Manor House

Prominently sited, the manor is an impressive building that dominates the fief. Easily visible from the road, the 10 foot high mortared stone wall conceals all but the two story buildings. Although tall, the walls are not crenulated but are topped by a pointed capstone with rusty nails fixed in with mortar, points up.

The outer courtyard houses four buildings: a forge built of stone; granary, huntsmen’s house and chicken coop built with timber frame, wattle and daub. Six buildings line the inner courtyard: the hall, gatehouse, solar block and stables all have stone main floors and timber frame second stories. The nursery stable and wood shed are built of timber frame, wattle and daub. All of the manor buildings have fine slate roofs to protect them from fire.

The manor is built with cut blocks brought, at great expense, from a quarry near Heroth. Finely mortared, the buildings show great care and craftsmanship went into them and no expense was spared. The manor was built largely at one time with the main hall predating the other buildings by only a few years. The fine timbers and expensive slate tiles are available only to the richest of lords.

Small details, like the fine iron hinges and decorative stonework give the impression that an important person lives here. Guests are met by the chamberlain in the outer courtyard where they are evaluated. The chamberlain decides who gets into to see the Bailiff immediately and who waits.

Household

As befits an agent of the King and one of the most important men in the region, the Bailiff of the Hundred, Sir Sabir Polyle, maintains a lavish household. He supports his wife, her lady-in-waiting, two sons, their wives and his grand-daughter. This requires many servants. Twentythree servants and four soldiers wait on the family. They are lead by Alariau, the chamberlain. He oversees the internal workings of the manor under the direct supervision of the Bailiff’s wife, the Lady Milwyth.

As Sir Sabir is constantly busy with the affairs of the Hundred, day-to-day running of the manor falls to his eldest son and steward, Sir Relbert. He depends heavily on Joa of Clan Baldis, the village reeve, but is developing into a solid manager of estate affairs. He has a quick tongue and while he likes to keep the villagers on their toes, is not cruel. Sir Sabir’s younger son, Amant, spends much of his time with the two ostlers tending the family’s prized herd of Reksyni horses.

The kitchen is run by Amaldic the cook and his wife and assistant, Brieda. They are supported by an alewife and baker (Eagith and her husband, Otilon). The Bailiff hosts many fine dinners for all the best people in the Hundred, and even the Earl of Heroth dines here on an annual basis, so this is a key position. Amaldic is an outstanding cook and the Lord is justifiably proud of the meals he produces. In addition to his wages, Sir Sabir often awards the cook a special purse if the meal is exceptional.

The Bailiff loves to hunt and uses the need to patrol the King’s forest as an excuse to indulge this love at least once a week. His two huntsmen spend the rest of their time supporting the kitchen by hunting boar and small game in Ravinath Forest. Deer are reserved for the King. The huntsman and forester are much feared by the locals.

The clothier and priest spend much of their time with the ladies of the household. The clothier, Burilda, is a skilled seamstress from Coranan. She has a keen eye for style and assesses everyone who enters the manor, dismissing those in poor clothing. The Laranian priest, Brother Cemian, is a spare, bookish man of middle years. He can be very effeminate and seems more at ease among the ladies of the household.

Sir Sabir depends heavily on his scribe to keep the Hundred Rolls. As a result, Tonnet travels with the Bailiff to all official functions. In their youth, he was tutor to Relbert and Amant who are both literate. Tonnet will instruct Sabir’s granddaughter when she is old enough.

The two men-at-arms have easy jobs and much spare time. They are often conscripted by the chamberlain to do heavy lifting or Amant to work with the horses. Both men are talented riders, one of the reasons they were chosen to work at the manor. They definitely prefer working with the horses. On Hundred Moot day, both are in armour with weapons to demonstrate their master’s importance. Neither man has any practical fighting experience.

Ground Floor

1. Outer Yard.The only gate into the manor is flanked by two iron gibbets (currently empty) used for displaying criminals found guilty in the Bailiff’s court. The sole entrance to the manor house is a heavy wooden gate studded with iron nails and guarded by one of the lord’s man-at-arms. The gates are barred at dusk and only opened with the permission of the Bailiff or the chamberlain. The outer courtyard is quite pleasant. Stone chippings have been placed on the paths to minimize the mud and the wild grass that grows in the courtyard is trimmed by two nanny goats kept for their milk. Visitors seeking an audience with the Bailiff, or waiting for their case to be called, gather in the shade of the large beech tree. The courtyard is also home to the chickens housed in the coop in front of the granary. They are allowed to run free, but one of the serving women collects the eggs each morning and rounds them up before the gate closes each night.

2. Granary.Tucked in the corner of the outer yard, the granary is used to store the proceeds from the Bailiff’s own manor plus the produce collected as tribute or fines from the Hundred. Bails of wool, crates and barrels filled with smoked or salted meat, sacks of grain and chests of luxuries (such as pots of honey) fill the building to the rafters. Although most of the goods are sent on to the Royal castles, the Bailiff and his household live very well in all but the leanest years.

3. Forge.To the left of the gate is the forge of the manor’s bonded metalsmith. Master Jelane lives in the village with his wife and three children but works directly for the Bailiff. All villagers must bring their work to him, from which the lord takes a substantial cut. Sounds of hammering fill the courtyard during the day.

4. Huntsmen.The Bailiff employs a veteran sergeant-atarms, Lutger, to command his small guard and act as his huntsman. Equipped as light horse, the sergeant is assisted by a forester, Arlmar (equipped as medium foot). Both men are lesser Clan Polyle members men and have their own small house that they share with two mastiffs that sleep on the blankets piled in the corner.

5. Gatehouse.A barrel-vaulted passage leads to the inner courtyard. The heavy set of doors is rarely closed and almost never barred. Commonly referred to as the gatehouse, it has no other defensive features and was built mainly for show. It is sometimes guarded by the second man-at-arms when there are large numbers of people waiting in the outer yard to be called to the Hundred Moot. The door to the right leads to what was once a guard room. When it proved unnecessary, it slowly became cluttered with the overflow of storage from the granary. It leads to the lower floor of the Solar Block. The room to the left of the entrance way has always been the main store room for the kitchen. It has easy access for people bringing supplies from the granary.

6. Kitchen.This room is spacious, but always crowded and busy. The staff of four have straw ticks which they store under the counters during the day and lay in front of the fireplace at night. They consider themselves very lucky and are quite loyal to the Bailiff and his family.

7. Great Hall.The heart of the manor house, it doubles as the setting for the Hundred Moot and Feudal Courts. The room is dominated by a huge fire pit, large enough to roast a full ox, and the Bailiff’s dais from which he presides over feasts and courts alike. At night, nine of the manor’s domestic servants sleep in the hall.

8. Private Room.The Bailiff’s second son, Amant, wife Cythild and their daughter (four years old) share this fine room. Amant acts as his father’s squire and is equipped as light horse. His father has asked the King to knight him at the next Summer Court in Ibonost. When the Bailiff has guests, these two rooms [8 & 9] are surrendered to medium ranking visitors. High ranking visitors take the Bailiff’s room. The brothers and their families move to the servant’s rooms on the second floor [2 & 3].

9. Large Private Room.The small ante-room outside this room is used (during the day) by people waiting to see the Steward and (at night) as overflow sleeping accommodations for servants and the like. The larger private room is used the Bailiff’s eldest son, Relbert, and his wife, Beaga. Just twenty-five, Sir Relbert was married last year. He acts as his father’s second in command and steward. He is still inexperienced and made few mistakes in protocol at the last court, but is learning quickly.

10. Inner Yard.The courtyard has been well gravelled and so is relatively clean and dry. The well, just inside the inner gate, runs dry if there is a hot summer. The bailiff is planning to have it dug 20ft deeper next time it dries up. The enclosure behind the Solar Block is the nursery stable for the lord’s prize horses. Down the hill is a barn and an ostler‘s common, but when the mares are near to foaling, they are brought into the manor and the ostler sleeps in the nursery stable with them. The building is kept very clean and dry and lined with the finest straw. The lord will not risk loosing one of his prized mares to nature’s whims.

11. Stables.During the evenings, nine of the manor’s most valuable horses (four warhorses, four favourite palfreys and his prized stallion) are stabled here. Saddles and other tack are stored at the end of the building where a trapdoor leads up to the hayloft. The travelling wagon for the lady of the household and her maids is stored next to the stables.

12. Woodshed.Just outside the door of the Great Hall for easy resupply of firewood, the building is also used as a workshop by Augebert, the son of the cook; he is the resident jack-of-all-trades and one of the domestic labourers who sleep in the Great Hall.

Second Floor

1. Sleeping Quarters.The loft is reserved for the Bailiff’s most important servants and craftsmen. The clothier (Mistress Burilda), senior ostler (Master Sallace), Laranian priest (Brother Cemian) and the scribe (Master Tonnet) sleep here. The loft can sleep many guests when straw ticks are put down. The loft can be a bit smoky if the logs in the fire pit are wet.

2. Men-at-Arms. A door restricts access to the Solar Block and keeps most of the smoke out. The first room houses the manor’s two fulltime soldiers, Huerd and Goscie (junior members of Clan Polyle), both of whom are equipped as light foot. Since he is also their Clanhead, they will obey the Bailiff’s orders to the letter. If he is not present, they answer to his sons, then the lady of the house, the huntsman and finally the chamberlain.

3. Chamberlain’s Room.This pleasant room overlooks the outer courtyard. Alariau the Chamberlain shares it with his wife and daughter, both of whom are domestics in the household. It doubles as Alariau’s private office and counting room. Born a commoner, Alariau spent several years at Canrey Abbey and is literate in both numbers and letters. He has done extremely well for himself and his family and won’t let anything jeopardise his position.

4. Sewing Room.This medium sized room is home to the lord’s elderly aunt and uncle. After the couple’s sons died, the Bailiff promised his parents that he would take care of them. They are both in their late sixties and don’t travel much. Aunt Aeney is quite a good seamstress and spends most of her time embroidering with the clothier.

5. Solar. The largest and most comfortable room in the Solar Block is the private chambers of the lord of the manor, the Bailiff of the Hundred, Sir Sabir Polyle and his wife, Milwyth. The chamber has a large fireplace and is decorated with an ornate four-poster curtained bed, an imported carpet, a large clothes chest and desk for the lord. He does his private business here and keeps records, personal funds and tax money in two iron bound chests with complicated locks. Due to his wife’s mild phobia about fire, the Bailiff had a trapdoor installed to allow him and his wife to escape in event of a blaze. The single bed against the wall is for his wife’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Brinwen. She is a haughty little bitch, but Lady Milwyth likes her because she is foreign (from Melderyn).

6. Hay Loft. The twenty-four year old journeyman ostler, Hallace, a boyish, slim young lad, sleeps here to keep a close eye on the horses. He is frequently visited late at night by Goscie, the tall, handsome man-at-arms. So far, the two have managed to keep their affair secret, but the priest, Brother Cemian, suspects and is jealous. When there are large numbers of visitors, the hayloft is the favourite overflow accommodations for those seeking more privacy than Great Hall.

Basement

A ramp leads straight down from the inner courtyard to another store room under the Great Hall. This room is used for storing bales of wool before sale. The room can get quite damp when the water table is high, so the door was removed to try and encourage air circulation to keep the room dry. An elevated wood platform was also built to keep the bales off the damp floor of packed earth.

A set of heavy double doors leads to the manor’s extensive wine cellar. Numerous barrels of fine wines are stored in the cool temperatures. Since some of the wines are quite valuable, a heavy lock protects the door. Only the Bailiff has the key. In the corner, behind one of the larger barrels is a cunningly hidden sliding panel that leads to the manor’s secret chamber.

No one at the manor, not even the Bailiff, knows about the secret chamber. It was build during the time of Clan Rynn by masons brought from Dyrisa. A palisade was built around the site and none of the locals were allowed beyond the gate. The room was built as a refuge and hiding place in the event of an assassination attempt or civil war. Inside the room are two large chests of Khuzan manufacture. Solid locks and a coating of beeswax keep them sealed and watertight. The chests contain specially preserved food, clothing, armour, weapons and some money (silver and jewels). There are also lanterns and sealed flasks of oil.

The door to the room is a trap. It closes by itself using a system of weights unless held open. Once closed, there is a complicated three stone combination (requiring at least two people) that must be pressed to open it again. Three skeletons lie in the middle of the room, they are the remains of a group of adventurers who heard rumours of the room from one of the masons and decided to rob it. In the middle of the night, they scaled the wall and slipped into the cellar. They managed to pick the wine cellar lock and open the secret door, but ended up locked inside, unable escape. The inside of the secret door is covered with scratches and dints, as are the two chests. They were unable to break into the chests or open the door. First they ran out of torches, then water and finally food. They killed each other in a final desperate frenzy. Their clothes and weapons have rusted or rotted away, but the curled up skeleton is clutching a golden holy symbol (Agrikan) it its hand.

The large prison cell next to the wine cellar is used to hold prisoners pending Hundred Court trials. Since the court rarely deals with dangerous offenders, it is not often used. It does however have the reputation for being haunted. Several past prisoners claimed to have heard voices from the southern wall arguing and blaming each other. The voices faded after a week or so, but now and then, prisoners have reported hearing the "three arguers". The Bailiff thinks it is nonsense but plays it up to inspire fear in the prisoners and to draw out confessions.