Overview

The Winter Room is a quiet floor of light and courtesy: white walls, tall windows with heavy drapes, and a moveable wall that changes the room’s geometry each fortnight. It serves as the Free Court’s salon, a neutral site for petitions, and a discreet workshop where masks are mended and reputations gently re-hung. Music stays soft, tempers softer.

House Maxim (engraved on the lintel): “Courtesy buys peace. Art buys time.”

Rooms & Layout

Reception & Threshold

• Doorman’s Niche: Mr Hallow’s desk, guest ledger, and a tray of embossed invitation keys. The threshold recognises only the name on the card.
• Cloak Wall: mirror-backed panels that dull glamour shimmer; iron is politely checked here.

Main Salon

• Moveable Wall: track-mounted partition that alters sightlines and acoustics. When locked, it seals a private chamber.
• Gallery Rails: current hang rotates monthly; frames double as subtle sound-baffles.
• Conversation Islands: upholstered seats spaced so whispers never meet.

Maskwright Studio

• Jaya’s Bench: needles, light, silver thread; “no photos, no flash” sign that takes itself seriously.
• Face Cabinet: drawers of glamour templates and courtesy veils; access by Jaya only.

Green Room & Side Gallery

• Green Room: tea service, small harp, low chairs; where tempers cool and favours are weighed.
• Side Gallery: narrow corridor of small works; doubles as a quiet negotiation walk.

Back Corridor

• Door That Remembers: returns uninvited feet to the lobby without fuss.
• Service Lift: keyed for trusted vendors and emergency exits; never for arrivals.

Wards, Glamours & Safeguards

• Mask Veil: a room-wide glamour that smooths oddities into “excellent lighting”. Tears trigger a soft chime for the Maskwright.
• Courtesy Net: a tonal enchantment in the rails and drapes; voices stay calm, quarrels decant into wit.
• Iron Courtesy: iron and coarse salt are sealed at Reception; the salon prefers copper and civility.
• Light Temper: window drapes hold a glamour that eats flash; photographs blur into tasteful nothing.
• Quiet Step: the floor “forgets” heavy tread; security can still hear it if asked.

Access & Schedules

• Salon Nights: first & third Fridays, 19:00–23:00. Petitioners book a salon minute with the Convenor.
• Restoration Hours: Tuesdays 14:00–17:00 (by appointment). Mask repairs and veil adjustments only.
• Neutral Windows: daily 16:00–18:00 for cross-faction handovers; no weapons, no entourages.
• Invitation Keys: embossed cards with a cut edge; valid for the named bearer, seasonally renewed, non-transferable.

House Protocol

Etiquette

• Bring a gift or a truth when asking a favour. Either is accepted; both are remembered.
• Do not break a Mask in public. If it slips, ring for Jaya and look at the painting, not the person.
• Never waste an artist’s time. Performances and installs are protected hours.

Boundary Courtesy

• No feeding, hunts, or moon drills within sight of the salon. Those belong to other houses.
• Announce any misting or mirror-work in adjacent districts 24 hours in advance.
• Meridian visits by appointment; interviews in the Side Gallery with drapes drawn.

Keepers & Regulars

• Edda Glass — Patron & Convenor; hosts salon nights; sets the tone with a smile that means “mind your manners”.
• Rowan Pike — Greenward; speaks for park spirits; checks seasonal rites before big events.
• Jaya Mir — Maskwright; mends faces and reputations by needle and light.
• Mr Hallow — Doorman; remembers invitations, forgets gossip; threshold obeys his ledger.
• Thimble — Runner; messages along rails and alleys; returns what you borrowed before you remember you borrowed it.

Logistics & Cover

• Gallery Cover: rotating member exhibits explain closures and curious deliveries.
• Vendor List: conservators, florists, caterers who mind their own business and sign the silence book.
• Silence Book: a leather ledger at Reception; non-fae contractors sign, then forget to gossip.
• Clean Closure: the moveable wall and dust sheets transform a crisis into “installation day”.

Hooks & Scene Seeds

• The Wrong Mirror: A loaned antique returns with a hairline crack and a faint golden bloom. Jaya wants it quarantined; someone else wants it displayed.
• Three Minutes: Edda grants a desperate petitioner three salon minutes. Who objects, and what will they pay to steal those minutes?
• Courtesy Debt: Mr Hallow’s ledger shows a guest whose name the threshold won’t speak. Is it sabotage, or a truth unpaid?
• Unkind Light: A visiting photographer’s flash somehow pierces the Light Temper. Retrieve the card, repair the story.
• Green Note: Rowan hears the fountain sing a higher note during a gala. Something seasonal has shifted—who moved the calendar?

GM Notes

• Tone: urbane, courteous, quietly dangerous; problems solved with timing and taste.
• Capacity: Salon seats 30 comfortably; Side Gallery holds 6 for tense talks; Maskwright Studio fits 2 plus Jaya.
• Complications: overlapping faction timetables, mortal arts openings downstairs, a donor gala next door.
• Map Keys: mark Reception/threshold, Cloak Wall, Moveable Wall tracks, Maskwright Studio, Green Room, Side Gallery, back corridor, service lift.