Locations · Establishment · Water
Graymilken Mill
This is your traditional water wheel mill. It is a large grey painted building, next to a river. It has a history though that most people do not know.
This is your traditional water wheel mill. It is a large grey painted building. Next to a river, its massive wooden wheel turns via the current, driving its large stone grinding stones. In goes the various grains, out comes flour and meal.
The miller and his family that lives here, in a building adjacent to the mill, inherited it from the last of the original family, after the New Miller (and he is called the New Miller in these parts, even though he has been doing it for twenty three years now) had fallen on some hard times and his mill had been destroyed.
The Mill has some features that make it unique. It has a number of 'priest holes', places where a person can be hidden and not found during a search. There is also a tunnel under the great wheel. The narrow winding stairs lead down to a small tunnel that leads to the caves in the hills a mile or two away.
The Mill has forever been part of underground trails, smuggling out and protecting those whos religion or blood line has fallen out of favor in The Land. The New Miller was one of those. He was actually escaping on foot, not following the underground trail, when he lucked upon the Mill. The Old Miller, dying of wounds endured while helping others escape, entrusted him with the mill's secrets and deed. The New Miller seems upright and beyond approach, yet deep in the night... he helps those who need to escape oppression.
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A very simple thing, hidden in the background, holds a secret. People will pass over this and over this, but one time, it will come into play.
There is a degree of genius in it's simplicity. The presence of priest holes and the secret tunnel imply a far greater amount of information than we are given leading us to ask questions. For some, they will be put off for that fact that there is no answer as to why the mill has priest holes, or even why they are called priest holes. Others will smile, in their minds they will know why thore features are there.
Priest-Holes is the descriptive term in English for them.
A priest hole is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the Catholic great houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I. Her court passed an act prohibiting a member of the Church of Rome from celebrating the rites of his religion on pain of various punishments. It was even worse for Papist priests.
Now, it was not uncommon for the castles and mansions of England to have some precautions in the event of 'troubles', such as a secret means of concealment or escape that could be used at a moment's notice. Many of these were pressed into service in the houses of the old Roman Catholic families. Hidden rooms became hidden chapels. Other smaller palces (called holes) became artfully contrived hiding-place, not only for the officiating priest to slip into in case of emergency, but also where the vestments, sacred vessels, and altar furniture could be put away at a moment's notice.
Thus the hunt for Priest Holes began in England. And that is where the name came from.
Priest Holes were also built in Colonial Homes in America. Originally used as 'safe places' against Indian Raids or Bandits. More notably, they were used by slave sympathists (abolitionists) to hide Escaping Slaves on the Underground Railroad to the North.
Given that someone is normally oppressing someone, such places would exist in any world.
without giving you a song-n-dance on why I love it, let me say I just DO!! If I did go into a long shpiel, i'd mention the genius&simplicity thing, but Scras once again said it first (and better) *sigh*
Thank heavens for 'random submissions' popping up!
I have to admit. I love the random pop up. It is the first thing I check when I go to the site. Sometimes I just refresh the page, just to see what new pops up.
you should create something around or centering on this location. S&G!
Or you could of tagged it on to it in the comments.
The basic plot utilizing this place:
To utilize this area you need a persecuted peoples, that are generally innocent, that were until recently, perfectly legal law abiding citizens. (Slaves can also be substituted).
This is a stop on an underground rail road for smuggling these people out of the region, to another country that accepts them.
These people are hunted by a) the crown's agents, b) the religion's paladins, or c) magical constructs created for the purpose.
Entangle players as you see fit.
I've always liked this one. So simple, yet a great mood setter.
Well that's more like it! A little place that has the whole foundation to build an adventure around... and introduce some of the world. Short but sweet, I like those.
And vague enough that you can plug in your own issues.
This is the sort of thing I wish we did more of, plug and play components to enhance a world, rather than define some huge chunk, if not all of it.
Found a way to use it.
Concise. Good.
'Follow the Drinking Gourd'