Rill Priory

The Estate of the Lightbringers

The Rill Priory is a large, multi-floored estate just outside of New Keeleon in the Desecrated Hills region of central Tarteria. It was one of the earliest constructed buildings during the initial founding of the settlement in the early Fifth Age.
It was originally constructed to be a multipurpose asset to best suit the needs of the newly founded New Keeleon. As such, it was given a number of structures and functions uncommon to estates of this size. The small rill was useful as a cleaner water source for those early orcs instead of the clay-filled Rexun River.
Previously a neglected remnant from New Keeleon’s founding, now the Rill Priory is the estate of the Lightbringers.

Description

The Rill Priory is a large, multi-floored estate, located around two miles east of New Keeleon's Kala Gate. The estate takes its name from the nearby small water stream.
The estate has a front courtyard, messenger bird tower, stables, a well, and a small forge. A large Stazbull tree grows adjacent to the rill that runs in front of the estate doors. The courtyard is surrounded by a short stone wall, with a single entrance gate towards the south. A rill runs beneath the wall and through the central yard from east to west.
There is a trail leading westwards through the clay and grass terrain towards New Keeleon, however the path is somewhat unkempt due to lack of use.
The priory is largely constructed of large, sunbaked clay slabs that were originally harvested from the banks of the Rexun River. It is mostly a gray color from the harvested clay, however there are sections of different colors from modifications and repairs over the years the estate has existed.
In addition to clay and stone, there are many wood elements, such as the axebreaker wood front gate. Many of the original windows remain, which were made of thick glass blocks instead of thinner panes.
In 5A 352, the priory and surrounding wall are neglected and somewhat derelict. While the overall construction remains sound, there is damage from age and use, only some of which has been repaired. There are overgrown plants and choking vines along the outer walls, and the thin rill that runs through the keep’s courtyard has been left untended.
Starting in late Adroth 5A 352, the Lightbringers began investing in the upkeep and repair of the Rill Priory.

Interior

The priory consists of multiple rooms split across a primary floor, a single upper level, and a small cellar level. These are accessed through an interior stairway system towards the back of the estate.
The main doors open into a large foyer. This entrance area allows access to the a shrine with symbology of the Dragons, to a large meeting chamber, and a hallway leading to the dining and kitchen area, the washrooms, and the stairs to the other levels.
The upper level consists of eight smaller rooms connected by a long hallway. Most of these rooms had openable windows, and the floors were heated by ventilation pipes leading from the kitchen. The central room had no windows and was later coated with a thin sheet of lead metal. This level has a smaller square footage than the primary level. There is a thin section of clay-tiled roof that rims the south, east, and west sides of the floor.
The cellar level has only two small rooms. One appears to have been used as a holding cell, with iron bars sectioning off parts of it. The other small room appeared to primarily be used for storage. A hidden doorway in the storage room opens to an underground tunnel that runs about fifty feet north of the estate, where a hidden grate exists to the plains.
In late Adroth 5A 352, the Lightbringers furnished the estate with mostly new furniture items, including new beds, doors, and wardrobes for the upstairs bedrooms, new tables and chairs for the dining area and meeting chamber, storage shelves for the basement and kitchen, and lighting sconces and chandeliers throughout the estate's interior.

Dragon Obelisks

On the main level off from the entrance foyer is a large shrine. Within this room are four stone obelisks and a central square plinth.
Each of the four obelisks has a metal circular attachment with symbology of two of the Dragons. They are arranged on opposite sides of the metal ring. The rings can be rotated on the face of the obelisk, so that the symbols can be placed in an upright or upside-down position opposite each other.

• The symbols for Chedae, The Heaven's Light, and Esturk, The World's End, are opposite each other.
• The symbols for Gaia, The Allmother, and Nerull, The Scythe-Bearer, are opposite each other.
• The symbols for Morounin, The Learned-Lady, and Barduumus, The Battlelord, are opposite each other.
• The symbols for Sehakora, The Maelstrom, and Avianor, The Timefather, are opposite each other.

The back wall of the shrine atrium is curved, with eight tall glass windows facing the east. In the upper sections of each window is a design consisting of eight circles of colored glass. Each color represent one of the eight Dragons, and they are arranged in a circle pattern to represent the organization of the pantheon.

Courtyard

Outside the main priory is a walled courtyard surrounded by a short wall.
The courtyard is bisected by a small rill, which runs through two grated accesses beneath the southeast and northwest walls. The rill's size is heavily dependent on rainfall and snowmelt, and it ranges between dry and two feet wide.
Near to the rill is a large Stazbull tree. It stands around thirty feet tall, with thick, corky bark on a knotted trunk with prominent roots. The branches reach upwards with yellow, multi-leafed stems and yellow flowers bloom in late summer.
Along the eastern wall nearest to the tree is a large pollinator garden with flowering plants, including foxglove, wolfsbane, and blue poppys. Among the bushes is a small sand garden.
Close to the keep is a thin tower used for messenger birds. A thin stair leads to the upper level, which has three cubbies for birds. These are labeled in orcish, "Porgorag", "Alena's Landing", and "Port Haville". This level has an access window. This window has a wooden strut with a bell. A chain leads from this bell down to the courtyard. Due to the initial cleanliness of the tower when they first arrived, the Lightbringers began calling the tower "Birdshit Tower".
To the side of the keep is an area that previously held a small stable capable of housing and supplying a small number of mounts.
On the western side is a small, outdoor stone forge furnace and smelter. The metal anvil is in good condition, though some rust shows on the underside. The area is covered by a wooden awning.

History

The Fifth Age: The Age of Beginnings

The Rill Priory was one of the earliest constructed buildings during the founding of New Keeleon in the early Fifth Age. Among its early functions, it was the residence of Argil, Founder of New Keeleon, before construction of the Breakwater Keep was completed.
The Rill Priory served many functions in the early years of the settlement, and it changed hands a number of times.
After the city grew and the walls were built, the estate was left neglected. No orcs wanted to claim the estate with the unease of the corruption present in the old Keeleon Castle, despite the distance.
According to Nalt Oknar Rulla, the last owner of the estate had been a merchant who'd come into some gold and purchased the estate. However, that merchant defaulted on their taxes, and the estate had since been in the care of the oknar's office for "decades" leading up to 5A 352.
5A 352
On 18 Adroth 5A 352, after stopping a cult at the Chamber of Titles and rescuing the coinguard and watchguard, Nalt Oknar Rulla presented the Lightbringers with a deed granting them the Rill Priory for their service to the city.
On 19 Adroth 5A 352, the Lightbringers visited the Rill Priory to investigate the status of the estate. A contractor was present with orders from Nalt Oknar Rulla to begin wider repairs on the keep and courtyard. They made inital plans for repairs and paid extra money to the contractor. Before they left back towards the city, Romulus hid the Eight-Pronged Residuum Ring using a Stone Shape spell. Later that evening, Romsca coated one of the interior rooms with a sheet of lead to help protect against divination magics.
On 20 Adroth 5A 352, many furniture items and lighting fixtures were added to the Rill Priory. Romulus created a pollinator garden along the eastern courtyard wall, which included a sand garden.
That same day, Nalt Oknar Rulla visited the Lightbringers to meet with Demitri about the city's open coinguard position and with Romsca about the Hands of Ore.
On 21 Adroth 5A 352, Chaka convinced Aramish to stay at the priory to try tending to a new colony of Blood Oyster Moss. She took residence in the holding cell in the basement.
Later that morning, Romulus recovered the hidden Eight-Pronged Residuum Ring, and the Lightbringers left the Rill Priory, headed south.

Founding Date

Early Fifth Age

Alternative Names

Lightbringers' Estate

Type

Estate

Parent Location

New Keeleon

Owning Organization

Lightbringers

Related Report (Primary Locations)

• Azimuth 2 - Session 41 - Stocking the Priory

Related Report (Secondary Locations)

• Azimuth 2 - Session 39 - Fried Dough and Bad Plays

Region
Desecrated Hills
Continent
Tarteria
Plane
Material Plane