Topic: Rose House - The Orphanage

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 08:09 EST
((All kudos to Riley O'Rourke for having the idea which I am now about to filch.))

Rose House

In the cramped, poor area of RhyDin City known as Shambles Way, there lurks a secret. This secret is Rose House, an orphanage and school known to many who live and work in the area.

Indistinguishable from the terraced row of houses in which it stands, Rose House stands three floors high to the untrained eye, though it hides a couple of secrets from the world walking by.
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FrontView.jpg

Overview Plan of the Ground Floor - classrooms, a bathroom, and the kitchen
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-Plan.jpg

Overview Plan of the First Floor - the dining hall, another bathroom, three dormitories each containing three beds (for younger children)
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FirstFloor-Plan.jpg

Overview Plan of the Second Floor - the common room, Ro's bedroom, four dormitories each containing two beds and a study area (for older children and teens)
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-Plan.jpg

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 08:22 EST
Ground Floor

The Hallway
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-Hallway.jpg
Not much to look at, but there is a good reason for that. The hallway leads straight through to the back of the house, past the two classrooms and a bathroom, to where the kitchen awaits. The kitchen is the hub of adult activity between lessons.


The First Classroom
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-InfantsClassr.jpg
This classroom was designed for children up to the age of ten, and includes a carpeted area at the back for story-time and play-time. Lessons in this classroom take up most of the morning, and the latter part of the afternoon, after nap-time. This room is also the domain of Bernice Wilson, one of the teachers.


The Second Classroom
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-OlderClassroo.jpg
This classroom was designed for teaching children from the age of ten to around seventeen. Most of the students who study in here do not live in the orphanage, but were enrolled in the school by parents who live around Shambles Way. Lessons in this classroom take up most of the day, with breaks that include lunch. This room is Rowena Millard - Ro's -domain.


The Kitchen
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-Kitchen1.jpg
Pretty self-explanatory, this is the kitchen. This is where food is prepared for all meals - the group meals are taken upstairs to the dining hall, and there is a roat among the older teens for washing up duty. The kitchen is where most of the 'safe' conferences between adults take place.


And with the tour of the Ground Floor done, let us go up the stairs to the First Floor, shall we?
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-Kitchen2.jpg

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 08:30 EST
First Floor

Dining Hall
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FirstFloor-DiningHall.jpg
At the top of the stairs is the very basic dining hall, where everyone takes their meals together. The children who live at the orphanage eat breakfast and dinner with Ro, who also lives at Rose House; they are joined at lunch, by the other children and staff.


Bathroom
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FirstFloor-Bathroom.jpg
Just past the stairs up to the next floor on the left is the bathroom. This is a busy room first thing in the morning and last thing at night, equipped with shower stalls and baths, as well as a wall of sinks, and toilets of varying sizes to accomodate the toilet needs of differing levels of competency.


Example of a Dormitory
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FirstFloor-Dormitories.jpg
The dormitories on this floor are set out specifically for the younger children who live with Ro. The beds can be moved from room to room as necessary, but there are generally three beds in each of the three dormitories, together with closets and toys.


From the dormitories, let's take a look along the length of the floor to the stairs up. We'll meet you on the Second Floor ...
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-FirstFloor-DiningHallSeco.jpg

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 08:42 EST
Second Floor

The Common Room
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-FromStairs.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-CommonRoom1.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-CommonRoom3.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-CommonRoom2.jpg
This is the place where the children who live with Ro seem to spend most of their time when they are not eating, studying, or sleeping. In close proximity to Ro's bedroom, it is also the warmest room in the house, despite the fact that the fireplace is never lit. There are plenty of seats and tables, toys and books to occupy the groups when they are up here.


Ro's Room
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondRoom-RosRoom1.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-RosRoom2.jpg
Ro's bedroom is on the right as you walk into the common room from the stairs. In here you will find not only Ro's bed and belongings, but a couple of smaller beds - everything she needs to keep anything up to three children in there with her for a couple of nights at a time. In the cabinets above her desk is possibly the biggest supply of medicines and medical equipment you will find outside a clinic.


An Example of a Dormitory
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-Rooms.jpg
These dormitory rooms were designed for the older children, if there are any staying at the orphanage at any given time. Two beds to each room, with closet space and a shared study area; like the dormitories downstairs, they can be rearranged as necessity dictates.

And that's it for the public areas of Rose House. Everything else you are about to see is classified knowledge.

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 08:59 EST
Now we come to the secrets of Rose House.

The orphanage and school serve a very special purpose. With the proliferation of slavers in RhyDin City, there also exists an underground movement devoted to the freeing and rehabilitation of slaves. Rose House is just one of many buildings scattered around the city connected to this movement.

The Basement

In the basement of Rose House, there is a rest place for those who are part of the anti-slavery movement.
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-Plan.jpg


The Entrance
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-GroundFloor-EntrancetoSec.jpg
The entrance to the basement is concealed behind a bookcase in the older childrens' classroom. Only Ro and a handful of the men and women who visit know how to find it.


Down The Stairs
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-View1.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-View2.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-Bathroom.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-View3.jpg
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-Basement-View4.jpg
The basement really is one long room, containing a common room area, a kitchen area, a dining room, a bathroom, and a bed space. The bookcase in the bed area is also a door, concealing an underground entrance/exit from Rose House. The connected tunnel joins up with the sewers.

Ro Millard

Date: 2010-07-18 09:07 EST
Third Floor

Did you wonder why the fireplace on the Second Floor is never used? It's a secret entrance to the little room above.
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-ThirdFloor-Plan.jpg


The Entrance
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-SecondFloor-Fireplace.jpg
Only Ro knows of this entrance, and the room above it. To get to the little room above, she has to climb inside the chimney breast, and pull herself up to a man-sized niched in the back wall. From there, she has a staircase to follow up, into the little room above.


The Magic Mirror
http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab51/RhyDinLittleTheatre/Rose%20House/RoseHouse-ThirdFloor-MagicMirror.jpg
The cluttered space at the top of the secret staircase serves only one real purpose. Amid the clutter there stands a mirror, Ro's only concession to the magic that fills RhyDin. Should it come to pass that she needs to get in contact with the anti-slavery group that protects Rose House and there is no one using the basement at that time, she will come up here. Laying one hand on the mirror, it will link her mind with that of the movement's leaders, and she will be able to communicate with them. Only Ro can use the mirror; it is attuned to her, and her alone.


So ends the tour of Rose House. Confused? I am. ::grins::