The Chancery

A spacious chamber, the chancery serves as the outer office for the chancellor and steward of Ben Bison Brugh, as well as a meeting place for the baroness' councillors to assemble for closed proceedings of the court. A large table of burnished meirwood, its surface bordered with the tenets of the Escheat ornately carved, commands the center of the tiled floor between a recessed fireplace on one side of the chamber and three deep alcoves framing the doors to the personal offices of the chancellor and the steward. At the far end of the room, a tapestry showing a busy harvest scene conceals a stair which accesses the Great Room above.

Seven chairs are set about the council table, three at each side and one at the head, for the use of the baroness and her councillors. There is space for a few more along each side, should they be needed, and indeed four chairs flank the fireplace, a pair upon either side. Moderately cushioned and upholstered in dark leather, the chairs are conducive to comfort during drawn-out sessions, but rigid enough to discourage slumber. A finely-drawn map of the county hangs above the mantlepiece of the fireplace.

The middle alcove of the wall opposite the fireplace holds a high desk and tall scribner's stool, with parchment, quill, and ink for the keeping of minutes during council sessions, the drafting of contracts, or the copying of decrees as needed. A shelf above holds an unabridged dictionary, volumes of precedent rulings of kithain jurisprudence, a folio copy of Quinwhither's Protocols and Precedence and other reference works which may at times prove handy. The other two alcoves serve as lounges where refreshments may be served during long meetings, or conferences "under the rose" held with a modicum of privacy.