Spiderweb
Styx hadn't expected to feel this way about having strangers - fine, teammates - enter their lair for the first time. Annoyance, yes. Intense, skin-prickling irritation, absolutely. Intrigue at what new revelations the lair's tech might discover about them? Certainly. But to feel this intense gratification and... was it pride? at revealing their secret headquarters to another party was something wholly new and unexpected.
Upon entering, Richie had immediately stumbled to a pause, looked up at the massive domed ceiling, and said "whoah" in that artless, unaffected manner that Styx found uncharacteristically difficult to mock. Siren slowed to walk the edge of the room, running her hands along smooth wood grain and jumping slightly as one panel sprang open to greet her with an inscrutable console center. Most gratifyingly of all, Aliena had surveyed the room with narrow cats-eye pupils, lost for words for the first time since Styx had known her. Styx was always proud of their work, their power, their control, but this was different: a glowing warmth in their chest and a little happy rush of gratitude at this unexpected group, the likes of whom Styx would never have expected to find in their city, let alone in their generation. The constant insecurity they had felt since encountering Sirena and her friends was finally matched with a foreign emotion that Styx couldn't quite place their finger on; they wouldn't figure out what it was for some time, but once they did they would realize it was not an emotion itself, but simply the absence of loneliness.
Purpose / Function
Styx found the cavernous space during one of their tunnel adventures at the age of 14, exploring the warren of underground access available to the curious and gutsy among Aerie Island's inhabitants. Originally they just wanted to get around without notice - partly to avoid odd looks at their newfound limp from the paragliding accident, and partly to find sneakier ways of planting bugs throughout high-activity buildings. Upon stepping into the space they immediately realized it could suit their needs for a lair of their own - a highly necessary resource were they to ever expand their skills beyond basic eavesdropping and manipulation. Additionally, by age 14 Styx had already developed a series of nanobots for surveillance but was in desperate need of a better facility in which to develop, test, and replicate millions of them. Over the following winter, Styx cleaned up and renovated the space with some assistance from a local carpenter and architect, both of whom believed they were dealing with the teenage representative of a shadowy Covenant figure. Once the space was done, Styx effectively moved in, reappearing at their parent's home only when surveillance bots picked up on renewed parental concern over their absence. But given how scattered and ditzy their parents are, this isn't often.
Alterations
Styx's first task upon finding and renovating the space was controlling all points of entry and exit; having done so, they went to work rigging satellite connections and radio transmitters throughout the space, disguising any unseemly wires in hanging pendants and industrial-style chandeliers. While all associated tunnels and points of entry received intensive security and biometric technology upgrades, the majority of the alterations occurred in the main room. Styx meticulously mapped out every tunnel offshoot from the cavernous space, and filled in all but 3: one feeding into an underground tunnel connecting Aerie Island and Terminal City, one leading up above ground, and one emerging half-way underwater in the bay. They left these as escape routes in case of emergency and filled in every other entry point.
Within the now-secured lair, Styx covered the circular walls in 8-foot tall wood paneling, a solid dark oak that springs open at a light touch to reveal hidden cabinets behind every panel. Each cabinet has a different purpose: some contain Styx's wardrobe; others various kitchen accoutrement; some even house simple shelves holding board games and books. The most interesting ones, though, contain everything from hidden consoles for the hundreds of nanobot caches hidden throughout the city, to satellite and radio equipment, and even house Styx's hard drives (triple-backed up and wrapped in all the digital and physical protections they could possibly afford.) One particularly intriguing cabinet, when opened, appears to be velvet-lined jewelry storage upon which ten cuffs of varying materials and width sit next to various earring, chain, and ring options. Only Styx knows that beneath the velvet lie complex hidden charging ports, keeping their control consoles all juiced up and ready to go. Styx refuses to use such pedestrian technology as cell phones or "smart" glasses, and controls all their tech from proprietary, disguised, and wholly unique jewelry.
Between the tech connectivity, secret escape hatches, and a quiet agreement with a local delivery boy, Styx could (and has) lived in Spiderweb for months at a time - if not happily, then at least sufficiently.
Within the now-secured lair, Styx covered the circular walls in 8-foot tall wood paneling, a solid dark oak that springs open at a light touch to reveal hidden cabinets behind every panel. Each cabinet has a different purpose: some contain Styx's wardrobe; others various kitchen accoutrement; some even house simple shelves holding board games and books. The most interesting ones, though, contain everything from hidden consoles for the hundreds of nanobot caches hidden throughout the city, to satellite and radio equipment, and even house Styx's hard drives (triple-backed up and wrapped in all the digital and physical protections they could possibly afford.) One particularly intriguing cabinet, when opened, appears to be velvet-lined jewelry storage upon which ten cuffs of varying materials and width sit next to various earring, chain, and ring options. Only Styx knows that beneath the velvet lie complex hidden charging ports, keeping their control consoles all juiced up and ready to go. Styx refuses to use such pedestrian technology as cell phones or "smart" glasses, and controls all their tech from proprietary, disguised, and wholly unique jewelry.
Between the tech connectivity, secret escape hatches, and a quiet agreement with a local delivery boy, Styx could (and has) lived in Spiderweb for months at a time - if not happily, then at least sufficiently.
Architecture
When Styx initially found it, the circular space was more of a juncture than an enclosed cave, offering a domed and reinforced node from which several tunnels radiated back into the water and electric utility network. Despite its proximity to underground water and sewer systems, the lair is slightly elevated from the channels nearby it and has remained dry. There are no direct access points into the lair; the main entry point, and the one Styx uses with teammates and everyone else, is from an innocuous maintenance door off of the elevated walkway overlooking one underground channel. This door leads into a small, rather dank space that appears to be a utility closet; at the back of it, a second door opens up to a jarringly clean and elegantly proportioned foyer, with soft lighting, filtered air, and temperature regulation.
This shift in environment is quite intentional; the filtered air and soft lighting creates the perfect environment for the bio-readers embedded in the walls and floor to recognize returning individuals, tag newcomers, and assess basic biometric markers (height, weight, footprints, gait, iris print, finger prints, blood type, heart rate, hormone levels, basal body temperature, scent markers, hair type, and even estimated familial relation to any previously-encountered individuals.) In the 20-foot long, low ceiling, softly lit foyer, all incoming guests walk through these sensors unknowingly and leave any external gear and weapons in open closets along the walls. By the end of their brief walk, Styx's recognition program has either tagged them to an existing entry or created a new one, including every biometric reading they could possible collect.
Once past the entrance hall, the Spiderweb is a circular, wood-paneled room with elegant wood-and-leather furniture, reflecting Styx's wealthy background and tastes. Every panel along the wall is a hidden cupboard or door; Styx uses them for everything from hard drive access to minifridge storage to empty cupboards into which they shove their teammates when initiating protocol Omega. The arched, domed ceiling has a few small windows high above that allow in daylight, but most of the room is lit with runner lights along the baseboards and elegant hanging industrial lamps. What's most intriguing about the room is what is unseen: biometric reader and environmental gauges, constantly checking ambient temperature, humidity, heart rate of all inhabitants, and every single movement within the round walls (even down to the errant gnat or fly.) The spacious room is furnished comfortably, and a variety of robots emerge from hidden cupboards at Styx's silent commands to clean, serve, relay messages, and regulate air quality in the room; however, at first glance, the room could easily be a boarding school common room or a particularly large and comfortable study for a wealthy academic. The centerpiece of the room, at the opposite end to the entrance, is an elevated platform on which a donut-style table sits with several innocuous monitors to one side and a bare slab to the other. When Styx is in their throne (as they think of it), the entire space lights up with activity and the bare side of the desk becomes a staging area for 3-D visualization and manipulation.
This shift in environment is quite intentional; the filtered air and soft lighting creates the perfect environment for the bio-readers embedded in the walls and floor to recognize returning individuals, tag newcomers, and assess basic biometric markers (height, weight, footprints, gait, iris print, finger prints, blood type, heart rate, hormone levels, basal body temperature, scent markers, hair type, and even estimated familial relation to any previously-encountered individuals.) In the 20-foot long, low ceiling, softly lit foyer, all incoming guests walk through these sensors unknowingly and leave any external gear and weapons in open closets along the walls. By the end of their brief walk, Styx's recognition program has either tagged them to an existing entry or created a new one, including every biometric reading they could possible collect.
Once past the entrance hall, the Spiderweb is a circular, wood-paneled room with elegant wood-and-leather furniture, reflecting Styx's wealthy background and tastes. Every panel along the wall is a hidden cupboard or door; Styx uses them for everything from hard drive access to minifridge storage to empty cupboards into which they shove their teammates when initiating protocol Omega. The arched, domed ceiling has a few small windows high above that allow in daylight, but most of the room is lit with runner lights along the baseboards and elegant hanging industrial lamps. What's most intriguing about the room is what is unseen: biometric reader and environmental gauges, constantly checking ambient temperature, humidity, heart rate of all inhabitants, and every single movement within the round walls (even down to the errant gnat or fly.) The spacious room is furnished comfortably, and a variety of robots emerge from hidden cupboards at Styx's silent commands to clean, serve, relay messages, and regulate air quality in the room; however, at first glance, the room could easily be a boarding school common room or a particularly large and comfortable study for a wealthy academic. The centerpiece of the room, at the opposite end to the entrance, is an elevated platform on which a donut-style table sits with several innocuous monitors to one side and a bare slab to the other. When Styx is in their throne (as they think of it), the entire space lights up with activity and the bare side of the desk becomes a staging area for 3-D visualization and manipulation.
History
When Styx first found the space, the cavernous stone was empty and appeared to be built to architecturally support a network of tunnels. During the renovation process, they found several oddly placed iron stakes drilled into the floor and in a few key positions up into the domed ceiling; they couldn't figure out what they were for though, and so left them alone. The floors are covered in exotic rugs now but the stakes underneath remain. Styx has forgotten about them, for now.
Alternative Names
Styx's Home
Type
Guildhall
Parent Location
Owner
Owning Organization
Related Tradition (Primary)
Related Report (Secondary Locations)
Related Plots