The Tyrson Company - Ladroa Branch Office
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| The back cellar entrance on Beco dos Trapos |
Tucked away on an unassuming side street in the upper Armacenes district of Ladroa, the Vanderbilt is the new home of the redoubtable Tyrson Company.
Formerly a disused storehouse with a questionable dive bar operating out of the cellar, the Company quietly purchased the building last year and has remodeled the interior for their needs. Few know of the building's sinister history, and fewer still know of the catacombs located beneath it...
History
This building was previously the site of a little-known tavern called The Copper Goblet, which served a very particular clientele - rogue Vaara who wished to covertly consume forbidden human blood.
The establishment was operated by a vampire and slave broker named Vaclav, who trafficked with coastal reavers to secure captives and stolen children for his decadent clientele to consume.
When the Tyrson Company raided the Goblet (assisted by the Mariscal Gorgones) they discovered the secret sub-basement lair where these crimes were committed. Gorgones and the Company killed all Vaara found within, and freed the remaining child captives. Gorgones then systematically destroyed all remaining evidence of the Vaara's existence.
The property was subsequently seized by the Office of the Gran Magistrado. As a favor to Kian Grey, Gorgones helped to broker the resale of the structure for use as a home and headquarters for the Tyrson Company.
The Company has taken up full-time residence in the building as of this spring, rechristening it The Vanderbilt in honour of a fallen comrade.
Building Characteristics
The Vanderbilt is typical of Ladroan architecture. It is a three-storey structure with a stone foundation, upper floors of cement, wood, and stucco, and a roof of clay tiles. It consists of three floors (including the garret), each measuring approximately 1800 sq. ft.
Although it is officially found on the Calle Granero, due to the congested urban architecture of Ladroa, the facade of the Vanderbilt is mostly concealed by other buildings. The main doors are recessed from the main street and accessible via a short passage between two other buildings.
Built on the Encosta slope, the cellar tavern level has direct access via the Beco d. Trapos, a back alley on the lower side. The tightly packed spacing of the neighbouring buildings means that the Vanderbilt has usable windows on only the two sides facing the Beco d. Trapos.
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| cutaway view from Beco dos Trapos, main entrance on main floor, opposite |
The main floor consists of the entry foyer, a garderobe, a study, and a dining hall with a small balcony. There is a central stairwell leading to the upper floors, and a small concealed back stair leading to the cellar.
The second floor has four separate suites, ranging large-to-small. The largest has been claimed by Jack Tyrson, including a small side room for his squire.
The upper garret level is mostly open-plan, with slightly pitched ceilings. This is partly used as storage or a training area, with a side nook for a small personal quarters. Exceptionally, the garret has small windows on three of its sides, and also a hatch leading to the roof.
The second floor has four separate suites, ranging large-to-small. The largest has been claimed by Jack Tyrson, including a small side room for his squire.
The upper garret level is mostly open-plan, with slightly pitched ceilings. This is partly used as storage or a training area, with a side nook for a small personal quarters. Exceptionally, the garret has small windows on three of its sides, and also a hatch leading to the roof.
The outer tavern door that leads to the old cellar level is located down some steps, in the armpit of an ill-traveled alley. The cellar has three small, shuttered ground-level windows on the Beco.
The subterranean catacomb underneath the building likely dates back to the First Empire. It can be accessed through the tavern by way of a hidden door located near the back, behind a drapery. The door is a heavy metal slab hoisted by counterweights.
From there a curving stair descends 12-16 feet deep, into an expansive sub-basement. This area contains a dining hall, a kitchen, and two personal quarters, each with hearths that link up to the building's main chimneys. It also features a number of small storage rooms (once used as cells), a lavatory, and a secret staircase that leads to the upper floors of the building.
Off the main hall is a stone bath chamber (12x15) that draws water from Ladroa's old cisterns. The bath has drainage and can be heated through a hot-rock system.
This subterranean hideaway also features a secret passage to the the old imperial sewer line, which served the previous tenants as both an escape route and a means to smuggle in contraband.
- secret entrance from the cellar
- large bedchamber
- secret spiral stair leading directly to the upper portion of the building
- sitting room w/ hearth, private bath, lavatory
- main hall, w/ hearth
- bath (water from cisterns, heated by stones)
- storerooms (used as cells) (x5)
- secret exit to the Ladroa sewers
- secondary living chamber with hearth
- kitchen & stores with hearth and side room
- lavatory
- waste pit
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