Shuf’s Dowment

Shuf’s Dowment is an ivy‑snarled ruin situated near the coppice of page trees on the rise between the Decade Gate and the Century Gate of the Concent of Saunt Edhar.

First Appearance and Context

It is first noted when a walker in the coppice—after harvest, with leaves down—looks out from the trees and sees the ruin in plain sight near the coppice’s eastern limit. Approaching it involves crossing what appears to be a hedge that proves to be a low stone wall masked by vines.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Retreat: In recent times, the Reformed Old Faanians have taken to using the grounds as a quiet retreat and, meeting no objections, have gradually made themselves more comfortable there.
• Personal use: Around this period, Fraa Arsibalt is said to spend much of his time at the dowment and invites a peer to visit.
• Boundary legacy: A low stone wall that once bounded the coppice is credited to Shuf’s Lineage; it seems to have been intended to elicit a sense of trespass in those who crossed it. People living beyond it later “broke the lineage,” and the wall was left to decay under ivy and the work of ants.
• Discreet work site: A light‑tight room beneath the building has been used in practice as a private place to view a photomnemonic tablet. When needed, simple signals—such as the arrangement of books in the bay window, and whether the cellar‑door at the top of the stairs is left ajar—indicate whether the interior is unattended.
• Cellar exploration: Fraa Arsibalt undertakes a long‑running exploration of the buried spaces below and shares that a small sub‑basement can be reached through a rusty floor plate and a short ladder. It holds no treasure—only old graffiti.
• Legends and rumors: Stories tell of a vaulted sub‑basement where the lineage stored gold; if any such vault ever existed, it was likely found and emptied during the Third Sack. In recent years, rumors have alleged that the ROF found or were accumulating treasure in the cellars; exploration aims to dispel such talk by making the empty spaces known.
• Popular shared workspace: Following an open invitation from Fraa Arsibalt, more avout began using the dowment as a shared workspace; at times its rooms were busy enough to impede private work.
• Ongoing observation from the sub‑cellar: Extended review sessions of tablet recordings from the sub‑cellar documented repeated midday visits by an Ita technician (Sammann) to a rooftop parapet; later in the same run of visits, the technician appeared with very dark protective goggles and remained facing the sun during lunch.

Relationships

• Namesake and history: Closely tied to Shuf and to Shuf’s Lineage, which is remembered for the boundary wall associated with the site.
• Community setting: Lies just outside and in sight of the Concent of Saunt Edhar, between the Decenarian and Centenarian interval gates.
• Current users: Informally associated with the Reformed Old Faanians through their use of the grounds as a retreat; frequented by Fraa Arsibalt in this period.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Condition: An ivy‑snarled ruin; structures above ground have been refitted inside by ROF carpenters, with wooden floors and paneled walls, a hearth, and a large north‑facing bay window forming a deep, comfortable alcove. Despite these comforts, it is described as cold in winter.
• Substructure: Beneath the small stone shell lies a confusing network of cellars built up over generations. One chamber to the right of the stair is kept by the ROF for wine and a set of silver table‑service used on special occasions; beyond that, the cellars are largely reclaimed by soil and remain a wilderness. A tight, vaulted sub‑basement reached through a hatch contains only carved graffiti.
• Grounds and approach: The way in crosses a hedge‑like tangle that hides a low stone wall turned trellis. Nearby earth shows traces of gardening—such as freshly dug potato patches. The ruin stands across the river from the concent’s meadow, above a small bridge and near the page‑tree coppice.

Current Status/Location

A decayed, long‑standing site near the page‑tree coppice outside the Concent of Saunt Edhar. The refitted room above is used quietly as a retreat by the ROF; the cellars below are mostly neglected except by those exploring and mapping them. In this period the building also sees heavier footfall as a shared workspace among avout.