The Guildspire

The tower seemed ridiculously tall, even for a half-giant, and its enormity only grew with proximity. In contrast to the robed scholastic sorts that had dominated the rest of the Collegium's ground, a variety of sorts were present closer to this tower. He felt less out of place here, and his sister-in-law drew a different sort of look. A man in a light, flexible set of leather armor hailed them with a wave, but his smile faltered at the presence of the half-giant and Porcia's absence.

A large white tower on the western side of Lacroix, the Guildspire rises from the Collegium, majestic and kinda phallic. Its masonry is an ivory white, hauled from the twilit wastes of Morbhaine, reshaped into bricks and made structurally sound by engineering and magic. Now a landmark, the Guildspire is home and headquarters of the Fidiran Adventurer's Guild. The lower floors of the spire are shared with the Collegium. The relationship is symbiotic; the Adventurers Guild benefits from the Collegium's knowledge, and the Collegium benefits from the finds and protection of the Guild. The Guild offers basic combat training in a number of weapons to students of the Collegium, and there is a program that pairs scholars up with Adventurers for field studies.

The tower can be divided roughly into four quarters. Lower quarter is a shared space of learning and discussion. It is also in this quarter that people may accept quests, lodge them, or receive promised rewards. The second quarter is an administrative area in which plans, patterns and progress are plotted and mapped. The next quarter contains storage vaults which hold rewards, artifacts, and confidential documents. The highest quarter is a place of ritual and reflection, open to only academics of the Collegium, Adventurer's Guild staff, and Adventurers of Rank A or above. It is here that Adventurers receive tokens of favour from sponsors, a ritual hearkening back to the Imperial tradition of giving warriors little trinkets before they embarked on journeys.

Purpose / Function

At first, the spire was constructed as a watchtower, then purchased by an Imperial general and renovated to serve as a regal home. After his death, it was left to the city of Lacroix, and after some expansion, became the first incarnation of the building known as The Guildspire. The Guildspire originally housed Lacroix's Two Hundred Guilds during Imperial times. Its proximity to the Collegium was to ensure efficient flow of information to and from two of the busiest organisations within the city. The Lacrois way of life changed slowly, with guilds largely falling from prominence. The Adventurers' Guild moved in the opposite direction, absorbing areas of responsibility and expanding first through Fidira, then across the continent. This was enabled by the chaos that followed the fall of the Morbhaine Empire and the need for pioneers, explorers and the varied skill sets adventurers bring with them.

Architecture

The original Guildspire was much smaller than the current one, and built of a pale brown stone from the western mountains. Approximately two hundred years ago, renovations and expansions were completed, making the spire blend into the classical Imperial whitestone architecture of the Collegium and many other Lacrois buildings of note.

Type

Tower