Imperial Foundry

From PatchworkWiki

The last surviving part of a once mighty Empire, it serves as a factory for all manner of artifacts from the mundane to the outlandish.

Walking through the muddy scrubland that surrounds the Imperial Foundry, a visitor to the place has plenty of time to take in the exterior. There is certainly no other scenery of note. The main body of the Foundry is roughly cubic. From a distance it looks like dark stone, but on approaching closer more detail becomes visible. Hundreds of tiny, arched windows are embedded deep into the walls in long rows. Their frames are streaked with oxides - some rust, some verdigris - and years of rain have stained the walls beneath.

Three cylindrical towers stand at three corners of the Foundry. Atop all of these structures battlements, metal pikes and the barrels of artillery turrets suggest the place once had an important military role - and perhaps still does.

At the fourth corner of the Foundry stands a much larger tower. It is not much taller, but its diameter makes it almost as massive again as the main body of the Foundry. Although it retains the military feel of the rest of the building, some concessions have been made to aesthetics. A flight of wide stone steps between elaborate wrought iron fences leads up to the huge main door. Bright lanterns on poles illuminate the walkway and the complicated quartered crest of the Illuminated Empire. From the battlements fly long dark turquoise banners like snake tongues. A small eye-of-the-needle door set into the main door stands open to visitors.

Stepping inside the Imperial Foundry, visitors find themselves in a warm cloakroom staffed by half a dozen servants clad in black doublets and trousers with sash belts of dark turquoise. The decor is harsh looking and largely monochrome, but executed with a baroque artistry and impressive attention to detail that suggest no expense has been spared. The servants are largely silent, seeing to the visitors' needs before escorting them through to the customer lounges.

The customer lounges form the main part of the public area of the Foundry. No visitor is permitted to pass beyond the great tower, but within it is almost every luxury and convenience they might require. As it happens most of these rooms are empty most of the time, particularly the ballroom and the bath house. The Foundry is first and foremost a place of business. Despite the surroundings, most of those who come here are here to do that business and nothing more.

There are two main kinds of business done here. First, the Foundry is always interested in buying materials of one kind and another. Indeed, it is hard to find anything its agents will not purchase if the price is right. And, correspondingly, the Foundry sells artifacts of every kind. Not that one very often sees people here buying kitchenware. Most of the customers are here seeking the trappings of war.

The second type of business conducted by the Foundry is privacy. When persons of importance wish to conduct negotiations on neutral ground, it is here that they can frequently be found. The Foundry's reputation for discretion, luxurious surroundings and incomparable security combine to make it an attractive option for certain kinds of transaction. Fees for such facilities are generally quite modest, or are waived entirely for buyers of the Foundry's other services.

It is not quite clear who actually runs the Foundry. That question, together with enquiries concerning what goes on beyond the public areas, is one of the few things the serving staff do not care to help with.