Helping Hand Caravan Company Headquarters

Back in 2nd ed, when Clerics got followers for making 10th level, I had no idea what to do with mine when they arrived.  Being a Cleric of Shaundukal, after much thought, I decided that the ones I received would form the "core" of a merchant caravan that traveled the Dalelands in search of profits and adventure.  This is the home the party built for them.

The Helping Hand Caravan Company Headquarters

Originally established in 1362 DR after Maurith Slindearyl returned from the Island of Sahu, the Helping Hand Caravan Company operated primarily in the Border Forest, Daggerdale, Shadowdale, Mistledale and along the southern coast of the Moonsea.

The Company moved its operations to the Velen Peninsula in Tethyr by direction of Maurith to assist the Coberal Trust Company is the establishment of a trade route leading from Banshee’s Point to the city of Velen roughly 80 miles away.  The Helping Hand Company has become the core of the newly established Coberal Overland Company.

The Company employs 95 lay worshippers of Shaundukal.  In addition to caravan operations, the Company occasionally engages in prospecting operations and provides an escort service for passengers traveling along the routes they follow. 

There are 16 total wagons that carry the cargoes the Company is responsible for.  One wagon is set aside for the Caravan's Administrators, 2 for supplies, and another for tools and personal storage.  Each wagon has an assigned crew consisting of a driver, an alternate driver, 3 guards (walk beside: 2 infantrymen, 1 archer), 1 guard (mounted), 2 Draft Horses and 1 guard dog (per 2 wagons).

The company operates out of a warehouse facility.  The main warehouse is a two-story structure that contains the main office, a chapel dedicated to Shaundukal, a repair station for damaged wagons, a smithy, an armory, a kitchen, private quarters for administrators and a barracks for company employees.  A stable is attached to the warehouse and is large enough to house all the animals used in hauling freight.  A kennel is tucked into a small section of the stable and shelters the guard dogs the company uses as well.

Unless otherwise noted, all ceilings are 15’ high and all structures are built of wood.  All interior spaces are lit by stones enchanted with Continual Flame housed in shuttered lanterns.

Level One

1.  Stables: The stables are located on the north side of the main building.  The stables are a one-floor structure, 50’ wide x 170’ long.  Stalls run along both sides of the building’s interior (15 on the east side, 17 on the west side) for housing the Company’s horses.  Each stall has sufficient room for two horses.  A small loft above each stall on the east side of the building holds riding gear for the guards’ horses and other items required for care of the animals.  The western stalls also sport a loft overhead but these contain the harnesses used to attach the teams of horses to their wagons.  A door at the south end of the stables opens into the storage bay and doors in the center of the north and west walls lead outside.

2.  Kennel:  The kennel is located on the west side of the stables.  It is 10’ wide and 20’ long and its ceiling only rises to a mere 10’.  Eight guard dogs are kept here.  Each dog has its own pen inside the kennel to prevent fighting and unwanted breeding.

3.  Storage Bay: The storage bay, as its name implies, is a massive open space (90’ long x 140’ wide) on the first floor of the main building.  Huge double doors that open wide enough to allow for the simultaneous passage of two wagons stand in the center of both the south and west walls.  A man-sized door near the southeast corner of the building is generally considered to be the main entrance.  Another door in the north wall leads into the stables.  Several smaller enclosed areas are set aside in the bay for specific use.  These areas include the smithy, the repair bay, the armory, the kitchen and the main office.

The Company’s wagons are parked on the north side of the building, just west of the stables and are brought inside for loading and unloading only.

4.  Main Office: This 20’ x 30’ room is tucked into the northeast corner of the storage bay.  A stairway leading upstairs separates it from the kitchen.  Trevor Longhauler, his wife Gabriel, Grumdek Dwarkarews, Thalinor Keenbow, Laereth Mooncloud and Dwodeth Mordmagmar all oversee their aspect of the company’s management from here.  Desks with chairs and filing cabinets hold employee records, the company’s pay records, reports from the field and invoices from previous caravans.  

5.  Smithy:  The smithy is more of an alcove set against the north wall of the storage bay instead of an independent room.  All three of its walls are enclosed with brick and mortar to prevent fires from spreading to the rest of the complex.  A stairway on the outside of the smithy’s east wall leads up to the building’s second floor.  The smithy’s forge is located in the center of its north wall.

6.  Repair Bay: This alcove is located against the north wall between the smithy and the west wall.  It is 30’ across and is well stocked with tools and parts for wagon repair.  The ceiling is reinforced and supports a quartet of block and tackle that can be attached to the company’s wagons via removable clamps capable of lifting wagons off of the floor so work can be accomplished on the undercarriage.  Workbenches and toolboxes stand against all of the exterior walls of this area.

7.  Armory:  The armory is a 20’ long x 30’ wide stone enclosure located in the southwest corner of the storage bay.  Its door is made of stout wood reinforced with iron bandings and is locked at all times.  The guards employed by the Helping Hand store their weapons here when not on the road.

8.  Kitchen:  Located south of the main office and separated from it by a stairway, the kitchen is a 20’ x 30’ room with a door located in the center of its west wall.  The kitchen’s fireplace is located directly across from the door.  Washbasins for dishes and cooking implements are found near the west wall and cabinets for the same line the south wall.  Shelves and cupboards abound to provide additional storage space for dry food.  Most foodstuffs kept in the kitchen are non-perishable.  Perishables are kept in Raven Keep’s cold room and surplus dry goods are kept in the storage bay.

9.  Jake:  There are two jakes on the first floor of the storage bay.  The first is located against the east wall of the armory and the other just east of the north wall’s stairway.

Level Two

All private quarters are 20’ x 20’ and located against the north wall of the complex’s second floor.

1.  Caravan Master & Chief Medic’s Quarters: Trevor Longhauler and his wife, Gabrielle Wolf-friend Longhauler, live here.  The room is still in the process of being decorated except for the couple’s bed and some personal heirlooms.  A closet built into the west wall holds hanging clothes while dressers contain most everything else.  A pair of nightstands flanks the bed and is topped with the room’s lanterns.

2.  Lead Guardsman & Translator’s Quarters: Thalinor Keenbow and Laereth Mooncloud share these quarters.  This room holds two beds, a table with two chairs, and a pair of dressers.  Otherwise, this room is largely bare.  Laereth has installed a bookshelf above his bed and is looking for works to fill it with.

3.  Lead Teamster & Lead Prospector’s Quarters: A pair of dwarves, Grumdek Dwarkarews and Dwodeth Mordmagmar share, this room.  The furniture here (two beds, a desk, and one table with four chairs) is all slightly smaller than in the rest of the rooms.  Stout chests hold the dwarves’ gear and personal tools.  This is the only room in the entire complex lit with normal oil lamps and it is somewhat dimmer because of it.

4.  Chapel to Shaundukal: This is the second largest room on the second floor, measuring 40’ long x 70’ wide.  The walls are decorated with tapestries depicting the powers and portfolios of Shaundukal along with scenes from his mythic history.  Maurith conducts religious services here on the 1st and 6th day of every ride (tenday).  A low dais rises along the east wall.  Two doors lead into the chapel.  The first is located in the center of the north wall and the other is centered in the west wall.  There is also a small curtained section in the northwest corner set aside for private devotions.

5.  Barracks:  This is the largest room on the second floor.  Fully 50’ wide x 90’ long, the barracks can sleep 102 personnel comfortably on its many bunk beds.  Each bunk has a footlocker that is assigned to it.  Games and other diversions are stored on shelves throughout the room.  Three doors provide access to this room.  The first is located in the center of the east wall and the other two are located 40’ to either side of the central door.  Trevor, in an effort to promote a spirit of competition between his employees, has assigned bunks in accordance with wagon teams.

6.  Jake:  There are two jakes on the complex’s second floor.  One is located just outside the west door of the chapel and the other across from the barracks’ northernmost door.