Ubael Manor

UBAEL MANOR

Ground Floor

(1) The ground floor of Ubael Manor holds the great hall as its centerpiece. The hall is dominated by the great fireplace, the banquet table which usually only serves the Baron and his close family, and countless trophy banners, shields and weapons accumulated over the centuries.

(2) The garrison chambers to the left of the hall and on the ground floor of the watch tower house six men-at-arms of the Baron's company of 20 light infantry. Another four sleep in the boathouse at the southwestern edge of the manor compound (not shown) and another ten are garrisoned at the keep together with the Baron's constable Sir Selvos of Yaronne who is charged with maintaining the defenses of Uldien and ruling during the Baron's absences.

(3) The armory holds spears, bows, shields, and axes in racks, as well as several barrels of arrows for the manor's defense. The Baron's armour also stands here draped over a rack.

(4) The household's private chapel is small but lovingly maintained. The tapestry on the western wall showns a rendition of the Fields of Dolithor, the statues on the eastern wall depict as peaceful ruler Larani and Saint Uldine with bleeding hands.

(5) The kitchen and pantry (6) to the east are well stocked. The scullery maid Gerlin of Thavos sleeps in the pantry or kitchen on a straw matress which is leaned against a wall during the day. The manor's age (re-built originally in 381 TR after the Kaldoric Civil War) shows in the fact that the manorhouse holds no toilets apart from the outhouse (7) at the western wall used mostly by servants and men-at-arms (the noble family uses chamber pots).

Second Floor

(1) The gallery overlooks the great hall on the ground floor. A family man through and through, the Baron insists that the ladies dine along with the men in the hall, so the gallery is mostly used by harpers during festivities (or to hang and dry clothes in bad weather). The rafters above are hung with countless banners and flags won as trophies of war but now so soot-stained and blackened over the centuries that most designs and coat-of-arms are no longer recognizable. On racks spaced evenly along the walls hang 10 suits of fine mail and scale armor won as tournament trophies by the last three generations of Ubaels.

(2) The chamber at the south-western corner houses the Baron's daughter Serli, while the one to the north (3) used to sleep her brother Karsin who has left for Kobing this year to serve as a squire with Baron Firith. In exchange, the Baron will shortly send a young page to begin training as a squire in Baron Ubael's household who will probably lodge here then.

(4) The tower floors are normally empty, in case of attack though, the second floor would be used to store provisions and house the defenders.

(5) The chamber of Eryn Laraka and her little daughter Lindyn. Eryn was taken in by Baron Karsin when her husband Alven Ubael, his cousin, died of the pox in 718 TR. Lindyn is just over a year old and very well liked by the family as well as the servants. Her mother is still deep in mourning but her little daughter helps to ground her.

(6) Another widow taken in by the Baron lives here together with her two juvenile sons. Penlael Charion was the wife of Badil Ubael, another cousin of Baron Karsin, who died from infected wounds suffered in an ambush by Kath barbarians in 711 TR while on patrol with his company of the Royal High Guard. Penlael's brother Orwen, lord of Delincer Manor in Atressa Hundred refused to take her in since he already had to feed a large family and so Baron Karsin invited her to stay with him in Uldien. Penlael, a devout Peonian, helps Serli Firith as a lady-of-court in managing the household and is popular with the servants for her gentle nature. Her sons Jordi (12 years) and Vard (10 years) on the other hand have inherited their father's restless nature and often play practical jokes on the residents of Uldien. The Baron hopes to arrange a place for them with the Royal Guards squires when they are old enough to serve.

(7) The Baron's chamber occupies the north-eastern part of the second floor. The large chamber serves as study as well as bedchamber. The Baron's wife Serli has been in bad health since the birth of her son and needs frequent medical attention, especially during cold and wet weather. For this reason the chamber holds an extra bed that is used by Ebasethe Nerila of Iderkin, a Peonian nun from the temple well versed in the healing arts, when she ministers to the Baroness. The chests hold valuable items like high-quality linen, silverware, and the Baron's strongbox of ready cash. The bearskin rug fronting the four-poster bed is the Baron Karsin's special pride and treasure since he killed the brown bear himself on a royal hunt when he was only 16 years old.

(8) The south-eastern chamber houses the important servants. Here sleep the cook Gerla of Hundern, a sharptongued, robust woman of 41 who rules the manor's kitchen with an iron fist, her husband Firlan who acts as the Baron's manservant, and the maids Zura and Rosenn. The servants' quarters can only be accessed via the exterior stairs.

Cellar

(1) The cellars under the eastern wing hold enough provisions to withstand even a lengthy siege. Although the Baron is not the wealthiest of Kaldor's nobles, his wife makes sure that the base neccessities are well-provided. Venison hunted on the estate is hung here to dry (smoked or salted first) and the opposite wall holds the Baron's small but excellent collection of wine barrels.

(2) The stairs from the pantry have a bad reputation among the servants since one of the scullery maids broke her neck during a fall in 697 TR. Her restless spirit is said to haunt the cellars ever since.

(3) The torture chamber at the northern end sees little use these days, although it is well maintained upon the Baron's orders.

(4) Criminals locked up in the cell to the east have a very good view of the rack and other torture implements which often induces them to confess after a day or two imagining how they are used.

(5) The Ubael family crypt holds the mortal remains of several generations of the clan. Only the Barons' close family members were interred here. Lesser members of the clan are laid to rest in manors held directly all over the Barony and in the crypt under Uldien Abbey. The crypt here is seldomly visited.

Third & Fourth Floor (Watch Tower)

The manor's north-western watch tower is a fairly basic affair. It can only be accessed from the ground floor's guard barracks. The floors are connected by free-standing ladders that can be pulled up in case the tower is invaded by attackers. The openings for the ladders can be closed by ironreinforced wooden trapdoors and barred. The third floor has wide arrow slits on all sides that offer a good field of fire for archers. The fourth floor is the tower's platform, surrounded by a crenellated parapet. The crenellations have not been maintained properly, the mortar has begun to crumble and putting too much pressure against the parapet might result in a stone block tearing lose and falling to the ground or roof below. A man-at-arms usually stands guard on the platform, keeping watch over the town and river.