Located five miles north of the city and Marketplace. Carriage Hill was built by Lord Nigel's grandfather. Two main stories of building are dwarfed by the towers that have four levels. Contained within:
A Great Hall- In the Great Hall, guests are entertained. From dining to dance. Lord Nigel holds merchant meetings within the hall at the end of each month. Banners embroidered with the signets of the house as well as those related: Springdell, Bay, Wethermore, and Talbet. The long table is made of heavy, dark wood. Its surface is polished to a shin and the edges of the tabletop are carved with images various woodland creatures. Thirteen chairs, six to either side and one at the head, accompany the table. The backs of the chairs reach shoulder-height and are as ornate with carved life as the table itself. When guests are present, flat seat cushions are brought out and put to each chair. Along one wall, a grandious fireplace stands wide-mouthed and dormant until the change of seasons demands the need for heat. Near this, many a man has sat in company with Lord Nigel late into the night talking out the details of trade agreements and arrangements. (First Level)
The Library- Down the corridor from the Great Hall stands to ten foot high doors, each three inches thick. Out of all the rooms in the Bryfogle House, this one is considered its haven; its sanctuary. When the doors are closed with one inside the grandious room, they get the feeling of being wonderfully segregated from the rest of the world. Little sound is able to seep into the Library, unless the windows stand open to the small garden beyond them. Most of three walls are inlaid with thick shelves. Each are heavily and completely filled with books from around the world the Lord Nigel has collected in his years of travel and trade from Latin texts from the Churches to books of art from the Orient. A few chairs and desks are well-placed throughout the large room. Rugs cover the floor, and a few paintings are strung here and there. The hearth is much smaller than the one within the Great Hall. Welcoming and burning not just on cold, wintery nights, the area near the fire is often utilized. Two chairs set in semi-circle with a small table betwixt offer a gentle setting for sitting and reading at length. (First Level)
Common room- Sometimes called the Drawing Room, the common room is at times used as an informal place for family to spend time with one another. Meals are taken here when the Great Hall is not found warm enough or simply too much for the moment. Within it, large tapestries of hunts and ship voyages cover every wall. A smaller, rectangular table sits surrounded by six chairs that are draped in pelts in cooler weather. (First Level)
Kitchen- At the end of the hall, passed the Great Hall, Common Room and Library is the Kitchen. Large tables for rolling dough, cutting tables, and pots and basins fill the room. Along the right wall is the cooking hearth and stone ovens built in beside them to draw from the fire's heat. Herbs and flowers are strung up for drying, giving the room a splash of color and a delicate perfume one cannot get from bread and stew alone. (First Level)
Eight rooms- Eight rooms, each with an outer room and bedchambers. All are decorated a little different from one another. Commonly, the rooms have chairs and small tables in the outer rooms. The bedchambers have a bed, night tables, curtains upon the windows of heavy quality. Tapestries help hold in the heat of the rooms. In the two master bedchambers, Milady Grace's and Lord Nigel's, a small room is also included in those apartments for their personal servants. The rest of the servants sleep on the first floor in rooms that branch off from the narrow hall that can be found to the right of the kitchen. (Second Level)
Stables- The horses and cows are kept near the house unless grazing as thieves are known to steal them. This gives the cook ample opportunity for milking the cow for what is needed for drink and cooking. Four horses in all and two milking cows. If meat is needed, that is aquired from hunt or market. Several wood stalls with hay thrown down in each. Chickens are often in the back yard just beyond the door of the kitchen, the meat and eggs from these used readily enough. (First Level)
Inner Courtyard- A quiet haven, the Inner Courtyard is often utilized by Lord Nigel and Milady Bryfogle to entertain their guests during favorable weather. Upon rare occasion, even meals have been held out-of-doors within the gentle boundaries of the courtyard. |
