Doclivet's Groceries
Doclivet's Groceries is mentioned on page 48.
Goods for Sale
Tarenian Ruby (Wine): Tarenian Ruby is an absolutely superb wine, which sells in bottles of half the usual size. It is a deep red colour, and seems to be on fire if held up to the light. The flavor is rich and compelling, and changes subtly as a glass is drunk. The wine is also more alcoholic than normal, and is normally drunk from small glasses. Doclivet's is the only shop in the city which carries this wine, and its supply is limited. In addition to the high price, there is usually a three month waiting list, and no-one is allowed to order more than a dozen bottles at once. Serving Tarenian Ruby to your guests is both a great compliment, and a signal of your social status.
The vintage is variable, although even bad years are excellent. Doclivet's tries to keep back some bottles of the finer vintages and sell it on for up to ten times the wine's usual high price, but as they must honour all their advance orders this is not always possible.
Cost: 50gp; Weight: 3/4 lb.
Proudfoot Hall
This large manor house is the ancestral home of Clemaellia Proudfoot (page 35) and one of the social centres of the city. It is built around the grand ballroom, a large, square room which rises the height of three storeys. It is lit by a glass dome in the roof, or by magic at night. A gallery runs around the room at first floor level, and the posts supporting this structure create a passageway around the edge at ground level. There is a balcony at second floor level on the left as you come in through the main entrance, but that is rarely used these days. The ballroom is floored in coloured stone, cut and laid in intricate patterns, and the walls are panelled in wood and hung with paintings and tapestries. These are competent, tasteful, and uninspired.
The rest of the house is divided into three wings, known as the portico (in front), the left wing, and the right wing. There are also two storeys of rooms running all the way around the ballroom, which contain the servants' quarters, kitchens, and so on.
The portico is dominated by the entrance hall, which is entered through a double-height double door, and which reaches up two storeys. To either side are small, comfortably furnished rooms, which can be used as guest rooms for less honoured visitors or, more commonly, as dressing rooms for visitors who wish to fix their attire before being presented.
The left wing contains Clemaellia's living quarters. It also contains the dining room in which she holds her dinner parties. This room can seat about a dozen comfortably, and is panelled in wood and decorated with fine paintings and other objets d'art. There are six doors into the room; one, half size, leads to Clemaellia's quarters and is reserved for her use, one is used by guests, and the others are used by the servants at the meals. Unusually, Clemaellia does not expect her guests to leave the table at the end of the meal. She believes that her balls and soirees provide an environment for mixing, while the dinner parties allow her to bring particular people together.
The right wing contains public reception rooms. The most used form a suite of four rooms, in which Clemaellia holds her soirees. These are all carpeted and tastefully decorated. The largest of the rooms is usually set with a finger buffet, and some form of musical entertainment is provided in the next largest. The two smallest rooms provide some privacy, so that small groups can form. Clemaellia herself moves from one room to another at all times.
The areas of the house seen by the public are built to human rather than halfling scale. Most of the left wing, however, is built to halfling scale, and thus contains four storeys rather than two. The hall's spire, which is built on to the left wing, is also so built, and has ten half-size storeys.