The Brass Chariot
There are few places in Athvan that can say they serve the wealthiest of society, but no establishment earns this right more so then the Brass Chariot. Situated on the market square and three stories tall it is already one of the larger buildings in the city, but the tower on the northwestern corner of the building almost stands at twice the height. The establishment used to be a local watering hole, but ran into financial troubles around fifty years past. It was a favorite of William and Elizabeth Dawson, a wealthy couple from Croemerth. After her husband’s passing, she moved to Athvan and acquired the old inn. Using money left to her, she renovated the building into the high class establishment it is now. As Athvan was on the political rise, she catered to the nobles who wanted to stay in the utmost of luxury.
The Brass Chariot ended up being the gold standard for living in the city, and business boomed. Before long, the inn turned into an attraction for the wealthy, and staying there was considered a symbol of status. Before Elizabeth’s death, she commissioned a tall spire to be build on the grounds, connected to the inn. It ended up being a monumental project, and was plagued with many issues during construction. While Elizabeth never lived to see its final form, it still is used as she intended: a place for nobles of any country to call home.
Purpose / Function
The inn caters to wealthy travelers and nobles staying in Athvan. While most inns only provide room and board, the Brass Chariot offers a wide variety of services to its clients. This includes, but is not limited to, private baths, laundry, carriage cleaning, and horse grooming. Each guest is also assigned a personal assistant to provide them with any services they might need while staying at the Brass Chariot. The inn does not provide any sort of accommodations for the common folk, and because of cost to stay there payment is usually requested up front. This helps to keep the inn’s high status image, but also to deter people from abusing the services provided.
Alterations
The first major alteration was during the original renovation of the inn. The old building was only two stories, and took up very little of the large plot of land it occupied. The structure was torn down and a much larger three story building was erected in its place. Every step of construction was done to the highest of standards. Leaky ceiling and squeaky floors would have detracted from the planned high class establishment.
The demolishing of the old inn created some backlash in the community, as the structure had been around since the inception of the city. Many locals protested, but no regulations were in place to preserve buildings of historical significance. Due to the long-lived nature of Gnomes, there are locals who still remember how the inn had used to be. This is a point of friction between the Brass Chariot and the rest of the locals.
The only other major alteration was the completion of the spire. The stone tower was designed to be a fortress in its own right, keeping its inhabitants safe in any situation. The dwarves of Croemerth were contracted for the job, whose ancestors were responsible for the creation, and later renovation, of the great city Ansellheim. Even though these great architects were on the project, many problems still arose.
The inn sits on soil very close to the water table level. The dwarves’ original foundation was not strong enough to prevent the tower from sinking into the ground. Luckily, this problem came to their attention while building the ground floor, and not towards the end of the project. Work up to this point was scrapped, and a deeper, stronger foundation was created. This setback almost canceled the project, but Elizabeth Dawson had enough invested to keep the construction alive. Sadly, this did mean that she never got to see the final tower before she passed.
Type
Inn
Parent Location
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