Branch

Unlike those of most Societies of the Institute of Magical Phenomena, the research facilities of the Natural Society are located far outside Medloth in the town of Chaem. It is a town of moderate size, a ways north of Medloth, nestled at the foot of the Tolach Naelath mountains and along the Kynfesdal, which is the larger of the rivers running through the narrow space between the mountains and the sea. This location allows the Natural Society easy access to quite a lot of different ecosystems, which is highly beneficial when running experiments and performing observational research.
Although it doesn't have an official name, members of the Natural Society refer to their facilities as Branch; a low pun referring to their distance from Medloth and the botanical interests of many members. The foundations of the first buildings were laid more than 250 years ago, shortly after the Natural Society decided to include non-magical studies and consequently to relocate to Chaem to more easily facilitate this (much to the shock of the rest of IMP).

Facilities

By now Branch contains an impressive amount of facilities, all dedicated to aspects of research into nature and nature-based magic. Aside from these specialised areas, there are many small rooms or nooks with tables and seating space for easy discussion and work. The oldest and majority of the buildings and fields are all located close together on the eastern side of Chaem. But space is beginning to run out there and some of the newer facilities have been settled on the edges of Chaem or occasionally crammed into a older available building.

Greenhouses

One of the great prides and joys of the Natural Society is their set of greenhouses at Branch. Extremely expensive, as acquiring this much glass of sufficient and consistent quality used to be no easy task, the greenhouses have been slowly expanded over time — a great relief to everyone as it reduces the amount of negotiation and bickering surrounding the planning of botanical and fungal experiments. The greenhouses are further climate controlled through magical means, allowing each chamber to either follow the natural temperature or be set to specific range. This, combined with the shielding from outside influences, makes them enormously valuable to those experiments which attempt to study certain effects in isolation of other factors.

Gardens and nurseries

These are mostly for the growing of smaller plants, herbs and ornamental plants. Some of these are new, experimental breeds, others are simply for supplies needed for spells. Several sections, together with the Arboretum, also serve as part of a living record of what plants can grow in the region, with or without magical assistance. While the nurseries tend to have a more functional appearance, most of the gardens are very pretty and have helped spread a gardening culture within Chaem.

The Arboretum

Like the gardens, the Arboretum is open for anyone to visit and is indeed a popular spot on days with beautiful weather. A living record of tree species and their fungal symbiotes, the collection is highly respected even on the other side of the continent. The Arboretum lies on the soutern side of the river, opposite Chaem. It's a large and long winding strip of land (with a few offshoots) that runs all the way from the mountain foothills beyond the western side of Chaem so as to include as many ecosystem niches as possible.

Barns and meadows

On the outskirts of Chaem and the Branch lie the animal husbandry facilities. Small groups of cattle, sheep, goats, horses, mules, and various poultry are housed here. Most of them are kept as part of long-term studies, but (similar to the nurseries) several are also simply for providing materials such as manure.

Library

In the center of the Branch complex, is the library. Here a vast collection of scrolls and even books, magically printed, is stored and curated. Most scrolls contain individual articles written by Natural Society members on their research. There are also many reference works about established magical techniques, or the first formal description of a new "finalised" technique. Some research or reference works have even been collected into books, which are rarer. Two librarians, in cooperation with the Professor and Senior Fellows, oversee the curation and maintenance of the collection. The library is well guarded at all times, as most Society libraries are. The libraries are a source of great pride and an essential resource to their Societies and many of them have great stores of articles from even hundreds of years ago.

Crop fields

Most of the oldest crop fields are located next to the rest of the Branch buildings. Some are down by the river banks, some are in a fairly sheltered spot higher up and some are on the slopes of the mountain foothills. These crop fields are typically used to study the development of plants and fungi in different outdoor environments or the efficacy of a new plant breed or magical technique.

Aquaria

When entering the aquarium building, one is struck by the both vaguely eery and wondrous sight of pools and tanks filled many, many types of fish and molluscs and sponges and algae and polyps and jellyfish and worms and water plants and crustaceans all totally absorbed by their own activities. Magical sunlights cast shining rays on some areas while others lie in a still darkness, where only small lanterns are carried when necessary. The aquaria are not limited to the inside of the building - there are several outdoor pools and ponds to study organisms in a more natural environment.

Laboratories

The laboratories contain equipment for both magical and mundane studies — everything one could expect to need from microscopes and scales to herb stores and permanent arcane circles. Some of the laboratories where more hazardous research is conducted, such as with infectous organisms or parasites, have been magically warded. This was done at great expense by specialists all the way from Demul.

Arcane sensor

The magical ward specialists weren't the only thing to come from Demul at that time. They also provided an escort for an arcane sensor. This sensor is one of the most prominent feathers in the cap of the Natural Society. Capable of providing an objective measure of the amount and type of magic natural to an organism or small amount of inorganic material, it has allowed researchers to make great strides in understanding the natural occurence and accumulation of magic. There are arrangements with some of the other IMP Societies, such as the Earthern Society, that allow them to make use of it when occupation allows.

Lecture theatre

The outdoor lecture theatre is just to the north side of the library, surrounded by a grove of trees. There's a fair amount of seating and plenty of standing room, with tied up awnings in case of inclement weather which are stowed by the trees. The speaker faces away from the library building, whose north wall doubles as a screen for any scrolls or magical projections. Due to its location, people tend to be more enthusiastic about presenting research in the warmer seasons than in winter.

Founding Date

Year 980

Type

Laboratory

Parent Location

Chaem

Owning Organization

Natural Society

"Nerds! Nerds everywhere and they all want to stare at every plant, mushroom and insect they come across!"

— astonished visitor in Chaem

Chaem

Despite its moderate size, Chaem is known as one of the three most prominent towns of Tyldamin. This is almost entirely due to the presence of the Natural Society. Approximately a fifth of the town's inhabitants are IMP members and many people work at Branch facilities as staff.
Most Fellows of the Natural Society and attract little more attention than any other town resident would. Due the Natural's Society's prominence however, there are a number of foreign members who mostly speak the language of Byrfenna; which is the primary trade language of the region but not much spoken among the general populace of Tyldamin. This is one of the reasons why Tyr's Tavern is such a popular place to congregate for Natural Imps, Tyr and his staff having no problem with either language.

"Nah, I have to write records in the Ponds first. Let's go to the Bor afterwards, it's such good weather."

— One Junior Natural Imp to another

Building Names

Like Branch itself, which doesn't have any official name, the separate buildings are prone to collecting nicknames from Natural Society members (who, appropriately enough, have also dubbed themselves "Natural Imps").
The Grove – the local pet name for the Lecture Theatre as it's situated between buildings and surrounded by trees.
Ponds – a shorthand for the aquaria. There are the "indoor ponds" and the "outdoor ponds" - indoor refers to the actual aquaria building whereas outdoor is for the pools and ponds outside.
The Bor – a nickname for the Arboretum, probably born out of simple laziness. It's a popular hangout in fine weather, both among locals and visitors.