Overview

The Copper House is the Highland Concord’s hearth and courthouse in one: bread ovens up front, long tables and tea in the hall, and a quiet clause desk where words are weighed before they are written. It runs on the Concord’s first principle: “Bread first, then bargains.” Hospitality comes before business, and no binding is made without witness and a cooling period.

Rooms & Layout

Street Level

• Bakery Front: counter, cases, chalkboard; genuine trade and community cover. Tip jar doubles as charity pot.
• Hall of Tables: long copper-edged trestles; tea urns; wall niches for house emblems; acoustics tuned for calm talk.
• Hearth & Ovens: heatless-flame ward in the main oven throat; keeps fires safe, bread perfect, tempers moderate.
• Hospitality Shelf: bread, salt, dates; every guest is fed before any bargain is discussed.

Mezzanine & Offices

• Clause Desk (Omar’s room): small office with three chairs, a ledger safe, translation dictionaries, and a neutral bell for witnesses.
• Wayfinder Bay: maps, route cards, discreet door keys, and a van schedule for quiet escorts.
• Quiet Parlour: soft chairs, mint tea, and a “no contracts here” sign; used to calm or de-escalate.

Rear & Cellar

• Community Pantry: dry goods & meal kits; mutual-aid shelves logged by Nadia; no questions asked.
• Witness Room: simple table, two candles, copper bowl; used to read clauses aloud and record consent.
• Safe Rooms (2): windowless, cot and water; for overnight refuge or cool-down; bell pulls to the hall.
• Alley Dock: screened loading bay; dawn deliveries; a bell that rings only for Concord ears.

Wards, Customs & Safeguards

• Hospitality Law: bread, salt, and tea must be offered and accepted before negotiations. While cups are filled, no coercion holds.
• Consent Ring: a copper inlay under the Witness Room table—bindings won’t take unless consent is spoken in full and witnessed.
• Heatless Hearth: Ifrit craft reduces kitchen fire risk and quietly calms the room; anger tastes of ash and is noticed.
• Quiet Tongue: tonal baffles in rafters keep voices even; shouting feels wrong, and lies feel dry in the mouth.
• Door Courtesy: thresholds recognise named invitation keys; iron kept sheathed; salt kept in kitchens only.

Access & Schedules

• Open Night: Wednesdays 18:00–21:00 — petitions, introductions, and community asks. First-come seating, Elder calls the order.
• Clause Hours: Mon–Thu 14:00–18:00 by appointment. One cooling day between draft and signing unless life is at risk.
• Wayfinder Runs: dawn & late evening; routes avoid Free Court salons, Harbour red rooms, Iron Belt tracks, and Lodge slips unless invited.
• Kitchen Quiet: 04:00–06:00 bakery prep; no court business during proofing.

House Protocol

On Arrival

• State your name, accept bread/salt/tea, and declare whether you come as guest, petitioner, or messenger.
• Weapons peace-bound at the rail; tricks and glamours left at the door.

Negotiation Rules

• No bindings without a witness and a written copy in plain speech. Translations provided as needed.
• No bargains on hunger, fear, or pain—hospitality first, then bargains.
• Cooling time respected; urgent work requires two Wardens to waive.

Boundary Etiquette

• No Concord business used to trespass on neighbouring factions. Ask for introductions, not shortcuts.
• Meridian liaison admitted by prior notice; meetings in the Parlour, not the Clause Desk.

Keepers & Regulars

• Matriarch Samira al-Qadir — Host; decides the room’s tempo; pours the first cup.
• Omar Petropoulos — Clause-Warden; drafts, translates, and witnesses; bell within reach.
• Nadia Reyes — Hearth-Maker; runs the pantry and community nights; “no one leaves hungry”.
• Faris Haddad — Wayfinder; escorts, doors, and routes that don’t make the news.
• Juno “Ash” Markos — Copper Knife; ends trouble proportionately and outside the cameras.

Logistics & Cover

• Bakery Cover: real receipts, morning queues, and donation bakes to explain stock & deliveries.
• Chit Ledger: copper markers for debts/favours; settled quarterly at a quiet supper.
• Neighbour Net: notices board for jobs, beds, escorts; plain speech, no arcane jargon.
• Clean Closure: “oven service” signs and dust sheets ready to fold a crisis into a maintenance day.

Hooks & Scene Seeds

• Paper With No Name: A perfect contract arrives by courier with no petitioner. Who drafted it, and for whom?
• Empty Cooler: An alley delivery is left at the dock: clean, cold, wrong. The Concord would rather you look before Meridian does.
• Cooling Waiver: A desperate guest begs to sign now. Waive the day—or find a third way before someone gets hurt.
• Route Crossed: A Wayfinder run must pass near a red room at the wrong hour. Renegotiate the route without sparking a feud.
• Gold in the Air: A petitioner claims a draught made their words “too strong” for a minute. Lock the Clause Desk? Test the claim? Or feed them and send them home?

GM Notes

• Tone: warm civility; sharp ethics; power expressed as hospitality and paperwork done right.
• Capacity: Hall seats 24; Clause Desk handles 3 matters/day; two Safe Rooms at a time.
• Complications: queue of real customers during a crisis; supply deliveries overlapping with sensitive arrivals; neighbours who adore the bread and ask friendly questions.
• Map Keys: bakery front, Hall of Tables, Hearth, Hospitality Shelf, Clause Desk, Wayfinder Bay, Parlour, Pantry, Witness Room, Safe Rooms, Alley Dock.