The Assembly Hall

The graceful building that once held the Balican patricians now houses the Balican Council, which is made up of representatives of the three major merchant Houses of the city. The assembly hall is a perfectly square structure which sits just east of the White palace, between the Palace and the docks area. It is on the same bluff that holds the actual Palace, and the hall itself is considering part of palace complex. One hundred fifty feet of courtyard seperate the Palace proper from hall. Five steps lead from the floor of the courtyard to the front colonade, with is shaded by a roof nearly forty feet in height and supported by fluted columns. Atop the front, facing the White Palace, is a beautiful entablature with a scene of senators - some sitting, some standing, and some debating. Like the White Palace, the assembly hall is made of gleaming white marble, though bas reliefs of scenes around Balic are often in a pale yellow stone.

In Andropinis's time, all but templars and patricians were forbidden to enter. Today, access is still restricted, but there is no longer the punishment of death for intruders. Because leaders often meet here to debate the state of the city, ordinary citizens are forbidden to enter during sessions, which are normally held in the mornings on the first two or three days of the week (depending on issues). At other times, citizens can gain access to the building and given a guided tour by Khevalin, a retired Tomblador aid, who will explain some of the buildings artwork and some of the more famous, or infamous, characters who once sat in the Senate.

The double doors to the assembly hall are tall, reaching ten feet in height, and each door is five feet in width. They are carved with scenes of patricians sitting in judgement while Andropinis looks on. The doors are quite heavy, and are usually opened by one of the two half-giant guards outside. During the day, the outer doors are usually kept open, the guards closing them at dusk, unless late sessions are being held. The shaded colonade runs around the entire outside of the building, though the front doors are the only means of entering the building.

Inside the doors is a small foyer. The floor of the foyer has a circular compass pattern, with each cardinal direction colored with rose marble. At the end of the foyer are another pair of double doors, these made of deep brown wood, and carved with intricate patterns. These doors are quite solid, but not nearly as heavy as the outer doors. During the time of Andropinis, another half-giant guard was posted inside to open the doors for the entering or departing patricians.

The wooden doors open into a dimly lit chamber, with only small slits high on the walls letting in any natural light. Three wide steps lead down into the actual senate chamber. To the left and right are long stone benches a dozen deep. There are four tiers of seating, with three benches on each tier. Thick marble columns, swirling pink in color, hold up the ceiling. This is where the senators once sat to mentally "debate" with Andropinis (as they had neither tongues, nor eyes, nor ears, other communication was impossible) and to give him their tribute. Though meetings between the patricians and the sorcerer-king were called debates, there was little debating going on, though did allow his patricians some freedom of opinion. These benches are now used by members of the merchant Houses, if any of their members would like to attend the proceedings.

At the far end of the chamber, directly opposite the double doors, is the throne of Andropinis, a beautiful throne made of a variety of crystals. No one now sits there. It can best be described by a passage from The Obsidian Oracle:

"[The throne was] constructed of translucent alabaster and stationed upon a pedestal of pink jade. Inlays of blue-tinted moonstone decorated the back of the magnificent seat, while the arms had been shaped from solid blocks of chalcedony and the legs from limpid crystals of citrine. All of the light passing through the room's narrow windows seemed to flow directly into the chair, which cast a radiance which cast the radiance back into the chamber as a muted white glow." 1

Between the doors and the throne, sitting between the rows of benches that face each other, is a long stone table, surrounded by comfortable wooden chairs. This is the table at which the council sits and debates the issues of the day. Though most issues revolve around gaining advantages with the trading arrangements, improvements in the city are also discussed, though each House is responsible for what goes on in their own section of Balic.

Note:
1
Quote taken from The Obsidian Oracle by Troy Denning, p37
Copyright 1993, TSR