House Tomblador

In part two of a four part series on House Tomblador, the buildings involved in the business of the house are described.

House Tomblador does not have a centralized camp as house Rees has. Instead, their camp is spread throughout Tomblador held Balic. Kaladon, lord of house Tomblador, feels that everything under his control is personally his, and the people in his grasp should see the signs of his house wherever they go. 

The home of the Tomblador's (Kaladon, Oneli, and Menosh) is an imposing structure in the northwest corner of Balic. It is one of the more recognizable structures in the city. It is a three story house built with stacked stone of various colors, but predominantly a deep yellow. A gate surrounds the home. The gate is made of rust colored flat stacked stones, so dark they appear almost black. Between the pillars of stone, set horizontally, are bones of various large desert animals. To keep any trespassers from climbing the bones, sharp shards of bone, stone, and obsidian have been set into the bones near the top several feet. The gate is a recent and hasty addition to the "estate." Kaladon has been thinking of new ways to improve his gate, but materials are rather scarce, and he doesn't want to spend his wealth on such mundane items as a gate. In any case, no one has attempted to enter his home uninvited. Several dozen feet of open area are between the house and the gate, making it difficult to reach the home without being seen by the Tomblador guards.

The first floor of the home is where meetings are held with visiting merchants of stature. (If the merchants and traders who visit house Tomblador are not deemed important enough, they are dealt with at the warehouses.) In these rooms, the agreements for long term contracts are discussed and prices negotiated. The first floor also holds the servants quarters. On the second floor are the living rooms, dining room, kitchen, and a small gallery of items that Kaladon has collected in his travels. The third floor is dedicated to the sleeping quarters for the family members.

The warehouses of house Tomblador lie slightly north of the front gate. There are two warehouses, both of which are rather large buildings. The walls are stone, while the roof is made of irregularly shaped stone shingles supported by wooden beams and held together by a silt-based adhesive. The warehouses are two stories structures, though the first floor is far taller than the second, as it holds the majority of the incoming goods. The second floor is additional storage space for less weighty merchandise, and a walkway for which the guards can patrol. Also on the second floor of the first warehouse are the offices of the merchants of house Tomblador, those who do the accounting tasks. A basic elevator system is installed, powered by kanks that pull ropes attached to the platforms that lift the goods up to the second floor.

The second warehouse is almost identical to the first, though it also serves as a stables for the Tomblador's. Visiting merchants can store their mounts in the warehouse as well, for a price. Experienced caravan masters usually do not, as the animals are not well treated or fed.

Entellis, Kaldon's brother, lives near the southeastern area of the Tomblador controlled area of the city, only a few blocks from the White Palace. His home does not stand out from the other two story townhouses of merchants and craftsmen that populate that area of the city. The four bedroom home is a modest dwelling for someone with his family's wealth, but Entellis prefers to keep a bit of anonymity, especially with the Tomblador reputation. 

Tomblador guards are lodged in two buildings that once were used as a series of townhouses until the owners were relocated in order to make the area available for Tomblador's needs. The barrack homes all ninety of the soldiers that keep order and guard caravans in and out of the city. At any given time, at least seventy of the soldiers are in the city, while the others are guarding caravans. If a particularly important caravan has been sent into the desert, then the total number of soldiers in the city will be reduced.