The Grim Guildhall

The stories and lives of the Grim. ((Roleplaying Stories and In Character Interactions))
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Qabian
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The Grim Guildhall

Unread post by Qabian »

Below the ruins of Alterac in an extended network of interconnecting caves, some better furnished than others, the Grim have established their Guildhall, a place to gather, to connect, to find and deliver messages, to relax as needed in safety from the Horde's many enemies, as well as to work, to plan, and to learn from each other and the Mandate's long history.


THE ENTRANCE

The Entrance to the Grim Guildhall is just another unobtrusive cave among many in Alterac. It is always guarded on cycling shifts, either by a conspicuous guard posted at the entrance, a less conspicuous guard within an anteroom just inside, or an incredibly inconspicuous guard keeping invisible watch from somewhere in the mountains.

Whether or not anyone is present to take messages or receive callers is not guaranteed, but a Lordaeron-style mailbox is always present. The anteroom at least is open to guests. It is well lit with a stone fire pit, a wooden table and chairs.

At the back of the anteroom, a wooden door opens onto a long tunnel lit by torches, wide enough for two Tauren to walk beside each other comfortably, but no wider. It is long with twists, branches, and dead ends plied with various wards and traps to serve as security measures as needed, although all of them are either attuned to Grim members, allowing them to pass freely, or are triggered at a distance, and new Grim members are taught the correct path.


THE MAIN HALL (The Gallows' End)

At its end, the long twisting tunnel opens up into a wide space, decorated to mimic the old Gallows' End Tavern in Brill including mysteriously sourced warm yellow lighting, as well as wooden floors, walls, ceiling, and furniture, but in a considerably larger space with far more tables, and of course, being underground, no windows. In place of windows, there are ominous portraits of past leaders. Who painted them and when is unknown, but they are all dark in tone and color.

There is a bar nearly perpetually staffed by a Forsaken bartender who goes only by the name of Clay. He keeps deliberately mysterious about his background, but he has proven his loyalty to the Grim and is an appropriately good listener.

The tables and chairs can be moved and a dais raised for meetings, but the space is rarely used for such in favor of areas outside of the Guildhall.

On one of the walls opposite the bar is a massive postboard with messages and announcements available to all at all times.


THE BARRACKS

The Supplicants' Barracks are one large, long room filled with bunks along both sides. All supplicants are allowed to claim a bunk and the accompanying wardrobes along the walls in the spaces between said bunks if they wish, but it seems few actually accept the invitation and there are always more bunks free than occupied. The Supplicants' Barracks are kept tidy and free of cobwebs. The large room is decently well-lit with warm yellow light from a difficult to determine location. There isn't a curfew per se, but the light in the Supplicants' Barracks does go out every evening a few hours after sunset, though no one is ever seen making it happen. Candles are often seen moving back and forth in the room at night as Supplicants move about.

Warbringers are assigned their own room which they keep according to how they like. If they choose not to keep a room within the Guildhall, one is always kept clean and ready in case they do.

Harbingers and the leadership also have their own offices. Whether they use the space provided or not is up to them.

Within the halls containing the Barracks are a great many storerooms here and there between the other rooms, holding a wide variety of supplies. They are kept very tidy and organized by the someone, but likely bewildering to those who haven't memorized where they are and what is in them.


THE LABORATORIES

The new Grim Laboratories are not as extensive as the old, but a large amount of space has been cleared for them, most of it empty and waiting to be built up for use.

There is access to running water and a waste system, drains in the floor, fume hoods and other ventilation, mysterious and magical in nature. There are multiple tables of various sizes set up with adjustable height for experiments, as well as counters with sinks along two walls of the room. Magically powered refrigeration units are in place along a third. Relative to the dim torch light or warm yellow light in most of the halls, the light in the Laboratories, from some difficult to determine source, is a cold white.


THE LOCKUP

The Grim, as a general rule, do not keep prisoners. The punishment for any type of treachery, whether from without or within, tends to be death.

However, there is, on occasion, need for such a thing, so a series of iron barred and magically shielded cells in what is effectively a dungeon are kept dry and clean in case that need should arise.


THE LIBRARY

The Library contains all the documents that were successfully rescued from the previous Grim Guildhall, as well as copies from memory of those that were not. The current Library lacks the layers of dust from over a decade of collection, and is more neatly organized where things have been unpacked. However, there remain for the meanwhile several empty shelves and boxes that have not yet been seen to.


THE VAULTS

The physical location of the Vaults is well below the more populated caves, but they are, by magic, accessible to any Grim who has earned their tabard.

--

((These descriptions are meant to help with roleplay and stories, and they can and should be added to and edited over time.

If your character is of Warbringer rank or higher (i.e. already has their tabard), feel free to add a description of their room in the Guildhall to this thread if you wish (not required). If your character is Harbinger rank or higher, you may add an office description as well.

Posts by Lost Grim may be archived in the future.))
"While our enemies remain, peace is not victory." ~Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner
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Qabian
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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HIGH INQUISITOR'S OFFICE (Qabian's Office)

Qabian has mostly packed up what was once his office, leaving it bereft of furniture, with the exception of some of the shelves toward the back of the room that have been encased as glass to act as display cases instead. The following items are currently on display, as labeled:
  • One chopped-off Tauren horn of reasonable size labeled Duskheron
  • One ring in a small box, engraved with a shielded phoenix labeled Nilheon Direfrost
  • One oversized disembodied heart labeled Armi Aethertide
Qabian's Room

Qabian keeps a room within the Barracks, but it is very sparsely furnished and appears to never be used. There is a plain bed with white linens and no pillow, a very simple desk of a yellowish wood with three drawers and a matching simple chair. A lamp hangs near the door that is always lit, even when he isn't there. There is nothing else in the room and the walls and floor are the stone of the caves, smoothed down but otherwise without polish or decoration.
"While our enemies remain, peace is not victory." ~Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner
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Gavril
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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Gavril's Room

Gavril's room sits in the same hallway as the library. The entrance is a large blackened wood door with baroque iron trim, macabre and esoteric imagery covering its entire surface, the door handle a grinning demon's profile with a long winding tongue acting as the handle itself. Sigils glow a deep violet along the length of the door frame.

The room is pentagonal, tall bookshelves flanking the door on the left and right walls angling outward. A desk stands opposite and to the left of the entrance, and another door into a second room sits to the right. It is largely styled similarly to his apartments he held in the Undercity. The desk, bookshelves and chair are all of a similar aesthetic to the door – Blackened wood, intricately carved. The chair is overstuffed leather dyed a deep green. Various enchanters' implements are arranged carefully on the desk next to a deliberately positioned tome, bookshelves filled to the hilt – indeed, the entire apartment would be cluttered if it were not so meticulously organized. The floor is covered by an impossibly plush carpet, and two cloth banners are hung over the desk – One the Shattered Mask, the other the sigil of the Grim. A delicately painted globe bar depicting the world of Azeroth sits next to the desk.

The second room is also pentagonal, separated into various compartments by heavy velvet drapery drawn back and tied to the walls with thick tassled cords. A wooden casket in the same style as the rest of the furniture stands propped against the wall opposite of the door, lined and cushioned with deep green silk. Large wooden wardrobes, chests, and drawers line the remaining walls. Both rooms are lit by violet crystal shards of varying size hovering at differing, seemingly haphazard heights throughout – They would seem almost arcane, if not for the tormented faces pressed against the facets.
Umbralheart
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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Umbra Longheart’s ‘Science’ lab

In one of the ruined barracks abandoned by the humans of Alterac, Umbralheart has laid claim to the top floor. The layout is typical of any such human building, they’re all built off the same blueprint. At the head of the room, opposite the two entrances the table has been moved, in its place a large bed laid out with furs and even a curious ogre skin blanket no doubt taken from one of the many ogres that infest the surrounding ruins of Alterac. A curious smaller second bed with more civilized coverings is shoved into the corner as though she expects to have guests. Down the steps in the main area Umbra has made a few additions; a large stove with a pipe going up through the ceiling has been added; another ogre skin rug has been laid out next to a butcher block and a large table with sturdy manacles. Beside the table a large sturdy podium and a desk with a solitary chair scavenged from the ruins sit ready for Umbral to document whatever is on the deranged elf’s mind. Lastly, two massive cages, each large enough to house an ogre, and similar in design to ones you could find in Caer Darrow, sit on opposite walls with the stove at the center. Large lengths of sturdy chain wrapped around the door and the frame act as a second lock when secured to a padlock on the wall, well out of reach of any captive lock pickers. Sturdy doors seal the entry way and the exit to the tower on the roof, clearly a retrofit to the old building.

Though the portcullis of the barracks remains forced open, likely a holdover from when it was invaded, a large array of traps both mundane and magical lay in wait for the unfortunate trespasser. Hard to spot traps meant to maim and obvious traps meant to discourage are strewn about in the stairway and hallways. Once on the upper level walkways, an array of obvious traps and trip wires lay in wait to detonate shrapnel bombs and other spring-loaded pain. The traps along the upper walkway could be easily disabled with enough time and effort assuming one is not seen by the sets of all-seeing Kilrogg that patrol the upper levels. Eye of Killrogg, a magically enchanted eye made to patrol from the shadows and envelope intruders, invisible or otherwise, in a harmless violet flame. Every eye is enchanted to let out a shriek and mentally alert Umbra to intruders. Wards protect each eye against tampering which will summon a powerful demon if the eye is harassed. The demon might not be powerful enough to stop a truly hardy adventurer but it is certainly powerful enough to occupy the intruder until backup or Umbra herself arrives. A powerful ward in place at the stairs on the ground level manages to keep Ogres overwhelmed with fear and too scared to enter.

The strong walls and locked doors of the top floor, the wards and traps, and the stench of the ogres outside and their unhealthy appetite for anything they can catch, along with the obscurity of a well known long abandoned ruin all work in unison to create an unassuming sanctuary for Umbra to conduct her business alone with only the screams of her captives bouncing off of sturdy walls to lull her to sleep at night.
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Greebo
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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Greebo's rooms:

In a less-travelled area of the catacombs is an unassuming door framed in aged ivory of uncertain origin. There is no handle. If you were able to open it you would see a sparsely-furnished suite of rooms. Silken drapes over the furniture, looms, bookshelves, and laboratory equipment are slowly settling under a deepening layer of dust.
Grisbault, Twice-Made.
The p, s, l, and t are silent, the screams are not.
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Oralech Cinderfall
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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Oralech's studio and gallery:

Travelers lost in the cave system beneath Alterac may find themselves faced with a gaudy door framed by brilliant white marble, beckoning those witnessing it to enter Oralech's gallery. Unlike its entrance, the room itself is rather plain, with white walls and an unremarkable hardwood floor. However, this decision was an intentional one, for the vain Oralech did not wish for any feature of the room to distract from the masterpieces that he adorned the room with.

Paintings and sculptures line the walls and floor of the gallery, each telling its own story about an adventure- or misadventure, in many cases- from Oralech's eventful life. Each one of them is a piece made with undeniable talent, yet close observation of many works may tell a grim story of its creation. In some cases, the pigments in the paintings almost looks like real blood, or the expressions on the statue almost seem a little too lifelike.

The room's form only adds to its unsettling nature. The gallery is a veritable maze, with walls curving and turning in ways that seemingly make no sense, yet invite viewers to see more of Oralech's macabre works. However, following any path within it eventually leads to the mad warrior's most prized work: a reproduction of the most beautiful thing that he knew- himself. Cast in granite, the massive statue depicts the artist leaping into battle, bearing his mother's blade- which he had destroyed during his Trial of Sacrifice. The love put into it was evident too, since the artist's attention to detail almost made the thing into a lifelike guardian for Oralech's most valued possessions.

Those who know Oralech well know that the rumors surrounding Oralech's grim masterpieces are real, and that there is often a terrifying tale behind its creation. They also know that they should never try to enter the locked studio in the back, no matter how curious the screams emerging from it may be. After all, it is a sin to disturb art in the making.
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Awatu
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Re: The Grim Guildhall

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The Guild Master's Office

The design and decor of the office can be changed based on the whims of the current leader. Much larger than the previous office, which was designed for Forsaken, it is laid out in an octagonal shape. Directly opposite the entrance vestibule is a large oaken desk behind which sits a large chair of driftwood, kodo bones, and fur. Large and sturdy enough for a Tauren, the chair appears handmade from items common in central Kalimdor. Resting upon the desk are several candles, inkwells, quills, sheets of parchments, unlabeled tomes, and several rolled maps. Directly behind this desk and chair, hanging high on the wall is a massive banner bearing the colors and emblem of The Grim. Facing right from the entrance is a large window through which an image of Mulgore's plains can be seen, with Thunder Bluff rising near the horizon. On the opposite wall is an open view of the Barrens and a distant plume of smoke among some far hills. These are creative "illusions" created by magical seals to alleviate some of the claustrophobic sensations being underground may create. Above these windows and along other portions of the room are emblems of the various races of the Horde. Over the entrance vestibule is a combine emblem of the Horde, utilizing aspects of all races that encompass the Horde.

Located around the office are a number of shelves, chests, and cabinets, each containing numerous oddities, personal belongings, and guild-related artifacts. A dresser contains several changes of simple linen clothing sized for a Tauren, as well as a few banners and tabards with the guild's colors upon them. A sturdy armor stand and weapon rack sit to one side, though they are usually empty. Wall sconces of kodo horn hold enchanted torches with give off an eternal firelight glow. Covering the floor is a large stitched rug of deer hide and leather. Overall, the office radiates a personality of the Horde with an emphasis on Tauren decor and design.

The location of the office is reasonably easy to discover deep within the hall, yet well protected.

Awatu's Quarters

Awatu's personal quarters are located near the other residential halls. Little more than a room with a bed, it serves its purpose as a place to sleep for the few times Awatu finds himself to rest within the halls. Otherwise, Awatu typically sleeps outside and away from the guild hall or out in the wilds of whatever continent The Grim are campaigning in. Aside from a sleeping cot of fur and linen, several changes of clothing, and a few other simple belongings, no personal effects of Awatu's can be found within. A single candle is the only lightsource within this chamber.
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