The House of Pride

Purpose / Function

The House of Pride is the Court of Miracles of Naoned, operating out of a Silverkey pocket of Faerie.
The House of Pride serves as the center of the argot, Naoned's criminal underworld, serving as a gathering point and neutral ground for the criminal syndicates, the Beggar's Union and smaller gangs. It can serve as a safehouse, a black market, an information brokerage and most importantly, a place to spend the ill-gotten gains of the clientele's illicit affairs.

The Seven Sages

The House is maintained by Lucifera Belladonna, an Eladan noblewoman claiming to hail from Serenissima in the Golden Sea. She, in turn is assisted by six "counselors", each holding Court behind one of six gates arranged around the central fountain plaza. Each gate's keystone is carved in a mascaron, a finer version of the weathered symbols on the front gate of the complex. These individuals are:

Paresti - The Archsuppot of Naoned. Paresti is a withered, eldery cleric, usually seen wearing a monk's hood or vestments of a Perfect and carrying a book of prayer. His cloister is located beyond the mask of the donkey.

Balduccio - A massive, grotesque man with a large stomache and a thin neck, constantly eating. He is rumoured to be a Changeling. His feasting hall is located beyond the mask of the boar.

Luxios - The Ragot of Naoned. A thin, unseemly man with greasy hair, proprietor of a the brothel beneath the Mask of the Goat. His business has made him the most powerful blackmailer in the city. He wears a heart encased in gold on a long chain.

Aljashae - The Millard of Naoned. A Saracen, claiming to be from Iram of the Pillars. She serves as the House of Pride's bookkeeper and userer, loaning out her vast coffers at exorbitant interest rates. Her golden counting house is located behind the Mask of the Camel.

Marcel Jelouse - "The King of the Orphelins". A dark brooding Hoseguéannet with sunken eyes and dark grey hair. He is rumored to have a stable of assassins at his command. His dark corner of the garden is rarely visited, but lies beneath the mask of the wolf.

Isabelle le Courroux - The bloodthirsty leader of the fighting pits beneath the mask of the Lion, often leaping into fights herself.

Architecture

The House of Pride is a Silverkey dimension, a small pocket of Faerie space wedged behind an innocuous alleyway in the Mask District of Naoned. Its immediate surroundings are a densely packed, run down area on the Southern side of the neighborhood that bleeds into the adjacent Forest and is prone to regular flooding. The area is filled with brothels, seedy bars, flop-houses and bonetosser dens, and serves as the primary domicile and gathering place for Naoned's indigent population and also its criminal element.
Entryway
The primary entrance to the House of Pride, though others are found throughout the city and undertown, is found between two ramshackle buildings on either side, receiving little attention or note. The entryway is utterly non-descript to those who will not enter, lost in the bustle of the city around it. To the determined, desperate and downtrodden, a powerful glamour pulls attention to the entryway, enticing them to enter.
The entry is a twisted, rusted gate of unknown metal placed between two limestone jambs that appear to have once belonged to a long-gone manor on the site. Each Jamb is carved with 3 mascarons, depicting a donkey, a pig and a goat on the left, and a camel, a wolf and a lion on the fight. The gate itself is twisted in a circular pattern that repeats throughout the entire complex. The stone posts and the long brick-lined alleyway are covered in ivy, and the vegetation appears to become denser to the point of overgrown as it recedes into the shadows
The Fountain Plaza While the vegetation appears overgrown from the other side of the gate, entering through the gate reveals a more ordered and planned path with only a small amount of ivy on the walls and corners, while the path itself is completely clear. Attempting to enter the alleyway other than through the gate, such as over it, reveals the expected overgrown detritus as seen from outside.
After passing along the alleyway, a visitor exits into a sunlit circular courtyard of sandstone bricks, centered around a large circular fountain. The fountain plaza is surrounded by a red brick wall, with hedges, flowerboxes and benches located throughout. On the sides of the round plaza are six gates, three on each side, capped with a stone mascaron on the keystone of each, resembling a finer version of the weathered carvings on the exterior posts. It is always sunny, clear and warm, regardless of weather or time of day, except if Lucifera wishes to put on a Fest-Noz, always a clear, warm night beneath a full moon. Whispers can be heard throughout the space, sounding similar to the language of the Golden Sea, but indecipherable to the listener.
The House of Pride Across the plaza from the entryway is a large square building, built with red bricks but no visible mortar. Each brick is laid so perfectly that not even a sheet of parchment can be slid between the cracks. The bricks are covered in gold leaf, causing the structure to shimmer in the sunlight, dazzling the eye and casting golden reflections across the plaza and fountains. This structure serves as the main focal point of the complex, overseen by Lucifera Belladonna. Inside are rooms for entertainment, public and private, with fountains of wine and mead in place of water. The interior is kept immaculate. Staff in the House of Pride wear butterfly masks.
The Cloister of Enlightenment Beneath the Mask of the Donkey is the domain of Paresti. A large cloister, built around an overgrown courtyard, Paresti's domain is quiet. Despite appearing to only have four sides, visitors can wander for hours in a loop, only catching occasional glimpses of other inhabitants, blurry shades in the corner of the eye. Sound does not travel far in the Cloister. The floors are made of smooth stone tiles, the Romanesque archways supported by two columns on each balustrade. To a casual glance, they appear elaborately carved, but are natural stone or unfinished upon close inspection. Off the cloister are cavernous stone-vaulted rooms. Visitors to the cloisters are struck by sudden, euphoric inspiration. Monks wearing masks fashioned off of donkeys can be seen, wandering about.
The Feasting Hall The domain of Balduccio, found beneath the Mask of the Pig. Atop a small hill is a large wooden building with a high ceiling, resembling a Fomorian Mead-hall. Inside are blazing fires and long tables, a constant feast in progress, served by pig-masked servants. Any kind of food can be found on Balduccio's tables, but no sustenance is ever found there.
The Pleasure Rooms Operated by the goat-masked Luxios and his attendants, scantily clad goat-masked servants of all genders and body types, but often resembling those favoured by the particular guest.
The Golden Hall
Crossing the threshold of the Camel places one inside a magnificent domed structure of gold and lapis lazuli. Piles of gold coins and bars can be seen, piled high in the apsoidal alcoves ringing the central room, separated by a circle of marble columns. Camel-masked attendants attend to visitors needs.
The Dark Garden A grim, overgrown garden is found beneath the Mask of the Wolf, a small stone hut found past the briars. A single log burns in the fireplace, but gives no heat. A boarding house for Jelouse's stable of assassins is located somewhere in the garden, but it has never been seen by outsiders.
The Pit A large sunken arena for pit-fighters, with attached training grounds, barracks and armory's for the fighters.

Alternative Names

The Court of Miracles

Type

Brothel / Whorehouse

Parent Location

Mask District

Additional Rulers/Owners

• Patav Lourdaud

Owning Organization

Court of Miracles

Contested By

• The Coquillard
• The Malandrins