While I must wait a while to ride horses, pet goats and shear sheep, I decided to grab two gamepacks on the Summer sale. Cheaper, but enough to keep me busy. I already posted a bit about Werewolves GP, and few days ago I also got the Magic GP.
Each of Moonwood Mill and Glimmerbrook comes with just 5 lots. I like to be able to add another corner of my long going kingdom, without needing to fill in tons of new households. Glimmerbrook is part of my Region 8 Ticktop.
Right now I'm done adjusting the 5 lots of Glimmerbrook, so I want to share one of them: Brook Herbarium! I'll obviously keep fine tuning, but am ready for a first tour anyway. This lot is very special to many locals, it holds a public part and a secret part underground, so I'll split this into two articles, starting with what is public...
Brook Herbarium was founded by Countess Andrea back in Year 151, that's exactly 80 years ago. She was not of any magical bloodline and neither did she practice Magic. Her husband, Count Vincent of Ticktop, has weak bloodline and was a Spellcaster for as long as it took him to pass the bloodline on to his 3 children - then he stepped back. There's reason to believe that Countess Andrea was just very interested in anything that grows, especially the herbs. Later, when Brook Herbarium was run by active Spellcasters, the collection was obviously adjusted a bit...
On this lot there is also the old local graveyard, and the build has always been owned by the Tickerton Trust. Btw, Tickerton is the old local name for Ticktop, which includes Tickertown and Glimmerbrok - yes, it's confusing, but it's their history).
Today Count Helfert of Ticktop (47) is controlling the property, but it is Countess Elisabeth (52) who tends the plants. Their 3 children are too young to help out much yet. Helfert is into fishing, and does not enjoy gardening. He is a Spellcaster, while Elisabeth is not. Helfert is also Leader of the Alchemy School, which I'll tell more about in the soon to follow part 2.
The entrance area is small and so far it only contains books, info materiel and a corkboard, plus an easel (not in picture). There is a restroom, and of course the stairs leading up to the gallery.
The spacious room is gently divided into three sections.
All offering various plants, some for decor but there are also some that can be harvested. Free of charge if you are a local. At this point only a few seeds were planted, so the place will get a bit more lush eventually. Visitors can build Gardening skill by helping out in the herbarium.
Above left is Count Elisabeth watering some seeds. The picture to the right shows the same planters but in the opposite direction, you see the Aric corner back there, with a few cactus plants.
Above there are a few old documents on display, almost as if it was a museum. These papers are quite valuable, and it takes some skill to read the handwritten text. Critics have suggested that these treasures should not be stored like this. The humid air might destroy them.
Brook Herbarium wants to provide a natural environment for the plants, so there is no electric lighting. If you visit in night, the room will be nearly as dark as outside. During sunny hours the roof throws delicate patterns everywhere. The lot is not off-the-grid, though, and there is even an old computer for researches.
The study is just for one person, so you shouldn't count on this service instead of having a personal computer at home.
This is a tranquil place, and the graveyard right outside is not very noisy either. But recently the gallery balcony has shown popular for small weddings!
The balcony is just wide enough for a wedding arch, and the management will provide seating for up to 6 guests. Afterwards the party must continue somewhere else.
Before closing this part 1 - below is the old graveyard.
In a few days we'll take a look underground - that's where local Spellcasters go... Then I'll also share a first tidbit of how I organized the Magical Schools.
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