Shuf’s Dowment

First Appearance and Context

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. It first comes into view when a walker emerges from the coppice (after harvest, with leaves down) and, crossing what seems a hedge—actually a low stone wall masked by vines—approaches the site.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Retreat and shared workspace: In recent times, the Reformed Old Faanians have used the grounds as a quiet retreat and, meeting no objections, have gradually made themselves more comfortable there. Following an open invitation, more avout began using it as a shared workspace; at busy moments, this hindered private study.
• Personal use: Around this period, Fraa Arsibalt spends much of his time at the dowment and invites a peer to visit.
• Discreet work site: A light‑tight room beneath the building is used as a private place to review a photomnemonic tablet. 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—govern access and can also be used to summon collaborators to converge for a session.
• Ongoing observation from the sub‑cellar: Extended review sessions from the hide recorded repeated midday visits by an Ita technician to the rooftop parapet; later in the same run of visits, the technician wore very dark protective goggles and remained facing the sun during lunch.
• Temporary concealment: When attention from others made movement risky on a fair spring day, the device in use was temporarily buried deeper in the hide under soil and a tarp, to be retrieved later.
• 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.
• 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 alleged that the ROF found or were accumulating treasure in the cellars; exploration aims to dispel such talk by making the empty spaces known.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Condition above ground: The small stone shell has 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 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 rusty floor plate and a short ladder contains only carved graffiti. In the remotest, soil‑filled reaches, loose earth allowed a temporary burial of a small object several feet deep using a shovel kept there.
• 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. On clear days the nearby paths can be crowded; those seeking discretion vary their route through the back of the coppice and watch for the door‑ajar “all clear.” The ground‑floor room includes a back exit.

Current Status/Location

A decayed, long‑standing site near the page‑tree coppice outside the concent. 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. During the same period it has seen heavier footfall as a shared workspace among avout, making discreet access more challenging on fair days.