City Image - Three Pines

Three Pines is a good sized Dwarventi Hold built into the large granite side of the mountain - its heart stone as the Dwarves say. It is not far off the Far Eastern end of the Great Road, along the Kin Side Mountains. The road leading to the Three Pines is fairly well maintained, especially strange given the normally reclusive nature of the Dwarventi in the region. Three Pines is their 'grand city' and the only place they trade from. Only one clan 'owns' this region, and every branch of the clan has hall at Three Pines.

Three Pines is identified by two notable features. The first is the three tall pines just a stones throw from the main gate. Three towering pine trees does not sound that impressive until you realize they are carved of stone. They are so lifelike that until you look at them closely, you would assume they are stone transformed trees. The stone is stained slightly to have greyish green needles, greyish brown bark, and even greyish red Redbirds. The detail is impressive even by Dwarventi standards.

The Hold Doors are the other feature. They are four Dwarventi tall (16-18 feet, 5-6 meters). They will open effortlessly because of counterweighting inside the hinging. The locking bars slide home with the effort of a child. The doors themselves are made of beaten copper, silver, and gold, laid over some thick ironwood. The image is a thing to behold in the setting sun; three shining pines that echo the three stone pines. It is textured and placed so artistically, it makes Three Pines one of the wonders of the Known World.

The doors open to a narrowing corridor, defensive as always. The tree motif is followed down the wall with thick plaster relief murals. The stones that make up the walkway are large, smooth and put together without mortar. When you get to the central square hall, it is another breathtaking site. It is like you are in a cathedral of tall trees. (They are foreshorten to appear hugely tall, though the hall is merely four dwarves tall.) The mock trees are made of stone and expert plaster work, with preserved pine needles. The mock sky shifts from day to night behind the 'trees'. The sky is lit at night by bright stars, enough to see well by. (no one will reveal this mechanism). There are dozens of tables and 'camp fire' pits in this large central hall. (The floor is a beautiful stone mosaic, almost perfectly smooth, but with enough texture to keep you from slipping). An Elventi might actually feel at home here.

Each of the four sides leads to home halls for each of the clan families. Once you get past the central square, it becomes more traditional Dwarventi in design. However, these corridors still 'echo' the forest motif here. Here the relief murals are carved into the stones of the wall. The finishing stones are all connected with such precision that they are morterless. The halls look like traditional Dwarventi Home Halls, with private chambers, work rooms, and storage off those halls - entries are normally hidden behind tapestries or screens. Each has a traditional hearth with the clan glyph in gold or silver above it.

There is undoubtable several passageways that lead to underground paths that lead to other Holds, but no Human is privy to their location.

At any given time there are about 1100 souls here, so it is not a City by Human Standards, but it is by Dwarventi Standards.