<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1.45em;"><strong>Story Setting</strong></span><br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5460/avonleighmanoroutside.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Avonleigh Manor - Overview</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>About:</strong>The house and grounds have a long history, and the estate has passed hands many times. More recently, the home has garnered an infamous reputation over a brutal murder-suicide. While this is the stuff of gossip and legends, it also creates an opportunity for the wealthy Montague family. Another home, more land, more power. Avonleigh Manor has become the newest in a line of extensive holdings for the Montagues.<br/><br/><strong>Location:</strong>The manor is located in north-eastern Dementlieu, not far from the Musarde River. The land here is open and rolling, with small, scattered forests. It's springtime, and the climate here is rather mild; a mixture of cloudy, grey and sunny days.<br/><br/><strong>Overview:</strong>The property itself spans almost a thousand acres; it's many miles to the closest, neighboring land parcel. The estate takes up about thirty acres of land, with much of that devoted to extensive lawns and gardens. From the roadside, there is a great lawn leading up to a smallish, but exquisite, mansion. Along the northern lawn (looking to the left, from the road), there is a very large hedge maze that stretches out almost to the house itself. Along the southern (looking to the right, from the road) there are long water gardens and pools. The vegetable gardens and an orchard are located to the rear of the home, along with a detached building for servants to live and work in. There is a low, stone wall (approximately 4.5 feet tall) surrounding the estate grounds.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Avonleigh Manor - Outside Locations of Note</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>Front Lawns:</strong>Green, thick, and naturally short, the front yard of the estate is wide and expansive, stretching thousands of feet wide, and being even longer from the road to the home itself.<br/><br/><strong>Driveway:</strong>Constructed of crushed stone and dirt, the driveway is nonetheless smooth and elegant. There are ruts here and there from carriages driving through muddy weather, but the road is in otherwise good repair.<br/><strong><br/>Carriage House:</strong>Located some distance to the right of the manor home, bordering the water gardens, is a large, barn-like structure. Carriages and their horses are housed here; the place smells of damp wood and moldy hay.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8673/avonleighmanorhedgegard.jpg)</div><strong>Hedge Maze:</strong>Beautiful to the eye, this maze is built from dense, impenetrable bushes; the maze hasn't been maintained in recent years, so in places the paths have grown too narrow to easily manage. The bushes themselves are very, very difficult to see through, and they're armed with very sharp, inch-long thorns; cheating isn't recommended! [Pictured to the right]<br/><br/><strong>Water Gardens:</strong>Opposite the hedge maze, in the front yard of the estate, are lush water gardens. These man-made ponds were dug into the clay earth, and they vary from very shallow to quite deep. There are fish in most of the ponds, along with frogs and the occasional turtle. Beautiful water flowers grow in many of the water gardens. Paths are constructed of flagstone, and there are bridges here and there to allow movement between and within the gardens.<br/><br/><strong>Smokehouse:</strong>Around the rear of the manor, there is a large smokehouse and pantry. It is a detached building for storing foodstuffs. At one time meat was butchered, cured, and smoked here, and there are still various saws and knives located here for cutting through bones and skinning large animals.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7029/avonleighmanorservantsq.jpg)</div><strong>Servant's Quarters:</strong>A low, single-story building with many small rooms. Part of the roof has fallen into disrepair, and roughly half of the building suffers from water damage, including dense, black mold.[Pictured to the left; inside view]<br/><br/><strong>Woodshed:</strong>A relatively large build with an open front, where wood is stacked in preparation fr the colder months. The building is roughly half-full of seasoned hard wood. There are axes, mauls, and large saws nearby for the processing of wood, although many of the tools are rusted and no longer as effective as they once were.<br/><strong><br/>Vegetable Gardens:</strong>Many acres of herb and vegetable gardens sprawl out behind the manor home. While no one has tended to them for several years, there are still plenty of 'volunteer' vegetables growing in amongst an infestation of grasses and weeds.<br/><br/><strong>Orchards:</strong>All along the back of the estate, there are thick groves of orchard trees. Apple, pear, apricot, and cherry trees all abound, along with weedy patches of strawberries and overgrown grape vines. The fruit is wild and unkempt, but tastes wonderful when in season. At the moment, the trees have just begun to leaf and what little fruit is available, is mostly under ripe. The cherries are ready to be eaten, however.<br/><br/><strong>Cemetary:</strong>In one of the back corners of the estate grounds, there is a rather large cemetery. Many of the souls that were buried here were simply placed beneath several feet of earth, with an engraved stone to mark their resting place. A few of the families who have owned Avonleigh, over its long history, have constructed large, above-ground mausoleums, complete with carved pillars and gothic statuary. The stone structures are usually sealed or locked, to prevent theft or the desecration of the bodies within.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Avonleigh Manor - Inside Locations (First Floor)</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>Note:</strong>Please check the map at the end of this post; all locations are keyed to correspond to the locations on the map.<br/><br/><strong>1. Entry Hall &amp; Closet:</strong>A simple, yet long, hallway with many doors. There is a very large closet to the immediate right, upon entering; its obviously a place to store heavy outerwear and muddy boots. There are plenty of jackets and slippers already here when the characters arrive. Wide stairs also rise up to the right, leading up to the home's second story.<br/><br/><strong>2. General Parlor:</strong>A small, but luxurious gathering place, with room to sit 6-8 individuals. There are no sofas, but there are many gilded chairs and tables in the room.<br/><br/><strong>3. Dining Room:</strong>Formal and elegant, with a long table and high-backed chairs. This large room can easily sit sixteen dinner guests.<br/><br/><strong>4. Work Room:</strong>A large room for servants to work within, whether to process an abundant harvest, or to prepare dishes before serving. This room has several long tables for work or eating; this is also where servants would take their meals after their masters and ladies had eaten.<br/><br/><strong>5. Men's Parlor:</strong>A place for whiskey and fine cigars; men often retreat from their ladies to a more rustic and masculine setting. Dark wood walls, comfortable chairs and sofas, perhaps with a few hunting trophies thrown in beside the great grandfather clock. There's nothing to say women can come into the room, but it is built to be a token to male virtues and space.<br/><br/><strong>6. Women's Parlor:</strong>A place for the fairer sex, for gossiping and giggles. Colorful reds and oranges and pale yellows mark this gilded room. Porcelain statues, an empty, jeweled bird cage, and more. Meant to be a refuge from the prying eyes of their would-be suitors and the groping hands of their drunken husbands. Dedicated to frilly femininity, but a setting for naughty thoughts in the minds of many men (and women), nonetheless.<br/><br/><strong>7. Kitchen:</strong>A large and well-stocked kitchen with several stoves, an oven and ample space to process and prepare foods. There is also a large fireplace built into one of the walls, and the various stoves and ovens are built in such a way that smoke and odors can also flow out through flue. There is a door leading out of the manor home in this room, allowing access to the vegetable gardens beyond. There is also a stairway leading up to the attic, but a good amount of furniture and other items slated for storage have been piled up against the stairs, making passage up impossible.<br/><br/><strong>8. Storage/Storeroom:</strong>A place for dried goods and other storage. The room is dusty, and unused, and there are still many stores of food here in various stages on decomposition. Mixed in with bags of rotting vegetables and grains are canned foods and airtight containers filled with dried fruits and meats and seeds.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Avonleigh Manor - Inside Locations (Second Floor)</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>9. Gallery/Hallway:</strong>At the top of the grand stairs there is a long hallway. Various paintings and few statues line the carpeted area.<br/><br/><strong>10. A Girl's Room:</strong>Unlike the other, smaller bedrooms, this one is still full of furniture and personal effects. It appears to have been a young girl's room, and there is a portrait of her hanging above a child-sized vanity; she's a pretty girl, with blonde hair and fine, narrow features. The four-post bed in the room is likewise small, obviously meant for a child.<br/><br/><strong>11. (13, 14, and more) Bedrooms:</strong>There are actually eight smaller bedrooms on this floor; we're going to just accept the fact that the map is wrong here! The bedrooms are mostly similar, with good-sized beds and facilities for dressing and storing clothing. There are small cots in some of the rooms, obviously meant for the maids of noble ladies.<br/><br/><strong>12. The Library:</strong>A grand room, filled with countless books and tomes. Most of them are printed, but a few are written by hand. This place has obviously seen much love and attention, by the scuff marks in the carpet and the worn bindings on many of the books. The bookshelves are built into the walls, formed from a dark, polished wood.<br/><br/><strong>15. Master Bedroom:</strong>The largest and grandest of all the bedrooms, this is where the masters of Avonleigh sleep. An exquisite four-post bed takes up one wall, covered in lush fabrics. The floor is carpeted, and the walls are painted a deep, but vivid, crimson. Like the other bedrooms, there are facilities for dressing here.<br/><br/><strong>16. Dressing Room:</strong>A large area devoted exclusively to dressing and preparing, this room seems more tailored for a woman than a man, although both sexes might find purpose in the room. There are closets with linens and towels here. The strongest feature of the room, however, is an amazingly luxurious vanity with room to sit three women at once. The central mirror is the most lavish, though, for it has jewels and gilded metals included in it's design, along with much filigree. Various cosmetics and powders are on display here, along with many glass bottles of perfume. There is a door leading to the bathing room as well.<br/><br/><strong>17. Bathing Room:</strong>A pretty room with tiled, sandstone floors. The main feature of this room is a very large, porcelain tub that can easily fit three slim women, or a man and a woman, or up to five smaller children. Nevertheless, it is a long trek from downstairs for the maids who must carry that much water to fill the enormous vessel. There are many mirrors here, as well as two cabinets devoted to linens.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Avonleigh Manor - Inside Locations (Third Floor - The Attic)</strong></span><br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1969/avonleighmanorattic04.jpg)</div><div class="floatright">(http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/368/avonleighmanorattic03.jpg)</div><br/><strong>18. Unnamed Room:</strong>The door to this room is blocked and/or locked; whatever lies beyond it is a mystery.<br/><br/><strong>19. The Attic:</strong>Large, messy, and filled with countless pieces of draped furniture, knick knacks, and other treasures. It would be easy to spend days looking through all of the junk, and still miss some of the little things. There are two doors in this room that lead to other places, but they are behind large, heavy cabinets or furniture, and it would take a group effort to get to them. A set of narrows stairs, beneath a trap door, leads down to the kitchen (area 7) on the first floor of the manor home. [Pictures left & right]<br/><br/><strong>20. Unnamed Room:</strong>The door to this room is blocked and/or locked; whatever lies beyond it is a mystery.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8097/avonleighmanor.jpg)