Blackrock Masonry
A sprawling, high-walled compound dominated by a massive stone shed and an open-air yard. The yard is cluttered with raw granite slabs, half-carved pillars, and stacks of slate. Thick moss creeps up the weathered grey walls, and the roof is lined with dozens of grotesque statues that overlook the nearby road with unsettlingly lifelike expressions.
Blackrock Masonry
The air is perpetually hazy with fine stone dust that tastes of salt and mineral. A rhythmic, metallic 'tink-tink-tink' of hammers echoes through the space, creating a heavy sense of industry punctuated by a feeling of being watched from above.
A sprawling, high-walled compound dominated by a massive stone shed and an open-air yard. The yard is cluttered with raw granite slabs, half-carved pillars, and stacks of slate. Thick moss creeps up the weathered grey walls, and the roof is lined with dozens of grotesque statues that overlook the nearby road with unsettlingly lifelike expressions.
Gruff and businesslike, Valerius treats every stone like a living entity. He is deeply protective of his workshop and rarely looks visitors in the eye, preferring to watch their shadows or the roofline.
History
The Stone Inventory
The yard holds a diverse collection of materials, including deep-vein granite from the Northern Crags, porous limestone for decorative trim, and a rare shipment of 'Cloud-Marble' that glows faintly under the light of a full moon. These materials are heavily guarded as their total value exceeds several thousand gold pieces.
Gargoyle Protocols
The sentinels on the roof are tuned to a specific silver whistle carried by Valerius. If the whistle is blown three times in short succession, the 'Guardian of the Eaves' (a modified level 3 creature for this level 2 area) will descend to non-lethally subdue any intruders. Workers are instructed never to point at the statues, as the enchantment is notoriously temperamental.
Active Commissions
The workshop is currently finishing a set of four funerary monuments for the local temple and a series of reinforced basalt lintels for a noble's new wine cellar. A strange, unclaimed crate in the back contains a statue of a weeping woman that no one remembers carving.
Denizens
Gruff and businesslike, Valerius treats every stone like a living entity. He is deeply protective of his workshop and rarely looks visitors in the eye, preferring to watch their shadows or the roofline.
A silent half-orc with powerful shoulders and white-dusted hair who can split a boulder with a single precise strike.
A young human woman responsible for the delicate work of etching runes and inscriptions into the finished stone.
Rumors & Plot Hooks
- 1.One of the gargoyles was seen flying over the town square during the last new moon.
- 2.Valerius hides a cache of precious gems inside a hollowed-out block of granite in the center of the yard.
- 3.The stone dust in the workshop has magical properties that can turn skin into leather if inhaled for too long.
Classified Entry
Only one of the gargoyles is actually a living construct. The others are mundane stone, but they are all linked by a sensory spell that allows Valerius to hear everything whispered in the yard.
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