Torrhen's Square

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City of Torrhen's Square • Large Map
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Large TownPopulation 8500
A large town has grown up around the Square itself, a four-sided castle with thirty-foot high walls and square towers at each corner. The town is quite prosperous, as a trading hub between the western part of the North and its capital Winterfell.

  • Defense: 40 (Castle)
  • Lands: 42 (Hills; Large Town, Lake)
  • Power: 13 (Trained Garrison; Trained Cavalry)
  • Wealth: 35 (Maester, Market, Sept)

History

  • Torrhen's Square was built by Torrhen Stark, just before Aegon's Conquest.

The Town

Woodgate

Home to fighting men, rough woodsmen and foresters and similar sorts, the Woodgate is the half-step between the simple honesty of the Eastmark and the poverty of Westmark. It is far from a lawless place, given the presence of the Garrison, but those very same lawkeepers can be a bit rough around the edges themselves. It's certainly a place that stays up most of the night.

  • Woodsgate: The gate that leads into the Wolfswood, the Woodsgate sees mostly foresters and travelers from more northerly areas who aren't using the Kingsroad.
  • The Pond: The large body of water simply called the Pond is generally used as a watering hole for both men and beast in the area.
  • The Garrison (1): The Tallhart Garrison is the heaquarters of the Browncloaks of Torrhen's Square, under the command of Ser Lyam Whitehill. There is also a full unit of mounted lancers as well, under the command of Ser Krys Appleton, another knight of the Tallhart household.
  • The Merry Maid (2): Tavern & Brothel Though the girls of the Merry Maid may not be the prettiest in town, they are the liveliest by far. And they need to be - the proximity of the Maid to the garrison means they are always busy, with fighting men in full flame of their passions for both drink and women. The Merry Maid does not disappoint, either, fully living up to its name.
  • The Keg & Whistle (3): Tavern A tavern the size of some of the town's inns, the Keg & Whistle has several taprooms. One of them, the Sentinel Room, is for members of the watch and House Tallhart's own soldiers only, although many of the soldiers do sometimes bring young women in there with them. The Keg & Whistle has a few side rooms, mainly for important patrons who have had a little too much to drink, or for the minstrels who play for the house. Because of the Keg & Whistle's choice to provide accommodations for its minstrels, it never lacks for music.
  • Edmure Hill Arms (4): Blacksmith The weaponsmith Edmure Hill is well-loved by members of the watch. He offers them significant discounts on repairs, and treats every man like a hero. He does a brisk business, too, tending to the weapons of locals, and even earning himself a decent commission on weapons for the rest of House Tallhart's soldiers as well.

Westmark

Home to rough laborers and those who live by begging, thievery and in poverty, the Westmark is the definitive "rough part of town." The closer to the Barrow Downs Gate one gets, the rougher it is. These streets are usually dark, fairly dirty and the sort of place that respectable people avoid once the sun sets.

  • Barrow Downs Gate: The western gate in the Torrhen's Square walls, the road leading from these gates eventually arrives at the Barrow Downs, a wide-open hilly area thick with ancient barrows of the First Men. Compared to the other two gates, this gate sees almost no traffic at all.
  • Green Fields (5): Tavern The Green Fields offer libations to quench the thirsts of those workers who toil in the fields in the Westmark. It is really more of an eating establishment, offering good, cheap workman's fare throughout most of the day. Though it is open during the evening, it is usually all but abandoned.
  • Hammer Helfsin's Smithy (6): Blacksmith Hammer Helfsin is a working man's smith, whose mainstays are farming implements and household goods. He is a big, thickly muscled northman with the look of the First Men to him; the locals like to say that his mother was a wildling who got him by a ranger of the Night's Watch who wasn't as observant of his vows as he should have been.
  • The Stone Bed (7): Inn Though its lodging are nowhere near as uncomfortable as its unfortunate name might suggest, the Stone Bed is certainly the least opulent of the inns in Torrhen's Square. Still, its hearths and beds are warm, and its food plentiful if plain, making it the favored inn of the working man's part of town.
  • The Midnight Owl (8): Tavern A somewhat shifty place, the Midnight Owl is dimly lit, and often filled with dangerous-looking sorts. The browncloaks drop by frequently, just to make sure there is no ill business afoot, and the locals simply glare at them until they leave.

Market Square

The Market Square seems busy at all hours of the day. During the day it is thick with merchants and those who would buy their wares, whether from local shops or the booths set up in the square itself. At night, its inns and taverns are popular nightspots.

  • Master Roff's Bronzeworks (9): Jeweler Roff the Ringman is a jeweler who - as his name suggests - specializes in rings for fingers and ears. Though he usually works in bronze, he will work in other, more costly metals.
  • Tomreth's Tuns (10): Wineseller Tomreth the Reachman is a southron merchant who specializes in wines, both local and imported. Many of the local taverns and inns buy their large tuns (250 gallon barrels) from him.
  • The Golden Blade (11): Inn The Golden Blade - its sign painted with a gaudy golden sword, complete with glass trinkets that resemble gems closely enough that its proprietor has to get them replaced a few times every year - caters to rich merchants. It is somewhat overpriced at first glance, but the merchants who come here prefer it that way, as it keeps out "the riff-raff." Only those merchants with rooms here are allowed in its taproom, with one exception: its proprietor, Master Belvis, permits sellswords to also drink in here when they are looking to hire on to merchant caravans.
  • Rosie's Cheeks (12): Tavern & Brothel A favorite local alehouse, Rosie's is also a local brothel. Rosie is a former whore herself, and knows the business. She was successful in her day, and doesn't take any nonsense off her girls - or her patrons.
  • The Quill & Ink (13): Copyists & Scribes The Quill & Ink is a small shop owned by Morrin Darl, a merchant's son who learned his letters quite well. Here, he offers scribing, copying and reading services for those who cannot read and write. Though he does most of the work himself, he has a journeyman and a pair of apprentices under him who help with his work.
  • Sept of the Shining Lake (14): Sept The Sept of the Shining Lake may very well be one of the northernmost septs in Westeros. Though nowhere near as extravagant as the sept in White Harbor, it is a proud building, dedicated and consecrated to the Seven. It has one building for its massive sept, and another attached structure that provides housing for Septon Bannerle and the body of brothers and sister that support the sept. The central sept has eight sides, one that houses the entry into it, and then seven walls within, each adorned with a massive stained glass window some ten feet in height depicting one of the Seven upon it. Each such wall has a doorway that opens into a small shrine in which are kept walls of ever-burning candles surrounding statues, and windows that open out onto gardens themed with the Face in question. As a result, the great faces of the Seven, crafted in tall stained glass, always glow in the main sept.
  • Whitestar House (15): House Whitehill Whitestar House is a small compound owned by House Whitehill, who use the large house as their residence in Torrhen's Square. It is actually the oldest of the Whitehill domain, in possession by the Whitehills before they were landed or ever made lords.
  • The Yellow Hearth (16): Inn Intended for travelers with some means, the Yellow Hearth boasts a massive circular fireplace in the center of its taproom, crafted of a weird yellow brick that supposedly comes from Essos. The common room in the Yellow Hearth is relatively small in space, but very warm, and the individual rooms all have much smaller hearths also made of the same stone.
  • Danyl's Fine Goods (unmarked): Imports Shop A merchant who specializes in the rare goods from far-off lands, Danyl usually simply deals in Dornish or other goods from lands south of the Neck. He has a love of the Nine Cities, however, and attempts to keep a fair allotment of such goods in his shop, despite the cost placing most such items out of the range of the average customer.

Eastmark

Eastmark is home to many of the shops that aren't found in the Market Square - the sort of places where the shops are the lower floors of craftsman's homes, and where good folk come home to at the end of the day. It is clean, and mostly orderly, unlike the rowdiness of the Woodsgate, or the rough dinginess of Westmark.

  • King's Gate: The King's Gate leads out to the Kingsroad, several days away.
  • Abernathy's Tomeworks (17): Bookbinder Abernathy Stitchfinger is a well-known bookmaker, with quite a few apprentices and journeymen who work for him. He is also well-loved by the Sept of the Shining Lake, as Abernathy himself works one day a week to teach young monks the arts of bookbinding for free, and his employees and students work one day a fortnight each stitching together new books for the Sept's libraries.
  • The Shining Glory (18): Mummer's Hall The mummers of the Shining Glory travel during the spring and summer months of the year, generally speaking. During those months, there are only a few of the less-skilled performers, apprentices and dancing girls - still, sufficient to draw the crowds for the wine and mead in a festive atmosphere, if nothing else. During the autumn and winter, the Shining Glory troupe returns home, with new shows perfected during their trips abroad, and plenty of news garnered from travel beside.
  • Smoking Mug (19): Tavern A workingman's alehouse, the Smoking Mug is a small establishment run by Fat Mikel, a big, bearded man with a penchant for both ale and his pipe.

Lakeside

Lakeside's wealth varies widely. Along its center line, directly in front of the castle, it is mostly wealthy individuals. Flanking that center, however, are those who depend on the docks for their livelihood - fishermen and the occasional boatman merchants who sell wares to the small communities all around the lake.

  • Public Docks: These docks are for the use of the public. Those with boats tied up here must pay a small seasonal fee to the lords for use of the slip, but many simply carry smaller boats or fish from the docks themselves.
  • House Docks: The House docks are reserved for the nobility of the city, allowing them a guarded place to store their household boats without dealing with the rabble in doing so.
  • The Maester's House (20): Inn Established a hundred and fifty years ago by a cast out maester, the Maester's House is a very high class establishment. The original founder's chain of forged links is still displayed on a polished plaque behind the bar, and any maester who visits has his first drink on the house. Maester Telben is a frequent visitor here, many evenings. The couple who own the Inn now are from Oldtown themselves, and they still favor the recipes used in some of the taverns around the Citadel for their meals.
  • The Fish & Hound (21): Tavern A smaller tavern with a sign of a large carp and a hound biting one anothers' tails, the Fish & Hound is a favored tavern for local fishermen and boatmen.
  • The Alabaster Maiden (22): Inn A somewhat upscale drinking establishment, the Alabaster Maiden is mostly frequented by successful merchants and craftsmen as well as the local lords and their retinues. Though it is not formally an inn, it does maintain a handful of high-expense rooms for those who indulge a bit too greatly, or who wish for very expensive rooms near the castle.

Castle of Torrhen's Square

Castle of Torrhen's Square
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Ground Floor

Map [1]

  • Outer Courtyards: Finely cobbled, there are three courtyards, separated by low walls with thick wooden gates built into them. Each of the Guest Towers are also designed with small private fore-courts, with their own entrances to the Gardens and a set of stables capable of housing eight horses.
  • Gardens: The gardens of Torrhen's Square have been the pride and joy of generations of Ladies Tallhart. The gardens are filled with beautiful flowering hedges, layered so that they are in bloom nearly every season save winter. They are designed with a variety of nooks and crannies, little passages and small clearings with seating, statuary and beautifully carved fountains. A small portion off the kitchen door is the kitchen gardens, where herbs and some vegetable are grown.

Keep

  • Inner Gate: X
  • Porter: X
  • Inner Courtyard: X
  • Stables: X
  • House Armory: X
  • War Room: X
  • Kitchens: X
  • Great Hall: X
  • Parlor: X
  • House Library: X
  • Castellan's Offices: X
  • Lord's Offices: X
  • House Cellars: X

Gatehouse

  • Portcullis Room: X
  • Smithy: X

Arms Tower

  • Dungeon: X

Maester's Tower

  • Laboratory: X

Guest Towers

  • Storage & Cellars: House Wisent has maintained these cellars as storage, with a few cots shoved off to one side for any extra soldiers.

Second Floor

Map [2]

Keep

  • House Guard: X
  • Trophy Room: X
  • Arms Master Quarters: X
  • Servants Quarters: X
  • Lord's Bar: X
  • Lord's Den: X
  • Guest Chambers: X
  • Guest Chambers: X
  • Family Drawing Room: X

Gatehouse

  • Guard Room: X

Armsmans Tower

  • Guard's Mess: X

Maester's Tower

  • Hall & Kitchens: X

Guest Towers

  • Hall & Kitchens: House Wisent maintains this as an eating hall and kitchens, with servant cots off to one side that can be brought near the fire in the evenings. Nanna Snow sleeps here as well.

Third Floor

Map [3]

  • Wall-top Walkways: X

Keep

  • Officers' Mess: X
  • Servants Quarters: X
  • Bedrooms: These bedrooms are traditionally used for members of the Castellan's family. Currently, they serve as bedrooms for Brandon and Beren Tallhart, sons of the Castellan Leomund Tallhart.
  • Castellan's Parlor: X
  • Castellan's Chambers: X
  • Lord's Court: X

Gatehouse

  • Barracks: X
  • Arms Master's Office: X

Arms Tower

  • Duty Chambers: X

Maester's Tower

  • Library & Study: X

Guest Towers

  • Sitting Room: This level has been turned into a simple barracks for the household guard, with Ser Garwyn given a small amount of privacy (as is due his station and command) in the ante-chamber.

Fourth Floor

Map [4]

Keep

  • Bedrooms: X
  • Heir's Chambers: X

Gatehouse

  • Roof: X

Arms Tower

  • Barracks: X
  • Officer's Quarters: X

Maester's Tower

  • Sitting Room: X
  • Quarters: X
  • Servant Quarters: X

Guest Towers

  • Sleeping Quarters: These chambers have been remade into a sitting room for the nobility of House Wisent and any guests they may have.
  • Quarters: The smaller quarters here have been turned into a treasury for the household, where larger amounts of coin are locked away, with at least one guard on them at all times. The larger quarters are used as a makeshift pantry for snack foods and drinks while entertaining, as well as storage for valuables, such as plate, silver and the like.

Fifth Floor

Map [5]

Keep

  • Lady's Chambers: X
  • Lady's Maids Chambers: X

Arms Tower

  • Armory: X

Maester's Tower

  • Rookery: X
  • Office: X

Guest Towers

  • Garret: The larger quarters are set up with beds for Ayrant and his son, Cormont, behind some screening. There is also a smaller table where the nobles of the household enjoy private meals together.
  • Quarters: These quarters have been made up for Kaila and her lady-in-waiting, Jonelle.

Sixth Floor

Map [6]

Keep

  • Lord's Quarters: X

Maester's Tower

  • Observatory: X

Guest Towers

  • Watch Tower: X