The Pleasure Palace of Kithannis

Image by Mohammed Noureddini, source

In the baking dry foothills of the Emirate of Nithia among the rocky cliffs there is a palace, a hidden retreat for sheiks, beys, emirs and their closest friends and lovers. The Pleasure Palace of Kithannis was created over a hundred years ago by Sheik Kithannis Al'Deraani, a local ruler who paid lip-service to the Eternal Truth but was actually put off by the constant emphasis on moral rectitude, temperance and chastity. So Kithannis maintained his upright appearance while at his main palace in Tel Al Kebir but could let his hair (and various items of clothing) down when at this pleasure palace he created. He also invited trusted friends including fellow nobles of Ylaruam and soon it became an open secret among courts of the various Emirs. 

In the palace are harem chambers, often occupied by beautiful women, bed chambers, swimming pools, feasting halls and kitchens, as well as rooms with art, books, scrolls and musical instruments. Kithannis took a broad view of pleasure, and considered a well-cooked meal or a hilarious jester just as part of his pleasure palace as the more obvious pleasures of the flesh in the harem. He often brought bands of musicians along to play for him and his guests. There is a room converted to a gallery that holds pictures by the Alphatian artist Derrisari who used magical illusions to either make pictures seem three-dimensional or even moving (though in a short, preset pattern, like a magical GIF). Although food needs to be brought in from outside, there is a well in the central courtyard that brings fresh water. The well is extremely deep, and it connects to an ancient subterranean river. This keeps the guests and the courtyard garden watered. 

One thing that Kithannis excluded was religion. There are no shrines, religious books or holy symbols here - this palace was built as an escape from what Kithannis saw as oppressive bossiness of religion. Some say he may have been influenced by his stay in Glantri.  However, he was no lover of violence or sadism, and he did not want people hurting others, so the pleasure palace is patrolled by 4 amber golems in the form of huge leopards. There is believed to be a silver and ruby rod that enables the wielder to command the golems, but even without specific instructions the golems will approach and try to intervene if someone is hurting someone else, using lethal force as a last resort. 

These days the palace is run by an enterprising wizard, Tar'Shaan Al'meria (human female, 14th level MU, Neutral). She hires all but the basements out to noblemen for parties or personal rest and recreation. The basements are her own domain - no visitors allowed. Although she never lets on, she now has the rod that commands the amber golems. She also has a number of human staff for housekeeping, cooking and gardening. None of them are armed or armoured - they leave the guarding to the golems. 

As well as its primary role as somewhere for the rich and noble to relax and enjoy themselves, the palace has also become something of a neutral meeting place where important matters can be discussed away from the prying eyes of courtiers and functionaries. Trade deals, peace treaties, arranged marriages and the like have all been hammered out here, and the presence of the amber golems makes assassinations unlikely. There is a story of a nobleman who hired a mage to summon an invisible stalker to slay a guest staying at the palace. Amber golems can see invisible things, and the invisible stalker was intercepted and destroyed by the golems - the first the guests knew about it was two of the golems pawing at something invisible that was shrieking like the desert wind. At the request of the guest, Kithannis used the rod to order one of the golems to find and kill the mage that summoned the stalker (the intended victim knew who the summoner was). It did so, returning a few weeks later with the body of the mage in its amber jaws. 

Although the pleasure palace does not contain a great deal of coins, it has many luxury and artistic items that could be valuable on the market. The amber golems are also instructed to stop anyone from taking any of these items off the premises - only the wielder of the silver and ruby rod can overrule this instruction. Furthermore the current owner, Tar'Shaan, has a spell given to her by a grateful Alphatian mage, Greater Locate Object (6th level MU spell), which functions much like the 2nd level spell but with a range of 10 miles per level. If she knows an item is missing from the palace, she can generally track it down quickly and deal with the thief.