pink carved coral railings, and two small incense burners on the base of the bottom of the balustrades burning sandalwood. On either side of this wide staircase are two knights seated upon a taxidermy steed, the knights wear full platemail armor and hold onto an ensign of Khul. Atop the staircase of the second level landing is a six foot tall shield of silver and blue depicting the coat of Azzur's crest, adorned graciously by two blue velvet draping. On each side of the foyer steps behind the knights are corridors leading back towards the kitchen. There are two doors in the foyer one on the left and right, the one on the right is solid wood with a dog knocker on it, and the door on the right is red with diamond studs and having the knocker of a lizard head. The floor is multi-wood herringbone, the walls are grey stones, and ceiling paneled in cherry wood. Decorating by the doors that lead back into the lobby are two crystal lamps bolted into the wall having twenty teardrops that cascade down to the floor, each holding six white candles. Torches line the walls giving the foyer ambience and warmth, and hanging from the walls of both hallways behind the staircase are large six flags each of Arion, Allansia, Khul, and the Old World. Mini shields mark any bare spots of the walls, and by the red door sits a small bench accompanied by two tall porcelain vases not holding flowers but golden swords and peacock feathers. The staircase was put together bit by bit, and the coral railings were carved as the palace was being built. The railings are chiseled with twisting vines, leaves, and beams. The stairs start widest at the base and thin out a tad near the top, giving it almost a semi figure 8 appearance.

***

Your feet brush along the chevron floor, which is perfectly polished, the room having is not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. It appears that Lord Azzur keeps a very clean home, despite the sewage and grime in the city, and the incense burners keep out the vile odors from outside. The knights seem to be looking at you from within their helmets, you go up a few steps to examine them closer and jump back in disgust at your discovery, for the one knight armor has a rotten skeleton in it, you can see the mummified skull inside. You decide not to go down any of the hallways, veiled by many overhanging flags but rather prefer to try the door with the dog-faced knocker. Beyond it is the guard's lounge, you'll go in there in a minute, and stand back in the center of the foyer and peer high up at the ceiling of the second level, something catches your eye up there. A gem-like light throbs in distant amber, but also accompanied by what looks like two eyes, as if a very large bulbous creature was crudely embedded into the ceiling and made to act like a lamp. It's most sinister but also creepy that it's body is made to look like art, it is seems to be still alive, you spy slight movements from it. Perhaps later on, when you go upstairs you can get a closer look at it. For now, the foyer sits in silence and is calming, and you've seen what you wanted, but it's time to investigate the lounge now, and you'll head to the red door afterwards. The crystal lights beautifully glisten as you pass by them...

Guard's Lounge, turn to .

Lobby, revisit by turning to .

Floor 1, Lobby

Begin royal tour:

1. Read the description first

2. Investigate the area as Yourself

3. Turn to the next reference by clicking a link

Floor 1

The Lobby

The front doors are crudely painted in medieval green and speckled with studs, both doors have a heavy iron dragonhead knocker on it. Pushing through them opens into a rectangular lobby or small narrow hall, which is lit by two chandeliers and six thin vaulted windows; three on either side. Guarding the hall are two light marble Poseidon statues, their bodies are sticking halfway out of the walls, one on each side facing each other. They grasp tightly onto a sharp golden trident, the staff's base touching the white stone floor. The walls are decorated with clam shells that cascade and slightly overlap each other and cover every inch of the walls perfecting a frosty white theme. Between each window are four extravagant chairs; they are carved golden with tall backs and red plush velvety cushioning. They were imported from a dwarven settlement and too small for a human to sit in, at this point, they only offer fancy decoration. The ceiling is vaulted with wooden beams and adorned by two iron wrought octopus chandeliers each able to hold twelve grey candles. Whitewash stone slabs make up the floor and is fashioned with an accompanying red Persian rug runner. At the end of the lobby are two more doors set in paneled oak which lead into the foyer. The six windows mentioned earlier are made of stained glass, narrow and vaulted at the top, and patterned by intricate art. Of the first two windows: the one on the right depicts a mermaid with turquoise blue hair and seated upon a rock in the ocean somewhere, the window on the left is of a beautiful Siren brushing her long grey hair with a conch brush; she is sitting on a rock in a cavern. The next set of windows in the center it is of two whales swimming up to a sparkly surface while the other window shows a kraken in its lair sticking its tentacles out. The last two windows has one showing two mermen with red eyes reaching out as if preparing the grab the person viewing the glass. Their webbed claws are like sharp talons and their scaly flesh is like the texture of a reptile, ugly and warty. Across from them is that of an oversized seahorse floating in the fading blue light of day. These windows had to be put together as they arrived in jigsaw pieces then had to be framed. The business of this lobby constructed with such a strong ocean theme was incorporated by his lordship at the last minute, that is why the lobby is actually detached from the front part of the palace, and sticks outward. If the lobby was removed entirely it would be the double oak doors used as a front entrance. The layout of the shells on the walls are measured to be in the hundreds and carefully picked out of Oyster Bay. The modesty of the mermaid and Siren is not concealed by their hair like in most innocent pictures. The lobby is no doubt one of Azzur's favorite areas, but he also does not use this entrance at all.

***

Now, imagine that you are a special guest to the palace and allowed full access to anywhere within. YOU decide to begin from the start, and now stand atop a set of stone steps at two green double doors. You bang the knocker of one and the door opens by itself, surprisingly you did not encounter any guards but you did see a few gardeners and barn workers walking about the grounds when you came in the front gates. You promised yourself that you will look about the flower plots later, guards here also do not pay attention to you as they engulfed in their bone dice and card games to pass the time. You step into what appears to be a lobby and although it is a lot to digest at first glimpse you nearly bump into the tridents of a Poseidon statue avoiding awakening the golem. The lobby is vaguely lit by candles above and the glittering sparkle of the colorful windows from the beautiful sunlight outside. You stop to stare at the window art and are creeped out by the mermen one, for at every blink they seem to be edging closer and closer to you. One slowly drops its jaw and hisses, its eyes glowing amber now alarming you that your presence is no longer welcome here. Then as you step back a bit you can hear someone humming, yes, it's one of the windows singing to itself, and you deduce it to be the Siren. She says that you should bring the Poseidon to life so he can fork you to death. The window art is coming to life now, and although fascinating, one of the statues turns its head in your direction and glares angrily. It's getting heated now, and you assume that it's time to try the oak doors now when you see a tentacle reaching out of one of the windows. You have now seen the lobby, and it's in your opinion rather peculiar and interesting, and if you weren't in any danger in there you'd stay a moment longer to count the seashells on the walls. Whoever glued them there must've been busy at it for hours, days, weeks even.

YOU go through the oak doors and exit the lobby; you find yourself in the Main Foyer now.

Main Foyer, turn to .