Setting

The Manor House is a 2-task aerostat ride from Little Harbour, though there is a restricted airspace zone between the two, requiring a detour.

  

Description

A high-walled estate with extensive grounds and a number of buildings dominated by a large manor house set on a clifftop overlooking the sea, a secluded beach below, bare hills rising a little higher behind it.

  

Aerostat Park

Aerostats can set down in a proper aerostat park in which several vehicles are standing.  Electric carts are available fro the journey from the aero park to the main house.  The aerostat park is concealed behind a row of aesthetic and sound-covering trees and bushes.

“Pasquale here will take you to the guest wing, feel free to freshen up if you wish.  The main house is just a short walk along the path from there.  Left to the house or right to the pool.  If you need anything, ask one of the stewards, or call housekeeping from your room.”

 – Ferris

    

General Exterior

There’s a few little garden nooks tucked away here and there suitable for sitting in the shade, the sun, or in shelter if it’s raining.  That looks like a healthy vegetable garden and… a couple of goats down the back there?  And that, near that wall there, that looks suspiciously like it might be easily converted into a shooting range.   

   

Guest Quarters

Pasquale threads the cart along a path between them toward a long building that, like most of the main buildings Lia will see here, seems to be made of stone panels the same colour as the cliffs on which they stand.  The long building – the Guest Quarters – is surrounded by patches of gardens before a swath of what is probably artificial turf runs all the way to a low wall at the cliff edge.  She can see the roof of the main house behind it.

Pasquale halts the cart before a set of metal steps leading to the building’s upper storey.

“Up the stairs Mer, at the end.” 

A small metal sign on the steps reading ’10 – 12′ seems to support his assertion.

The stairs are at one end of the building, at the top, a turn to a small corridor, three doors – left, right and centre.  The one at corridor’s end marked with ’11’.

At the foot of the stairs are more guest rooms on the level below hers, numbers 1 to 9.  These are sans balconies with doors that open directly to the outside – no access corridor – though each one has a screen directly in front of the door that may be party for privacy and partly to counter the stiff breeze blowing in from the ocean.  At the far end, of the building from Lia, another set of stairs leading up.

A path bordered by a large, neat hedge leads around the side of the guest wing toward the house.  On the rear side of the guest wing, nine more rooms facing an ornamental privacy wall, and a path ahead leading toward the house beneath long black-metal latticed pergola covered in with creepers and vines, pots of succulents on the ground at the edges. 

  

Sample Guest Suite

If she follows his instructions she will find a two-room suite:  One main bedroom, one much smaller that can double as separate office if required, a large lounge with terminal off to one side in a work area with furniture arranged to give some separation, small kitchenette, big bathroom with a shower and a large deep bath big enough for two.  One wall of the lounge is glass with a balcony beyond, that overlooks the ocean, chairs and tables and a large umbrella with its edges whipping in the breeze.

Pasquale will put her luggage on a bench apparently intended for the purpose. 

  

House Rear Approach

At the end of the path a water feature at a T-intersection; a stone-breasted woman, beautiful and grotesque, water pouring from her hands looks both puzzled and horrified at the directions people might choose to take when they meet her.

Sounds of water and conversation drift up from the right-hand path.  Lia turns left to the main house. 

A sheltered walkway to the house – rain is common on Captree – then five stone steps up to glass-panelled double doors.  They swing inward at Lia’s approach and there is a boot room beyond. 

 

Main House

Atrium

Rising up through the house’s three storeys, the Atrium is a vertical space capped with an ornate skylight structure and supporting a huge light fixture of a multi-tubular design reminiscent of a giant wind chime.  On the centre of the wall at the front of the house is the Entry Vestibule (see below).

Opposite the entry vestibule is a large shaped-stone stair leading up to the next floor, with twin flights switching back from the landing to lead to the top floor.  

The centre of the atrium is carpeted, a simple grey suffused with traceries of gold in a pattern something between lightning and spiderweb, the carpet contributes to muting the acoustics of what might otherwise be an echo-filled chamber.  Bordering the carpeted central area is a three-sided colonnade, with pillars of a simple, square design.  The colonnade is recessed beneath the upper floors, with various doors and openings beneath it leading to other rooms on this floor.

The pretty atrium is pretty, the lightly-tinted skylight glass gives everything a slightly amber hue.

Inside, if she further explores the Atrium she will note that some of the rooms of the central space have been opened up, perhaps to give people privacy should they wish to talk.  She will discover that one of the doors apparently to a room is actually an elevator for those that don’t wish to take the stairs to the upper levels.  The second level is somewhat open, but the stairs up to the third level are roped off, a grey jacket standing discreetly nearby surveying comings and goings.  

   

Ground Level

Entry Vestibule

On the centre of the wall of the atrium at the front of the house is a vestibule leading to the large front doors of the house, inner glass doors to the vestibule stand open while the large external doors follow the same glass-panelled design she saw on the doors to the garden, though the outer door panels here are translucent, giving a slight golden tint to the natural light outside.

A discrete data socket in the wall allows PDA access – mostly for the stewards.  

  

Boot Room

The rear entrance is through a classy and well-appointed boot room.  A bucket of umbrellas stands by the door, hooks for rain ponchos, cupboards, a stone wash trough in a corner, flooring suited to wet shoes and functional rather than decorative. 

Lia doesn’t need to roll for her Observation to note an opaque security camera dome.  

Unless she lingers in the boot room, more automated double glass doors swing open to allow her access to the house beyond…

 

Corner corridor

…where she will find herself at the corner of an L-shaped corridor.  The corridor’s interior maintains a sense of the house’s external shaped-stone architecture, but with highlights of glass and gold, feature walls washed with light grey and pin-spot lights reflecting off surfaces rather than the diffuse lighting strips popular in most of the Dominion.  Along the corridor to her left, a large open doorway with movement and noise beyond – possibly the function room Pasquale spoke of.  Ahead the corridor opens out after some distance, sense of an open space beyond.  Apart from a single non-descript door off one side, the corridor toward the open space is featureless, though feels more ‘uncluttered’ than ‘bare’ due to the lighting and décor.  The corridor is about the same width as the Atrium colonnade.

At one end, the corridor opens onto one corner of the atrium.

If one turns left at the corner of the L-shaped corridor after entering the house they will go through a large open doorway into the function room.

  

Function Room

Consistent with the architectural theme, the function room follows the house’s external shaped-stone motif.  There’s a continuing sense of gold highlights against the grey stone walls, but the function room adds a splash of red, with abstract-art cloth draperies against the walls picked out with pin-spot lighting.  This is a long rectangular room, light provided by three artistically high-tech equally-spaced chandeliers in addition to the pin-spots.

Along the left-hand wall as Lia enters is a combination of smorgasbord and staffed servery (a kitchen-worker variation on the grey jackets – more ‘grey shirts’).  In the far right corner, a live three-piece band is setting up, looks almost ready to play (is that a Felline musician!?)

Further on from the food is a bar – a permanent fixture by the look of it, though it looks more like drinks are being served by circulating waiters, with the bar itself mostly there for waiter restocking, special orders (or possibly complaints) – a stern-looking grey jacket is supervising proceedings from behind it. 

There are perhaps fifty people in this room, a number of which have drifted in from the pool area at the rumours of food being available.

  

Upper Level

The third level is a U-shape around the void of the atrium, two walkways along the arms of the U with doors leading off and at the base of the U, and open space with ornate-modern couches in keeping with the stone-and-gilt styling of the building, a bar, a deep rug, entertainment console and other items of furniture including… that looks like a keyboard among a couple of other instruments in one corner.   

They pass by the top of the main stairs, Angela pausing briefly to catch the eye of the Grey Jacket stationed near the rope at the foot of the stair.  He notes them and nods.    

She leads Lia to a door in the centre of the left-hand walkway.  Angela uses her security dongle, there’s a brief pause and the door opens.

 

Parlour  

Beyond, Raina is seated on a couch, leaning in one corner, a low boxy table before her with a carafe and glasses, a PDA in one hand.  Another couch at an angle around the table.  There is a small but well-stocked bar in one corner of the room with representative samples of most types of drinks. 

  

Pool

From the house, past the grotesque statue, travels on beneath its stone-blind gaze to an open area where a pool in the shape of a grand piano dominates an area surrounded by shaped-stone privacy walls draped with vines and foliage.  A movable ceiling of variably-transparent panels stands partially open, provides a mix of shade and light.

There are two dozen or so people of varied appearance and age in this area, most standing, some sitting in outdoor furniture, a few lounging, three actually in the pool.  

As Lia approaches she sees one of the grey jackets fiddling with some tech behind the bar, at which some piped music begins filling the space.

  

Ref:  H-247