De’Martin Hall

The long standing De’Martin Hall has become an unexpected hub for healers, alchemists, and arcanists of the lifeblood and deathtrance persuasions. Once a communal area for the citizens of Las Sorenca to participate in all manner of activities, it is now home to one of Valissa’s - and perhaps all of Ma’rune’s - mist experienced community of healers.

History of the Hall

When the hall was originally built it didn’t have a name. Not truly. Everyone would refer to it as ‘the Las Sorenca Town Hall’, a name as simple as the dark grey stone walls.

Its purpose was a simple one; act as an indoor refuge for various activities, from musical concerts to plays, or educational seminars and group art projects. The large, main hall could accommodate hundreds and, where privacy was needed, the few storage rooms off the main hall would suffice.

When a plague laid waste to the western regions of Ma’rune, Las Sorenca had little choice but to use the hall to blockade the sick and dying. A last ditch effort to stop the plague from spreading through the town.

The doors were barred with iron beams. A handprint was placed over the doors, bright red paint, a common warning sign in Valissa to stay away.

Then a stranger came to town and the citizens of Las Sorenca witnessed a great feat of altruism.

Known only as De’Martin, they did what everyone else in town feared to do. Opened the doors and greeted the afflicted with nothing but kindness. They worked through death after death, with seemingly no regard for their own health, desperate to help those in need. Eventually, after gathering some herbs from the Legrada Fields nearby, they created an alchemical concoction able to cure the sick.

Their altruism changed Las Sorenca forever.

“Throw open those doors and you invite only death unto yourself and these good people!” a voice cries from across the square.

De’Martin barely acknowledges the warning. Their eyes narrow at the barred wooden doors, at the scarlet handprint smeared across both doors. A second warning, one that De’Martin is just as eager to ignore.

They stride forth. More folks cry out, a chorus of voices howling at their back, but De’Martin does not stop until they get within a foot of the doors, close enough to place their hand over the long dried handprint.

“If death wishes to welcome me into His open arms, then so be it,” they mutter. “But I shall not forsake people who need my help out of fear of the inevitable.”

A Haven for Healers

Though De’Martin helped save many lives, the hall was seen as a lost cause. Too much blood and bile from the sick had stained the walls and floors. The people of Las Sorenca quickly began construction on another communal hall to replace the old one.

With the old hall standing empty, De’Martin co-opted the hall for their own purposes. At first, it was simply a lab where they could brew potions in silence. But eventually something surprising happened. People began to come to De’Martin for help with various ailments. Then other healers and residents took up shop in the hall.

It became a tradition, long after De’Martin had passed, that healers of all manner use the hall to help the sick and injured citizens of Las Sorenca. De’Martin had touched the lives of so many that after his passing, the officially renamed the hall to ‘De’Martin Hall’.

Architecture and Interior Design

De’Martin Hall was built out of stone bricks. Dark grey on the outside - no one felt the need to paint the outside walls - and a myriad of colours decorating the interior walls. A mismatched job, although that is what you get for letting children run rampant with the paints.

The main entry, on the northern side of the building, is a set of large oak double doors. There are two side doors, both on the eastern side of the building, which are also made of oak but are a more modest size.

Within is a main hall, the capacity of which is 300 people. It is a long, wide open space, now occupied by a handful of desks, storage crates and a hundred or so beds. Along the western edge of the hall there are 10 side rooms, all of various sizes. One of these has been converted into a general office space for those working at the hall. Most are used as private rooms in the event that some is contagious, or just desires a little more privacy. A couple of rooms are still used for storage, crates and chests stacked high.

Alternative Names

The town hall, tomb of the dying, healer's haven

Type

Great hall

Parent Location

Las Sorenca

After the plague had passed through, the citizens tried desperately to scrape the walls clean of blood and bile. To no avail, in the end. Stains would always be left upon the walls. A gruesome reminder of the people they had all but condemned to die.

If they did not want to utilise the space, then why should I forsake it? Already I had walked amongst the bodies. What did the stains matter to me?

Besides, it might afford me some peace and quiet to focus on my research. Those Lavigreen herbs will work well as my next project.

De'Martin's Journal