<Welcome to a brief history of The IronHelm Flats. This thread does contain some MATURE CONTENT & DISTURBING IMAGERY, so you are forewarned. The narrative is filled with many pictures to help illustrate the gothic horror of this evil structure. To avoid missing essential images, please take the time to refresh this page right now, before continuing on with the rest of the story. That way, the full effect of the tale can be appreciated. Thank you & enjoy!>
At one fateful time, The IronHelm Flats stood as a testament to the opulence of RhyDin City's greatest powers. A century ago, the city was the center of cultural and financial wealth, attracting all manners of aristocracy, investors, and businessmen. The city, located in between two highly trafficked rivers and along a protected port, boasted a commerce like no other.
It was this commerce that ushered in RhyDin's "Golden Age", with RhyDin City being the hub of such affluent attentions. Wealthy entrepreneurs and capitalists made the southwestern portion of the city, now called the ?WestEnd?, their own; it was close to the wealth-spewing ports, but far enough away to avoid the revolting stench of low tide.
The IronHelm Flats was built as a signature residence for the industrialist who favored living in sheer luxury, no matter the length of his/her stay. Originally conceptualized as a hotel in the grand tradition of The VanCarmichael and The Royal Houton, the Bellhaven Construction Company decided instead to construct a more permanent living structure that wouldn't skimp on any of the decadence that RhyDin City was quickly becoming accustomed to. In keeping with this tradition, they had also hired one of the area?s most noted and up and coming architects: Cedric Idlemass III. Cedric?s bizarre methods, as well as his personal eccentricities may have been the subjects of hushed and curious gossip, but his buildings were simply awe inspiring.
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~pbarry/ras2/rascol.jpg
The Bellhaven Construction Company was laughed at as they proposed the plans for the entrance to this soon to be enormous residence. Towering over other buildings in the area at a nearly impossible nine stories, Idlemass stood by his uncanny design. With wide Corinthian columns and high arched windows, the entrance boasted of the wealth of those living inside. The back of this edifice was equally as impressive, with quite a splendid view at the time.
http://www.brianmcculloh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/michigan.jpg
http://www.brianmcculloh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/binche1.jpg
The impressive stone knight, which stood atop the highest rooftop on the structure, was Idlemass's architectural signature to boast that this majestic building was being honorably guarded over by a chivalrous defender of the people. Though modeled after an ancient literary crusader of sorts, it is rumored that the knight?s face was inspired by Cedric?s own estranged father. Despite harsh exposure to the elements, it still stands relatively intact to this very day.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/2002/pp1635/EastFaceKnight.jpg
Once inside The IronHelm, the grand stairway led its residents and staff to the second and third floors where the apartments themselves began. While primitive elevators, created from a pulley system invented by Idlemass, carried the bulk of furniture and other deliveries to the residents, there were numerous back staircases as well. To venture further upstairs into the building was to uncover many more decadently displayed surprises, such as the beautifully enclosed conservatory.
http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/titanic/photos/interior/01_grand_staircase.jpg
http://stgeorgespark.nmmu.ac.za/images/thepark/sm_Conserv2.jpg
On the first floor there was an interior dining hall that, in its prime, boasted the finest and most lavishly prepared meals in the entire city. The mere opulence of the hand carved reliefs, rich wood, and costly decor is a surviving tribute to its lavish construction. In addition, a rich cigar and brandy room where the merry merchants regaled their tales of monies made that day was located down the long central corridor from the luxuriant dining space. It was often said that this notorious hallway was a common site for fertile gossip and indiscrete innuendo.
http://en.nai.nl/mmbase/images/170792/interieureetzaal_De_haar_gr.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3386241350_60a63ce481.jpg
http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/bessie/files/2007/11/ghost.jpg
The IronHelm was the only apartment residence in the city to claim a twenty-four hour servant staff. Butlers, maids and personal valets were available to all residents to have on staff. In addition, simple, unadorned living quarters for these servants were located on the west side of The IronHelm. A living chamber might have looked like the following in its prime:
http://www.fortlangley.ca/erin.jpg
The substantial and productive kitchens for the great dining hall were always busy and heavily stocked with the finest of ingredients for their popular meals. The spacious kitchens themselves, were located on the edifice?s east side, thus making a day?s work for the servants quite tiring.
After enjoying a rich meal, one could cozily enjoy the traditional comforts of a well-stocked library which housed many of the transcribed classics and a virtual private wealth of information. Otherwise, if reading was not on the evening?s agenda, a patron could take a leisurely stroll out into the formal courtyard which once claimed immaculate rose gardens and a famed, grandiose fountain. This elaborate fountain was hand carved from Kinnegan stone by a master mason from the North, and transported to RhyDin?s IronHelm at Idlemass?s personal request.
http://hollowtreetales.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/library.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OnMn3aOOAVQ/TS-QmNJBCOI/AAAAAAAACQE/NrrPmgS4kDg/s1600/IMG_4770.JPG
To explore further one would find the eastern wall of some interest. Facing towards the morning sun was an enormous and intricate window of extravagantly crafted stained glass. The imagery was always considered by the more superstitious to be unsettling, as it depicted what Idlemass casually called: ?Every man?s eventual fate?. It was not surprising that many critics of the architect balked at this statement, as the eerie glass window depicted the very jaws of Hell itself, eagerly feasting upon the souls of the condemned.
http://www.krepcio.com/vitreosity/archives/jawsofhell-bourges-full-450.jpg
Below Idlemass's great building were several layers of wine cellars and larders. The residents and staff of The IronHelm Flats imported extravagant and exotic liquors and foods from all over the known world. The subterranean provisions of the building were envied throughout Rhydin. However, it was in this labyrinthine underground that the trouble for The IronHelm and Rhydin City in turn, began.
http://www.nbhtravel.com/Mansfield/full%20view%20of%20cell%20block.jpg
http://www.bw.edu/academics/art/gallery/jacklitch/mansfield-reformatory.jpg
As the story goes, Cedric Idlemass III, himself a resident of The IronHelm Flats, was seeing to some minor renovations in the main wine cellar when he claimed that he heard malevolent voices telling him of his own demise. These events became more frequent and soon Cedric whispered of horrific visions which briefly accompanied these wicked utterances. Additionally, a close friend and confidant of Idlemass had often whispered to his many hired prostitutes, that he too was seeing grotesque images whenever he ventured into the cellars alone.....one in particular was of the eclipsed and distorted face of a shrieking, bloodied woman. Ten other residents would claim this same site before the building?s final closure.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh58/JestHarley/Brian/BACKGROUND.gif
http://content.ytmnd.com/content/d/d/c/ddc28cfba41f4c2bd7a3883da0ab0fdf.jpg
Furious rumors began to abound about the curious habits of this brilliant architect and of the other residents of the opulent IronHelm as well. Many years later, people would argue that the great wealth which fueled this residence began to breed innate perversion. In a six month span, City Watch authorities were called to the property no less than thirteen times. Claims of debauchery began to be commonplace among the staff, while acts of blatant depravity became a regular habit of the residents. Even though nine chambermaids claimed to have been raped and/or molested by various IronHelm inhabitants, no formal charges were ever followed up on. The dark, spacious cellars held their ill-omened secrets well.
http://lumiere.sopheava.com/2006/0529_abandoned.jpg
Citizens would argue for years that it was because of the influence held over public officials by the wealthy merchants who resided on the property, that no lawful action was ever taken against these dissolute individuals. Several missing persons reports were filed with the RhyDin City Watch, all with last known whereabouts to be named as The IronHelm Flats. Once again, no case was ever taken seriously until a young woman, a longtime kitchen cook for the dining hall who had twice sworn to publicly out her molester, was found bludgeoned to death in one of the underground larders.
Other servants and various past party guests vowed to come forward and share their own shocking tales of what had happened to them while they spent time at The IronHelm. However, what transpired instead of a mass cleansing of the sinful actions and immoral residents of the building, was later referred to as "The Silence." Quickly, many citizens who claimed that something wicked or criminal had occurred to them within the grand walls of Idlemass's greatest architectural achievement, went missing.....never to be seen alive again.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n288/angelina_32/blood-1.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff201/EnigmaticRaevyn/blood/blood-1.jpg
As time passed, many common folks began to morally look down upon The IronHelm Flats and its rowdy residents. The once great reputation of the wealthiest property in RhyDin City was tarnished beyond repair. Entrepreneurs that were once proud to call the enormous edifice their home, were quickly leaving the building and the city, not wishing to tie their name nor the names of their businesses with such an ill-reputed property. Naturally this led to a domino effect of the mercantile market in RhyDin City's WestEnd and wealthy individuals began to move their investments to other cities.
The affluence rapidly bled out of RhyDin City faster than it had sprung up, and the whole inner region was feeling this heavy financial crush. Careers were subsequently foiled, reputations crumbled, and the economy swiftly deteriorated. The ports and shipyards were vacated, sailors and merchants no longer frequented RhyDin City; the territory was slung into a period of deep economic depression.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/445497040_30b04c506a.jpg
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/a-foggy-dock-newagen-maine-mark-emmerson.jpg
As vacancies were draining The IronHelm, its misguided architect and designer, Cedric Idlemass III faced total financial ruin. On the night of the winter solstice, he retreated to his apartment. There in his personal sitting room he once affectionately referred to as ?The Blue Room", Idlemass violently hung himself. His body was not discovered until after the beginning of the new calendar year, as his valet was preparing to pack up the architect?s belongings.
http://www.forbidden-places.net/explos/54/images/photo17.jpg
Soon after this startling tragedy, the staff of The IronHelm would report hearing strange voices often coming from that abandoned room, which often whispered strong, dreadful suggestions of suicide to those walking nearby. In addition to this, an unsettling "stain" began to appear on the west wall of the Blue Room, which bore a disturbing resemblance to a leering demonic visage. All attempts to remove this stain were fleeting, as the frightening mark would simply re-appear on another wall in the room within a mere day's time.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j8khE8T8vjM/TW_Tj6IdrQI/AAAAAAAAABg/NI4Cewm-hH0/s748/Evil_Face_360_640_140799.gif
To make matters worse, a very wealthy and esteemed widow, who had funneled a vast amount of funds into this massive building, suffered a grave tragedy when her eight year old daughter Samantha mysteriously fell to her death from the bedroom window. Shortly after this, there were terrible whispers, by the widow?s sister and by anxious members of the staff, that the dead child?s vengeful ghost could often be seen lurking within the room?s great mirror or behind the wisping curtains of the infamous window.
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs12/f/2006/323/2/3/Ghost_Whisper_by_fearawaken.jpg
http://reelybored.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/bloody_mary_1_smw0.jpg
The truly final straw for the IronHelm?s macabre popularity was the unearthing of two bodies in the grand fireplace of the building. This gorgeous fireplace, with its flanking marble statues, had once been the talk of the residents due to its crafted lavishness and sheer size. The burned, skeletal remains were later identified, by their undestroyed unique jewelry, as twin sisters who had been sinfully popular prostitutes in the West End?s night life. The find of the brutally murdered siblings within its ash-sodden hearth, forever earned that decadent fireplace the inauspicious name of ?The Devil?s Den.? The entire fireplace was soon removed and sold, for a hefty price, to an eccentric Baron at the City?s high auction. It remained in prime condition.
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/769/912679.JPG
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/02/08/skeletons_wideweb__470x352,0.jpg
Soon after this particularly horrible event and as the docks dried up, the residents of The IronHelm Flats all left the property and the mammoth building fell into rapid deterioration. The RhyDin City officials once tried to clean and renovate the structure and thus reestablish it as a hotel. The sickening number of bodies and remains that were unearthed and discovered on the premises, however, left all the workers quite shaken. Not the least of which was the finding of a slaughterhouse-type room deep below the kitchens, where many ritualistically mutilated human corpses and severed limbs had been callously hidden. The dirty, once-white walls were still smeared with numerous bloody handprints and unsettling, scrawled words. There were just under twenty human skulls found tucked away in the darkness there.....no arrests were ever made.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a194/OneStepCloser602/murder_scene1.jpg
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljy7fv2N7V1qh8hrho1_500.jpg
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/images-3/human-skulls-cambodia.jpg
The frightened workers would then often claim that they still heard the vile and tormented shrieks of anguish when walking near the kitchens at night. Gruesome stories of the hauntings of The IronHelm were as varied as they were common.....ranging from extremely violent poltergeists to horrifying, spectral phantoms.
http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt333/pinklatexshow/cr.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AD_Ih0D-F2E/TjglhZfgfnI/AAAAAAAAIKQ/tQXZUUKz3OY/s1600/skilled_photoshop_18.jpg
http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/ob/real-ghost.jpg
The controlling owners of the Ironhelm finally went so far as to hire two well known and revered ?individuals of the cloth? from the far Eastern lands. The holy cleric Idnuar Ohsarn and the decidedly skilled mystic Unnoah Bel?Shanxu were brought to Rhydin, at great expense, in order to cleanse the festering evil and unpleasant spirits from the once proud building. Both of them spent three nights in The Ironhelm Flats carrying out their focused rituals......they could bear no more of the relentless horrors after that time.
Not longer than two weeks after leaving the cursed apartment house, the mystic Unnoah Bel?Shanxu took her own life during a rather despondent journey home. Idnuar Ohsarn successfully returned to his native country and then suddenly fell gravely ill.......never again restoring his health to its once vigorous constitution. On his death bed, Ohsarn was quoted as weakly saying ?If merciful god can allow such an abominable place of evil to be built......then I wonder if he truly exists at all.?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I5DQ01Qjj44/TnRb2W5EjjI/AAAAAAAAHAg/HAHpATCB1dY/s1600/hik_225_ed_450w.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v439/acidlullaby/priestess-1.jpg
After the miserably failed attempt at ritualistic cleansing, it was not long before the legendary property fell by the wayside and was left to a horrendous fate, as was the majority of the WestEnd. Some of the more intuitive and vocal populace demanded that the ?unclaimed? Flats be demolished and its unclean land consecrated.......perhaps someone of civil importance should have heeded their heartfelt requests....
EPILOGUE: Present Day (OOC / Reader knowledge)
The IronHelm Flats sat unoccupied for many years as it watched the majority of the West End fall into crime-ridden depravity. The winds of industry, however brought more than mere change . The deserted building and its lands have recently been purchased by Clayborne Holdings, Inc. which is aptly owned by one Ms. Krysira Elizabeth Clayborne. And while the following architectural information is not known to any of the general public, it stands as a monolithic testament to the strength of the archaic evil that holds sway over this monstrous locale.
http://www.casafree.com/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10024/normal_LuisRoyo_021+++.jpg
Very recently, a cryptically hidden door has been seemingly spirited out of plain sight behind the west wine cellar. This blackened door opens to a spiral staircase which leads down into the very bowels of The IronHelm Flats. The sinister history of this latest area has yet to be uncovered or even completed, as Giminicka Orcand, known by her unholy name of "Nocent", has resurrected this sacrilegious cavern as the new womb of Temple Bhaal here in Rhydin.
http://jennifersaylor.files.wordpress.com/2006/08/helix_staircase.jpg
The dreaded symbol of the dark church, a crimson skeletal ram's head, is painted in blood above the archway that leads from the spiral staircase to an elongated gothic corridor. The festering wrath and sullen ferocity of this dreaded symbol can instill a nightmarish terror in even the most sacrosanct individual.
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x25/Pheonix023/Skull1copy.png
After passing under the demonic mark of Bhaal, the extensive gothic passageway looms forth. It is at the end of this ghostly corridor that the underbelly of the cursed property breaks into a vast selection of rooms and secluded chasms.
http://www.opacity.us/images/db/10/16/0000000544.jpg
If navigated correctly, a truly daunting task in itself, one could see before them a looming wall composed of countless rotting skulls and numerously layered human bones. When the malevolent ?voices of the dead? are called upon, the many vacant orbits of the skulls begin to pour out copious amounts of blood......this blood then trickles downwards to coat the many faces which comprise this grotesque partition. Through the slurping streams of blood, the ?Red Wall? offers forth vital ?information? in return for more sacrificed flesh and gore.
http://www.horrorphile.net/images/catacombs-skulls-and-bones.jpg
To slowly glance upwards is to see the various hanging chains and razor-barbed meat hooks. Smeared with its most recent ?occupant?.....it is highly doubtful that the mess of dried blood adorning them is merely bovine in origin.
http://images.inmagine.com/168nwm/moodboard/mb516/mwi13020008.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_e3BsDt7_O88/Sv76z6I4RLI/AAAAAAAAoUc/AVngp7EtIBg/s400/humanorgans1.jpg
To approach the central zone of this sublabyrinth is to feel the distinct, pulsating chill stroking the tendons of your very throat. Looking forward from the broadened corridor, frenzied eyes may fall upon the central chamber. Flooding forth from this main chamber, and oftentimes seeping throughout the entire building, are ghostly auras of green or red.......relentlessly changing with the ?disposition? of the festering, wicked forces powering this now sentient abomination known as The IronHelm Flats.
http://static.flickr.com/31/46088442_5fb429e429.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/141199020_06f8021cc1.jpg
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This ritual room is currently adorned with a makeshift altar of harsh stone, and a desecrated Scathachian banner. It is highlighted by an archaic skeletal sculpture, adorned with runes, suspended above the cursed doorway. This disquieting carving is a true stygian symbol of salutation to the loyal worshippers of the damned as they make their way into the sinful sanctum of blood. A sanctum which these unified forces of darkness, notoriously known as The Fangs of Bhaal, have baptized as their deathly citadel.
http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/images/normantononsoar/tts1910/stone-altar.jpg
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/lady-justice-xafira-mendonsa.jpg
http://beinart.org/modules/Word-Press/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/kris-kuksi-sculpture.jpg
When standing under the ghoulish sculpture, one can see into this unholy room or, more aptly, into Hell?s grisly window. So come forth....lost souls and devoted congregation alike.....join us within the ceremonial chamber if you dare to gamble your very soul.....Arise, Molotoch, Arise!
<Many special thanks to the amazing muns of Issy and Krysira for their remarkable help with this project.>
At one fateful time, The IronHelm Flats stood as a testament to the opulence of RhyDin City's greatest powers. A century ago, the city was the center of cultural and financial wealth, attracting all manners of aristocracy, investors, and businessmen. The city, located in between two highly trafficked rivers and along a protected port, boasted a commerce like no other.
It was this commerce that ushered in RhyDin's "Golden Age", with RhyDin City being the hub of such affluent attentions. Wealthy entrepreneurs and capitalists made the southwestern portion of the city, now called the ?WestEnd?, their own; it was close to the wealth-spewing ports, but far enough away to avoid the revolting stench of low tide.
The IronHelm Flats was built as a signature residence for the industrialist who favored living in sheer luxury, no matter the length of his/her stay. Originally conceptualized as a hotel in the grand tradition of The VanCarmichael and The Royal Houton, the Bellhaven Construction Company decided instead to construct a more permanent living structure that wouldn't skimp on any of the decadence that RhyDin City was quickly becoming accustomed to. In keeping with this tradition, they had also hired one of the area?s most noted and up and coming architects: Cedric Idlemass III. Cedric?s bizarre methods, as well as his personal eccentricities may have been the subjects of hushed and curious gossip, but his buildings were simply awe inspiring.
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~pbarry/ras2/rascol.jpg
The Bellhaven Construction Company was laughed at as they proposed the plans for the entrance to this soon to be enormous residence. Towering over other buildings in the area at a nearly impossible nine stories, Idlemass stood by his uncanny design. With wide Corinthian columns and high arched windows, the entrance boasted of the wealth of those living inside. The back of this edifice was equally as impressive, with quite a splendid view at the time.
http://www.brianmcculloh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/michigan.jpg
http://www.brianmcculloh.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/binche1.jpg
The impressive stone knight, which stood atop the highest rooftop on the structure, was Idlemass's architectural signature to boast that this majestic building was being honorably guarded over by a chivalrous defender of the people. Though modeled after an ancient literary crusader of sorts, it is rumored that the knight?s face was inspired by Cedric?s own estranged father. Despite harsh exposure to the elements, it still stands relatively intact to this very day.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/2002/pp1635/EastFaceKnight.jpg
Once inside The IronHelm, the grand stairway led its residents and staff to the second and third floors where the apartments themselves began. While primitive elevators, created from a pulley system invented by Idlemass, carried the bulk of furniture and other deliveries to the residents, there were numerous back staircases as well. To venture further upstairs into the building was to uncover many more decadently displayed surprises, such as the beautifully enclosed conservatory.
http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/titanic/photos/interior/01_grand_staircase.jpg
http://stgeorgespark.nmmu.ac.za/images/thepark/sm_Conserv2.jpg
On the first floor there was an interior dining hall that, in its prime, boasted the finest and most lavishly prepared meals in the entire city. The mere opulence of the hand carved reliefs, rich wood, and costly decor is a surviving tribute to its lavish construction. In addition, a rich cigar and brandy room where the merry merchants regaled their tales of monies made that day was located down the long central corridor from the luxuriant dining space. It was often said that this notorious hallway was a common site for fertile gossip and indiscrete innuendo.
http://en.nai.nl/mmbase/images/170792/interieureetzaal_De_haar_gr.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3386241350_60a63ce481.jpg
http://family-tree.co.uk/familyblogs/bessie/files/2007/11/ghost.jpg
The IronHelm was the only apartment residence in the city to claim a twenty-four hour servant staff. Butlers, maids and personal valets were available to all residents to have on staff. In addition, simple, unadorned living quarters for these servants were located on the west side of The IronHelm. A living chamber might have looked like the following in its prime:
http://www.fortlangley.ca/erin.jpg
The substantial and productive kitchens for the great dining hall were always busy and heavily stocked with the finest of ingredients for their popular meals. The spacious kitchens themselves, were located on the edifice?s east side, thus making a day?s work for the servants quite tiring.
After enjoying a rich meal, one could cozily enjoy the traditional comforts of a well-stocked library which housed many of the transcribed classics and a virtual private wealth of information. Otherwise, if reading was not on the evening?s agenda, a patron could take a leisurely stroll out into the formal courtyard which once claimed immaculate rose gardens and a famed, grandiose fountain. This elaborate fountain was hand carved from Kinnegan stone by a master mason from the North, and transported to RhyDin?s IronHelm at Idlemass?s personal request.
http://hollowtreetales.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/library.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OnMn3aOOAVQ/TS-QmNJBCOI/AAAAAAAACQE/NrrPmgS4kDg/s1600/IMG_4770.JPG
To explore further one would find the eastern wall of some interest. Facing towards the morning sun was an enormous and intricate window of extravagantly crafted stained glass. The imagery was always considered by the more superstitious to be unsettling, as it depicted what Idlemass casually called: ?Every man?s eventual fate?. It was not surprising that many critics of the architect balked at this statement, as the eerie glass window depicted the very jaws of Hell itself, eagerly feasting upon the souls of the condemned.
http://www.krepcio.com/vitreosity/archives/jawsofhell-bourges-full-450.jpg
Below Idlemass's great building were several layers of wine cellars and larders. The residents and staff of The IronHelm Flats imported extravagant and exotic liquors and foods from all over the known world. The subterranean provisions of the building were envied throughout Rhydin. However, it was in this labyrinthine underground that the trouble for The IronHelm and Rhydin City in turn, began.
http://www.nbhtravel.com/Mansfield/full%20view%20of%20cell%20block.jpg
http://www.bw.edu/academics/art/gallery/jacklitch/mansfield-reformatory.jpg
As the story goes, Cedric Idlemass III, himself a resident of The IronHelm Flats, was seeing to some minor renovations in the main wine cellar when he claimed that he heard malevolent voices telling him of his own demise. These events became more frequent and soon Cedric whispered of horrific visions which briefly accompanied these wicked utterances. Additionally, a close friend and confidant of Idlemass had often whispered to his many hired prostitutes, that he too was seeing grotesque images whenever he ventured into the cellars alone.....one in particular was of the eclipsed and distorted face of a shrieking, bloodied woman. Ten other residents would claim this same site before the building?s final closure.
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh58/JestHarley/Brian/BACKGROUND.gif
http://content.ytmnd.com/content/d/d/c/ddc28cfba41f4c2bd7a3883da0ab0fdf.jpg
Furious rumors began to abound about the curious habits of this brilliant architect and of the other residents of the opulent IronHelm as well. Many years later, people would argue that the great wealth which fueled this residence began to breed innate perversion. In a six month span, City Watch authorities were called to the property no less than thirteen times. Claims of debauchery began to be commonplace among the staff, while acts of blatant depravity became a regular habit of the residents. Even though nine chambermaids claimed to have been raped and/or molested by various IronHelm inhabitants, no formal charges were ever followed up on. The dark, spacious cellars held their ill-omened secrets well.
http://lumiere.sopheava.com/2006/0529_abandoned.jpg
Citizens would argue for years that it was because of the influence held over public officials by the wealthy merchants who resided on the property, that no lawful action was ever taken against these dissolute individuals. Several missing persons reports were filed with the RhyDin City Watch, all with last known whereabouts to be named as The IronHelm Flats. Once again, no case was ever taken seriously until a young woman, a longtime kitchen cook for the dining hall who had twice sworn to publicly out her molester, was found bludgeoned to death in one of the underground larders.
Other servants and various past party guests vowed to come forward and share their own shocking tales of what had happened to them while they spent time at The IronHelm. However, what transpired instead of a mass cleansing of the sinful actions and immoral residents of the building, was later referred to as "The Silence." Quickly, many citizens who claimed that something wicked or criminal had occurred to them within the grand walls of Idlemass's greatest architectural achievement, went missing.....never to be seen alive again.
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As time passed, many common folks began to morally look down upon The IronHelm Flats and its rowdy residents. The once great reputation of the wealthiest property in RhyDin City was tarnished beyond repair. Entrepreneurs that were once proud to call the enormous edifice their home, were quickly leaving the building and the city, not wishing to tie their name nor the names of their businesses with such an ill-reputed property. Naturally this led to a domino effect of the mercantile market in RhyDin City's WestEnd and wealthy individuals began to move their investments to other cities.
The affluence rapidly bled out of RhyDin City faster than it had sprung up, and the whole inner region was feeling this heavy financial crush. Careers were subsequently foiled, reputations crumbled, and the economy swiftly deteriorated. The ports and shipyards were vacated, sailors and merchants no longer frequented RhyDin City; the territory was slung into a period of deep economic depression.
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As vacancies were draining The IronHelm, its misguided architect and designer, Cedric Idlemass III faced total financial ruin. On the night of the winter solstice, he retreated to his apartment. There in his personal sitting room he once affectionately referred to as ?The Blue Room", Idlemass violently hung himself. His body was not discovered until after the beginning of the new calendar year, as his valet was preparing to pack up the architect?s belongings.
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Soon after this startling tragedy, the staff of The IronHelm would report hearing strange voices often coming from that abandoned room, which often whispered strong, dreadful suggestions of suicide to those walking nearby. In addition to this, an unsettling "stain" began to appear on the west wall of the Blue Room, which bore a disturbing resemblance to a leering demonic visage. All attempts to remove this stain were fleeting, as the frightening mark would simply re-appear on another wall in the room within a mere day's time.
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To make matters worse, a very wealthy and esteemed widow, who had funneled a vast amount of funds into this massive building, suffered a grave tragedy when her eight year old daughter Samantha mysteriously fell to her death from the bedroom window. Shortly after this, there were terrible whispers, by the widow?s sister and by anxious members of the staff, that the dead child?s vengeful ghost could often be seen lurking within the room?s great mirror or behind the wisping curtains of the infamous window.
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The truly final straw for the IronHelm?s macabre popularity was the unearthing of two bodies in the grand fireplace of the building. This gorgeous fireplace, with its flanking marble statues, had once been the talk of the residents due to its crafted lavishness and sheer size. The burned, skeletal remains were later identified, by their undestroyed unique jewelry, as twin sisters who had been sinfully popular prostitutes in the West End?s night life. The find of the brutally murdered siblings within its ash-sodden hearth, forever earned that decadent fireplace the inauspicious name of ?The Devil?s Den.? The entire fireplace was soon removed and sold, for a hefty price, to an eccentric Baron at the City?s high auction. It remained in prime condition.
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Soon after this particularly horrible event and as the docks dried up, the residents of The IronHelm Flats all left the property and the mammoth building fell into rapid deterioration. The RhyDin City officials once tried to clean and renovate the structure and thus reestablish it as a hotel. The sickening number of bodies and remains that were unearthed and discovered on the premises, however, left all the workers quite shaken. Not the least of which was the finding of a slaughterhouse-type room deep below the kitchens, where many ritualistically mutilated human corpses and severed limbs had been callously hidden. The dirty, once-white walls were still smeared with numerous bloody handprints and unsettling, scrawled words. There were just under twenty human skulls found tucked away in the darkness there.....no arrests were ever made.
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The frightened workers would then often claim that they still heard the vile and tormented shrieks of anguish when walking near the kitchens at night. Gruesome stories of the hauntings of The IronHelm were as varied as they were common.....ranging from extremely violent poltergeists to horrifying, spectral phantoms.
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The controlling owners of the Ironhelm finally went so far as to hire two well known and revered ?individuals of the cloth? from the far Eastern lands. The holy cleric Idnuar Ohsarn and the decidedly skilled mystic Unnoah Bel?Shanxu were brought to Rhydin, at great expense, in order to cleanse the festering evil and unpleasant spirits from the once proud building. Both of them spent three nights in The Ironhelm Flats carrying out their focused rituals......they could bear no more of the relentless horrors after that time.
Not longer than two weeks after leaving the cursed apartment house, the mystic Unnoah Bel?Shanxu took her own life during a rather despondent journey home. Idnuar Ohsarn successfully returned to his native country and then suddenly fell gravely ill.......never again restoring his health to its once vigorous constitution. On his death bed, Ohsarn was quoted as weakly saying ?If merciful god can allow such an abominable place of evil to be built......then I wonder if he truly exists at all.?
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After the miserably failed attempt at ritualistic cleansing, it was not long before the legendary property fell by the wayside and was left to a horrendous fate, as was the majority of the WestEnd. Some of the more intuitive and vocal populace demanded that the ?unclaimed? Flats be demolished and its unclean land consecrated.......perhaps someone of civil importance should have heeded their heartfelt requests....
EPILOGUE: Present Day (OOC / Reader knowledge)
The IronHelm Flats sat unoccupied for many years as it watched the majority of the West End fall into crime-ridden depravity. The winds of industry, however brought more than mere change . The deserted building and its lands have recently been purchased by Clayborne Holdings, Inc. which is aptly owned by one Ms. Krysira Elizabeth Clayborne. And while the following architectural information is not known to any of the general public, it stands as a monolithic testament to the strength of the archaic evil that holds sway over this monstrous locale.
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Very recently, a cryptically hidden door has been seemingly spirited out of plain sight behind the west wine cellar. This blackened door opens to a spiral staircase which leads down into the very bowels of The IronHelm Flats. The sinister history of this latest area has yet to be uncovered or even completed, as Giminicka Orcand, known by her unholy name of "Nocent", has resurrected this sacrilegious cavern as the new womb of Temple Bhaal here in Rhydin.
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The dreaded symbol of the dark church, a crimson skeletal ram's head, is painted in blood above the archway that leads from the spiral staircase to an elongated gothic corridor. The festering wrath and sullen ferocity of this dreaded symbol can instill a nightmarish terror in even the most sacrosanct individual.
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After passing under the demonic mark of Bhaal, the extensive gothic passageway looms forth. It is at the end of this ghostly corridor that the underbelly of the cursed property breaks into a vast selection of rooms and secluded chasms.
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If navigated correctly, a truly daunting task in itself, one could see before them a looming wall composed of countless rotting skulls and numerously layered human bones. When the malevolent ?voices of the dead? are called upon, the many vacant orbits of the skulls begin to pour out copious amounts of blood......this blood then trickles downwards to coat the many faces which comprise this grotesque partition. Through the slurping streams of blood, the ?Red Wall? offers forth vital ?information? in return for more sacrificed flesh and gore.
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To slowly glance upwards is to see the various hanging chains and razor-barbed meat hooks. Smeared with its most recent ?occupant?.....it is highly doubtful that the mess of dried blood adorning them is merely bovine in origin.
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To approach the central zone of this sublabyrinth is to feel the distinct, pulsating chill stroking the tendons of your very throat. Looking forward from the broadened corridor, frenzied eyes may fall upon the central chamber. Flooding forth from this main chamber, and oftentimes seeping throughout the entire building, are ghostly auras of green or red.......relentlessly changing with the ?disposition? of the festering, wicked forces powering this now sentient abomination known as The IronHelm Flats.
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This ritual room is currently adorned with a makeshift altar of harsh stone, and a desecrated Scathachian banner. It is highlighted by an archaic skeletal sculpture, adorned with runes, suspended above the cursed doorway. This disquieting carving is a true stygian symbol of salutation to the loyal worshippers of the damned as they make their way into the sinful sanctum of blood. A sanctum which these unified forces of darkness, notoriously known as The Fangs of Bhaal, have baptized as their deathly citadel.
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When standing under the ghoulish sculpture, one can see into this unholy room or, more aptly, into Hell?s grisly window. So come forth....lost souls and devoted congregation alike.....join us within the ceremonial chamber if you dare to gamble your very soul.....Arise, Molotoch, Arise!
<Many special thanks to the amazing muns of Issy and Krysira for their remarkable help with this project.>