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[Mallory]

(( This thread is for settings affiliated with Mallory, Patrick, and Eri, such as a character's home, business, or one of their frequent haunts. If you have something you'd like to add but aren't sure it fits, please drop us a line! <3 ))

[Mallory]

The Lyceum

The Lyceum's doors appear across RhyDin every day at sunrise, appearing in tunnels, along alleys, and in half-basement stairwells tucked between other shops at the first available moment of the new day when no one is looking. Each door is painted black, with a large copper scroll nailed to the center and a dangling lambda to knock against it, and each knock produces a sharp ringing on the other side of the barrier.

It may take a few moments, and the perceptive may get a feeling of being watched, but assuming open hours and excepting extraordinary circumstances, the doors will open to exactly the same place: a wide chamber with a three-story atrium, with dappled, multi-colored rays of light filtering down from the large smoky crystal embedded in the ceiling.

The main floor appears to be a single open space, though the assortment of chests, trunks, shelves and display tables cluttered with esoteric items lends it a labyrinthine quality. Here one can find vials to breathe water, fire, or venom; scrying bowls, crystal balls, and tarot cards; talismans of wood, paper, and bone; wands that can change the color of your eyes, levitate objects, or focus your power; grimoires covering a wide range of spells, written by hand with enchanted ink; silvered knives to help conjurers ward off unruly spirits; and a vast array of enchanted trinkets, single-use spells, and ritual components.

There is a pentagonal desk in the center, and in the event that the shop's proprietors are busy or absent, it is occupied by nothing more than a shimmering humanoid shape. This magical servant is tasked with carrying out simple transactions, and can converse with customers in an unearthly whisper. The owners never seem to be far, however, and can sometimes be caught emerging from an elaborately adorned trapdoor behind the counter. They are Mallory St. Martin and Safiya al-Bahur, and they will often facilitate transactions, provide advice, and offer a wide range of magical services including warding, enchantment, and supervising rituals.

The interior is all brick, save for the ancient timbers that brace the walls and support the upper stories. One timber stands out from the rest, a twisting, blackened trunk that seems to grow out of the floor and stretches up towards the ceiling, with sturdy wooden steps twisting around it to the shop's second and third floors. The upper stories are reserved for the Lyceum's massive book collection, with works on mythology, history, folklore, ancient languages, and theories of magic and the mind lining the overflowing shelves. Each shelf is labeled, with price ranges marked underneath.

After hours on designated nights, a strange door appears in the left-hand wall of the main floor, admitting a trickle of students throughout the evening: covenless young witches wary of the pitfalls of their craft, unapprenticed (but aspiring) wizards without the means for proper schooling, sorcerers who have suddenly stumbled into their talent, and those who have only heard the first whispers of an entity that has chosen to bond with them. Word has traveled around the city, among the younger and less experienced seekers of arcane knowledge and those who have had to hide their gifts from friends and family, that the Lyceum is offering discreet magical instruction at little cost -- in some cases, for nothing at all.

The shop's makeshift classroom has a hard floor covered with an eclectic collection of vividly patterned old pillows and rugs, each of them stitched with the same red thread. While comfortable to sit on, they ARE flammable, but a simple gesture from one of the Lyceum's teachers sends them all soaring into the wardrobe in the corner to account for wayward fireballs. There are no windows in this room, and no other furniture besides the wardrobe and three heavy, copper-banded chests pushed up against the far wall, each marked with a distinct symbol: an eye embedded in an open hand, the eight-pointed star of creation, and three knives forming a triangle.

Whether you are a hapless mageling seeking instruction, an experienced wizard in need of rare components, or simply someone looking to dabble in the arcane arts, the Lyceum has what you need... and its doors are never far.

[Mallory]

Riverwatch

Eri and Mallory's home occupies the quiet frontier of Kabuki Street Rengou-kai's territory, sitting on a quiet stretch west of the delinquent-held neighborhood and north of the crumbling cobblestone streets of Three Foxes Court. There is a footpath that leads north to one of Dockside's riverside fish markets, and the steady flow of pedestrian traffic passes under the watchful gaze of a special team of security delinquents, led by Riho Matsuda herself...

The house was erected decades ago on the ruins of an old Watch barracks that gave it the name of Riverwatch, built with stone by an 18th century Irish merchant and his family in a style that was familiar to them. The ground level is a half-basement, consisting of a garage once used for carriages (now home to Eri's car), stables they use for storage, and a mudroom often occupied by the security detail during inclement weather.

The first floor features a kitchen, a great room, and a tiny study that Mallory uses for ritual magic; the second floor has two bedrooms, a small terrace, and a library that was originally a master bedroom, packed with cozy chairs and shelves filled with Mallory's esoteric interests and Eri's own tastes in fiction. There is a tall chimney on the western side of the house and three fireplaces: one in the mudroom, one in the great room, and one connecting the library and terrace.

Eri and Mallory bought the house at Riverwatch in October 2017 and moved in shortly after.

[Eri Maeda]

Kabuki Street



General Description: Located in the northeast part of Dockside, Kabuki street is an area of about nine blocks of main thoroughfare and a web of alleys and wynds between. Home to dozens of pachinko parlors and other entertainment attractions, the district is remarkable for the numerous garish lighted signage that makes the main roads very brightly lit. Due to the maze-like nature of some of the side streets it is difficult to discern the precise borders of the neighborhood. Many of the boundaries are informally marked with plastic faux chochin with electric lamps.

Kabuki Street important locations:

Sunny Mart - A small convenience store at the northern edge of the main crossing. In addition to being a normal convenience store it also serves as the official headquarters for the Kabuki Street Rengou-kai. A space in the back storeroom has a table where the Heavenly Queens meet and includes the white plastic outdoor chair used as the throne of Kabuki by sukeban Eri Maeda.

Pachinko Palace - The largest and most important parlor in the neighborhood. Three floors of pachinko games. The fourth floor contains Izumi and Na-rae's office as well as their rooms and a room occupied by their new assistant Momoka.

Toranomon Department Store - The favorite destination for bargain seeking delinquents. The building was initially constructed as the main station for a metro train line that was never finished. In spring summer and fall months a beer garden is in operation on the roof.

The soapies - A collection of buildings along the southern fringe of the neighborhood where clients can get a massage. Some say they aren't really massage parlors.

Former watch station - This abandoned watch station is located in the western residential zone of the district. It has several holding cells underground and has recently been heavily fortified. HQ of the Shinsengumi, the defacto police-force of Kabuki Street headed by Heavenly Queen Aya Mori.

Hotel Happy Laugh Yurigaoka - This is a couples hotel. Rooms available per hour or by special nightly rate.

Delinquent Dorms - Actually a collection of two apartment buildings and one former hotel. KSR delinquents who can't afford or do not wish to buy private homes live here, bunking four to a room.

Zama Shrine - A small urban shinto shrine along the canal. It's inner shrine houses a number of relics and is the home of Hana the shrine priestess, who lives in a small house behind the inner shrine structure.

Uncle Rege's Ribs and BBQ - A popular restaurant in the center of the neighborhood. Operated by an octogenarian immigrant from Earth.

Fujiko's - A tiny restaurant stall in one of the alleys in the center of Kabuki Street. Owned and operated by Fujiko Tanaka, it has a single grill for burgers and the famous super size Happy Deluxe hot dog. Curtained and covered eating space consists of a tiny counter with room for only a handful of dine in patrons.

Jusco- The competing department store against Toranomon and located in the southern third of the neighborhood near the soapies - this branch of the Earth based chain retained its original name long after the parent company rebranded. This hypermart has three floors of various goods and features one of Kabuki's only covered multi-level parking decks.

Kabuki Street Community School - this school, formerly abandoned has now been restored and is open for new students!

Ekte Istanbul Kebab - A Turkish restaurant opened by a family from Cadentia the week of the 2020 Tanabata festival. The owners fell in love with the neighborhood during a tour earlier in the year, and opened the restaurant only a couple blocks from the school - popular with the students and teachers alike for lunch!

Jollibee - Kabuki now has a Jollibee, located in 1-chome across from Pachinko Palace

Area History:

After the creation of the canal the increasingly derelict area that would come to be known as Kabuki Street began to be settled predominantly by the dispersion of descendants of immigrants from the Japanese archipelago of Earth. After a generation the neighborhood began to fall under the control of a a powerful yakuza element and transform into a red light district. The yakuza overlords were abusive to the population and everyone suffered.

In recent years the yakuza were expelled by a powerful yanki gang formed when recent delinquent immigrants unwittingly prompted a delinquent uprising that drove the abusive organized crime family out. Seen by the native population as comparatively benign, the newly formed Kabuki Street Rengou-kai continues to operate the former yakuza businesses and works to ensure security and prosperity in the district. Strong ties of cooperation were formed with the neighboring Little Korea district, and there is now considerable cross traffic and economic partnership.

[Mallory]

Toyako Onsen is a traditional hot spring located north of RhyDin, on land owned by the Kabuki Street rengou-kai. The resort has comfortable guest rooms with tatami mats and heated kotatsu tables, and a reception hall for meetings and celebrations. Changing rooms come right up to the water's edge, and the springs are separated by rocks and tall grasses for privacy.

A sliding door near the reception area, warded with paper charms, bears the following words on both sides: "Rengou-kai and Buzoku Only." It leads to and from the Arena, providing easy access to the mountain headquarters of the Duel of Swords’ House Kabuki, for those with permission to visit by this route.

[Mallory]

Riad Alhazu, "Fortune's Garden," is a four-story house with an interior garden, located in Cadentia, located on the edge of the desert south of RhyDin. Once owned by a wealthy prospector and her family before Cadentia became a ghost town, Mallory and Eri Maeda have recently bought it and converted it into a hostel, renting guest rooms to the increased number of travelers and tourists now that the area is seeing a resurgence. The courtyard and all of the rooms off the first level serve as common areas for guests to dine and relax in, including a garden, lounges, a small library, and hot baths in an underground area. The upper levels are the guest rooms: the second level has eight hostel-style rooms, the third level has eight hotel-style rooms, and the fourth level is divided into four suites occupying the different corners. One suite is reserved for Mallory and Eri and has its own private balcony, though everyone is allowed onto the rooftop garden at the top of the stairs. There is also a brass clockwork elevator, Gnomish-made, recently restored by the Clockwork Collective that helps to maintain the machinery at the Golden Perch Inn.



((Anyone is welcome to say their characters stayed at the Riad Alhazu! Just don't damage or destroy the setting or its staff without permission.))