House of Balance

The House of Balance is located on one of the small islands in the river that divides Trisza. The building itself is fairly bland and small, even though it houses three different departments inside.

Architecture

Outside

Exterior

From the outside the House of Balance is made from grey stone with minimal decoration. There are some windows on all sides, but the glass is clouded, making it difficult to see inside. The House of Balance only has one story with a shallow pointed roof. The entrance is a large wooden double door that is framed by two pillars. Besides the main entrance there are no other door to enter the building.

Gardens

The rest of the small island, surrounding the House of Balance, is made into a nice garden. There are paths, small clusters of trees and small grass fields for the people of Trisza to walk and relax. There are various place with access to the river. On both the north and the south side there is a small pier where ferries stop.

Inside

When walking through the entrance, the building opens up to one of three departments, depending on the business the person or group has in the House of Balance that day.

Hall of Commerce

On the far end of the Hall of Commerce is a large auction podium used to auction off important items. Closer to the entrance, on the left side, are various sized tables that merchants can use to discuss trade agreements and other collaborations. On the right side near the entrance is an office that is used to provide trade certificates and other documentation and administration needed for merchants.

Hall of Justice

The Hall of Justice is mostly setup as an ordinary courtroom. On the far wall is a podium with a place for the judge to sit. Before the podium is a large open space for the suspect. This space is surrounded by four pillars that span floor to ceiling, with intricate runes carved into the sides. If a suspect is placed inside the pillars, a magical barrier is created to keep the suspect in place without fully restraining them. Near the door are a couple of benches for onlookers, guards or other important people to sit and watch the trial.

Hall of Affairs

The Hall of Affairs is less of an open plan room and more of a corridor with doors on either side with a desk in the middle near the door. Each door leads to an office with a specific affair that is handled within the office. Outside each office are a couple of chairs that can be used if the office is busy. Subjects handled within the Hall of Affairs are for example citizenship, housing sales and building permits.

Rumours

Fair Merchants

It is rumoured that if a merchant wants to enter the Hall of Commerce, but they drive unfair prices or other illegal business, that they instead end up in the Hall of Justice, being judged immediately for their actions. No one has found a reliable source to verify this information yet, but merchants are also not willing to find out if it happens to be true.

Trial by Combat

When someone is not happy with their sentence, the judge can allow a trial by combat, but so far not many have chosen this option. It is rumoured that if someone choses trial by combat, the judge will stand up, transform into a large grey winged tiefling and summon their flaming sword before jumping inside the barrier where the suspect is located, engaging in combat immediately.

Divine Magic

Many mages have noticed that the House of Balance has an extremely strong divine presence on both the building and the surrounding gardens. It is assumed that this is due to the strong connection between the House of Balance and the Lord of Scales, who is the god of law, civilization and merchants. This strong aura gives a general feeling of protection both in and around the building.