The Den

Purpose / Function

As the cottage's motto says, "To reap is to sow; to take is to give."
The cottage has always been a place for weary travelers or sickly folk to rest their heads and replenish. During the Solassi Conquest, it was used as a neutral safe house, where the wounded from each battleground would be sent regardless of their country alliance. The cottage's food and water are said to have magical healing properties, courtesy of the oak tree that towers over the grounds and drinks from the clear springs and stream running behind the cottage.
Before and after the war, the cottage has remained a rest stop for travelers moving across queendoms and has been called "home" by many weary, homeless wanderers.

Architecture

A standard two-story cottage made of rough-hewn stone and red brick, with a gabled roof of interlocking wooden and clay tiles. Its windows alternate rectangular and round-topped, with interlocking glass pieces melded together to form patchwork patterns. A small shed and a barn lie off to the righthand side of the cottage for the dairy cows, chickens, goats, and travelers' horses. A large courtyard at the back of the cottage, laid with cobblestones ringed with fresh moss and grass, boasts long wooden tables, lanterns, and a wooden stage for dancing and merriment in the warmer months. A communal bathhouse is also out of doors, with only a small bathroom in the cottage itself for use in the colder months.
Inside are a swathe of warm dormitory-style rooms, each with a soft bed or twin beds and windows facing the landscape outdoors. Each room holds decoration of delicate wallpapers, painted murals, fine furs, and silks, all gifts from travelers who have come and gone. This goes for many of the cottages unique and sometimes spectacular decorations, ranging from magnificently carved urns of gold and gemstone to the small, rusted dinner bell that clangs clear as morning for every meal.
The grandest part of the cottage is its communal kitchen, where guests and maids alike cook a variety of fine meals with ingredients that never seem to spoil. This kitchen splits off into the sitting room, where plush, worn couches squat on soft carpets beside the dual fireplaces. A small reading room off of the living room is also available for those who wish to have a moment to themselves to read or pray.
Ma Renda keeps the cottage modest no matter how many visitors claim they can make it more "contemporary" or "comfortable for the modern traveler." She insists that the cottage has served plenty just as it is with much joy and happiness, and has thus only accepted help to mend its broken bits but never replace them.

History

On the rough plains of neutral ground, an unimposing cottage crouches at the edge of the Azure Wood. It served as a safe house for soldiers during the Solassi Conquest, and similarly as a healing den for wandering travelers of any kind to take rest. No one knows who built it, but everyone knows that Ma Renda has been keeping it for as long as anyone can remember. Some believe the cottage was built on magical soil beneath the magnificent oak that spans its branches over the cottage. Aside from contributing to Ma Renda and the cottage's longevity, most whisper that the magic oak is responsible for the sometimes miraculous healing that takes place there.
The cottage wants not for coin, but asks of each visitor to give thanks to the tree, the cottage, Ma Renda, or the cottage staff in some way; whether that be gift giving of something precious to the traveler, helping with chores, watering the oak or clearing its dead branches, mending worn-down bits of the architecture, or in an extreme case, massaging Ma Renda's wrinkled, sore feet after a long day of hosting guests.
Those who use the cottage's services but fail to give a gift often leave in fits, or experience terrible luck on their journey out that may sometimes lead to death or insanity. Most visitors, however, heed these legends and, with caring hearts, give back to the cottage as it gave to them without incident.

Alternative Names

Ma Renda's Cottage