Kisshome

Situated in Wharfare Ward, Kisshome is the point from which the activities of the Morton Drakiss are managed - the ceremonial events of the colony and the great celebrations such as Mogullab may take place in the great chambers below the old ducal hall, better known in later years as the Scribehall but the business of the colony is run from the Kisshome near the confluence of the River Durran and the Taw Rill. Built underground, long before the town of Morton expanded this far the few humans who know of the existence of the Kisshome think of it as built beneath the Gongstersguildhall. The truth is otherwise - the Gongsters built their Guildhall over the Kisshome providing cover for it in more ways than one.

Architecture

The Kisshome is built very much to the size and style of the drakiss - though the constraints of space mean that the serpentine tunnels often found are only present to access the rest of their network of sites. The ceilings are low - chest height to an adult human and all is stone lined with the stone bedded into clay to seal the construction from the ground water. The rooms are laid out on 2 levels with the upper level used for office, archive and meeting space by the Burrowkiss gangs and the colony's leaders (most of the day to day administration is carried out from the ceremonial centre beneath the Scribehall) and these are joined to the Gongster's basement for better communications.

This arrangement was achieved not by the normal drakiss approach of tunnelling by by the excavation of a large pit lining it with clay and backfilling after building the chambers in stone - though some tunnelled chambers still exist on the periphery of the Kisshome.Unlike many drakiss establishments, it is notably lacking in ornate decoration being (in its current form) in very much the "utilitarian" style of the sewer and water systems though records indicate this was not always the case.

Communication with the remainder of the drakiss network is via the "Deepway" - a tunnel driven through the bedrock and sealed from the aquiferous strata with powered lifts handling the descent and ascent to the upper levels.

History

The Kisshome was originally excavated in the woodlands outside the settlement of Morton in the years following Jorrath's death and their crew taking service with the Duke. In those days Morton's boundary sat on Wall Street, with only a little development along the Durran Road. Thus it was originally built with a view to being away from the bulk of the human population but while being close enough to allow them ready subterranean access to the network of tunnels that they were already beginning to construct and manage on behalf of the Duke. In its original form it housed the majority of the colony, but as the colony grew it's importance as a residence reduced as the closeness to the river meant it could not be extended downwards and the encroaching spread of Morton meant it could not expand laterally without loosing its concealment - indeed as the suburbs of Morton expanded beyond the line of the second wall (marked by Newall Street) in the late third century MD some of the outlying parts of the kisshome were back filled and the Gongster' Guildhouse (and surrounding uncellared houses owned by the Guild) erected over the remaining parts.

Founding Date

42 MD

Type

Catacomb

Parent Location

Wharfare

Owning Organization

Morton Drakiss