The West Caraway Acres was a large mansion in the Neverwintian countryside that belonged to a wealthy dragonborn wizard named Torlinn Shrake in the late 15th century DR.[1]
Structure[]
The mansion was surrounded by a hedge garden with its topiaries shaped to resemble creatures like giants, wyverns, and unicorns. One of the topiaries was cut to depict a battle between Torlinn and the beholder named Sharrestren, the deed that made the dragonborn spellcaster famous. A circular drive passed the decorated hedges and led towards the West Caraway Acres's grand entrance, with the servants' entrance tucked away in the back of the building. At night' the driveway was lit with sparking torchs of orange, green, blue, and white flames.[3]
The grand entrance, cut of tall obsidian blocks and decorated with golden impressions around the edge, was built at the zenith of a short stone stair climb. Past the black gates stood a small foyer guarded by sentries clad in plate armor and a doorwoman. The foyer was illuminated by floating enchanted driftglobe and at the end – stood a set of double doors that opened into the West Caraway Acres's main banquet hall.[3]
Interior[]
The West Caraway Acres's main banquet hall was a massive two-story ballroom of black marble encircled by a second-story balcony. The rood had an unsettling, unevenly hexagonal shape. The room's tall stained glass windows were adorned in a drapery of gold with a damask design. The stained glass depicted scenes of dragons attacking cities of exotic Rashemen and Amn.[3]
During Torlinn's last ball, the wizard hired an orchestra of twenty lute, flute, singers, a conductor, and a dwarf pipe organ player. All were magically suspended on the ballroom's ceiling, playing upside down.[3] At the far end of the ballroom stood an intricately-carved oaken bar, decorated with a floral design of trees and flowers.[4]
One of the ballroom's doors led to the mansion's grand library with ceiling-tall bookshelves covering the entire room, separated by an occasional dragonborn portrait. Just like the main room, the library was two-story tall with a balcony incurring the second floor, with yet more books plastering all the walls.[4]
A theater could be found behind another ballroom door. The large dim room held divans and couches upholstered in silk in place of theater row seatings. The stage was a collection of platforms shaped to resemble magical beasts and clouds to accommodate a troupe of gymnasts that swung around and flew under the effects of potions of flying.[5]
History[]
In the late 15th century DR, the West Caraway Acres hosted regular overly lavish parties and revelries hosted by its dragonborn owner. There were rumors that servants and guests routinely disappeared during such events. One such party – a grand masquerade, was when Edgin Darvis, his daughter Kira, Holga Kilgore, Forge Fitzwilliam, and Simon Aumar attempted to pull out a heist. They aimed to steal a great artifact – the Staff of Aorth, with the help of one of the wizard's disgruntled servants, half-elven lass named Alyanna. After getting inside as guests and servants, they thieves made way into the vault only to become sealed in and forced to move through a secret passage to the mansion's sprawling dungeon.[6]
The first room of the dungeon was where the group was sealed in, once again, leaving them in a large room that imitated the West Caraway Acres's ballroom. The dance floor was trapped, dropping boulders on anyone who failed to dance across to the melody of Torlinn Shrake's favorite song – the Light-Footed Maiden. Luckily, everyone avoided the magical trap unharmed, allowing them passage onto the next part of the grim entertainment prepared by the dragonborn host.[6]
The next room was a copy of the manse's library. Unable to remember the name of the poem favored by Torlinn, the group activated the trap. It collapsed one of the bookshelves and unleashed a basilisk, who already petrified another unlucky guest earlier that day – an elven priestess of Tymora. The group managed to survive the battle as Holga beheaded the beast, but not before he was hurt and cured by a healing potion. The thieves followed through the opened passage and reached the dungeon's bestiary – a collection of cages with giant spiders, dire wolves, kobolds, an amphisbaena, and lastly, Torlinn Shrake...[7] It was revealed that that the dragonborn wizard was defeated in a spell duel all those decades ago against the beholder Sharrestren, who took on Torlinn's form and claimed his life in Neverwinter. The eye tyrant discovered the Staff of Aorth and hatched a plan to restore the damaged artifact to full power by feeding it positive emotions from weekly lavish parties and negative emotions from the death dungeon underneath.[8]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 18, p. 138. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 27, p. 211. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 23, pp. 173–177. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 24, pp. 179–182. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 25, pp. 191–192. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 27, pp. 205–216. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chaps. 28–29, pp. 216–230. ISBN 978-0593598139.
- ↑ Jaleigh Johnson (2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter. (Random House Worlds), chap. 30, pp. 230–240. ISBN 978-0593598139.