The Sluice Scriptorium
The Sluice Scriptorium is a working copy-house in Locksward, set above a tide-lock whose slow movement travels through the floating floor. It has twelve copying desks, a glass-covered wet stack, a lock-keeper’s office with a view of the gates, and a lead-lined vault for sealed bundles. Its papers have never been lost to water, though the copyists cannot say with certainty why.
The Sluice Scriptorium
- Type
- Copying-house and document…
- Condition
- Well-Maintained
- Size
- Medium
- Run by
- Ansel
Overview
The Sluice Scriptorium is a working copy-house in Locksward, set above a tide-lock whose slow movement travels through the floating floor. It has twelve copying desks, a glass-covered wet stack, a lock-keeper’s office with a view of the gates, and a lead-lined vault for sealed bundles. Its papers have never been lost to water, though the copyists cannot say with certainty why.
Atmosphere
The floor gives a gentle, steady sway beneath the desks, while water murmurs through the lock below. Wax, damp stone, and fresh ink mingle in the air. Copyists keep their voices low, as if the shelves might hear them, and the vault’s cold breath reaches the hall whenever its door opens.
Style
A practical canal-side copying-house of dark timber and brick, built directly over the tide-lock. Its floating floor rides the water’s slow rise and fall. Lead sheeting and waxed seams line the dry rooms; broad windows in the lock-keeper’s office overlook the gates.
What stands out
History
The house was built to serve the clerks, traders, and engineers whose work depends on Locksward’s canals and gates. Its builders lined the rooms with lead and wax to keep out damp, then set the desks on a floating floor so the lock’s motion would not crack the structure. Over time, the Scriptorium also became a quiet place for copying private texts and storing documents that should not travel through the market openly.
- Copying Services
Twelve desks stand on a timber floor that floats just above the tide-lock’s movement. Copyists work from dawn until the evening gates close, taking commissions from merchants, engineers, private collectors, and travelers. Clients may bring their own texts or request a certified copy; the house records ordinary commissions, but Tarn accepts some work outside that system.
- Collections and Storage
The wet stack holds fragile documents beneath glass, with each sheet set on a dry backing before it is copied. The lead-lined vault is reserved for sealed bundles and stays cold even when the scriptorium is warm. Only the keeper and the senior copyist can authorize access. No one agrees on why the papers remain dry, though the lead-and-wax lining is maintained with scrupulous care.
- House Practice
The lock-keeper watches the gates from a narrow office beside the main room. Before carrying a sealed bundle onward, visitors can compare its seal with any accompanying tally and ask the copyists who handled it. The Scriptorium has no guards of its own, but its position above a working lock makes hurried entry or exit difficult when the gates are moving.
People
4 peopleSenior copyist and day-to-day keeper of the ScriptoriumAnsel Lawful and methodical, with a growing habit of questioning texts he once accepted without hesitation.
Copyist of tide-lock treatisesAnsel A careful, even-tempered human copyist who works on treatises about tide-locks. Recently, Ansel has started disputing the claims he copies, marking contradictions in the margins before catching himself.
Copyist of privately owned spellsIlsa A neutral gnome who copies spells brought from private collections. She is precise about the text and discreet about its owners, and asks no questions about either.
Unregistered copyistTarn A quiet human who copies whatever is put before him, including work that never enters the Scriptorium’s commission register. He once copied an unlabeled ledger that has never been shelved.
Rumours
Secret
Media
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