Angel Lake

The main entrance hall

Angel Lake is a leisure hall owned and operated by Alison Ravenmane, one of the more well-known adventurers of the city of Absalom. It is situated in the Foreign Quarter, putting it in the perfect location for a visit from tourists, and also for people of different means and income to visit, compared to if it was somewhere like the Ivy District.

The employees of Angel Lake come from various walks of life, and its owner does not discriminate based on background, race, or anything else, provided that the person doesn't have evil intentions. Both young nobles trained in the fine arts and peasants from the Puddles, trained by more experienced performers, are allowed to perform. Those without a place to stay but a desire to earn it are encouraged to visit and be trained, so they can earn their keep and stay in the bunks that Alison had installed for that very purpose. While there are nobles who work at Angel Lake, the vast majority of the workers are slaves purchased and then freed by Alison, people she's saved during her adventures who have nowhere else to go, and simple peasants from the Puddles who struggle to find work due to their status.

Angel Lake currently houses thirty-five well-equipped and well-trained guards, a bard, a wizard, a druid, a quintet of bureaucrats to handle legal matters, a dressmaker, four cooks, five groundskeepers, a cleric of Shelyn, five waitstaff, five cleaners, a makeup artist, and nine dancers, four of whom were rescued from death by Alison and a group of friends.

## Entrance

    The entrance to Angel Lake has a decidedly natural aesthetic. The courtyard is surrounded by a tall, black metal fence adorned with ivy and flowers across its length, embedded in clean, 2ft-high stone with spaced pillars every meter. There is only one entrace, an arbour that matches the aesthetic of the rest of the fence. It is manned by two receptionists who handle giving and receiving tickets, as well as a pair of guards to keep watch and handle any disputes.

Past the arbour is the courtyard proper, where the second main feature of the performance hall can be seen: water features. It is a large, natural area spotted with trees, patches of flowers, and fountains, though one is particularly notable, as it is dominated by the image of three goddesses, namely Shelyn, Arshea and Milani.

The main entrance hall is a sight to behold. A glass ceiling provides plenty of light and a view of the stars at night, while flower-covered chandeliers lit by magic provide illumination when the sky turns dark. Palm trees flank a low pool of water where various flowers float. There are tables and chairs for people to sit if they wish to enjoy the view before moving into the building proper. Two more guards await here.

## Grounds

     While the leisure hall itself is the main reason to visit Angel Lake, the grounds can be another reason for those more inclined to nature. The natural area is carefully maintained by a team of groundskeepers as well as a druid, so visitors can walk its grounds and see some nature without having to worry about their safety, or rest their legs and take in the sights. Fittingly, there is an artifically-created lake behind the building filled with non-dangerous fish.

Near the entrance to the entire property itself is a small guard post and armoury for the guards to rest and arm themselves, in case of needing to do so. While Angel Lake is primarily a leisure hall, it is also fortified to serve as a small fortress in case of another incursion similar to Rovagug's attack a decade ago. As such, four guards patrol the fences, four more patrol the courtyard, and another five guards specially trained for fighting in the wilderness keep watch over the gardens.

## Main Building & Dance Hall

Naturally, the main building is the main attraction. The entrance takes a more typical design, with wooden panel flooring and red carpets, edged with white stone to prevent wood rot from the water features. The wooden walls match the floors, though lining the sides of the pathway are tiny, controlled waterfalls that feed into channels at the edges of the corridor, filling the area with the serene sound of flowing water. Two guards stand at rest here.

Upon entering, there are three paths to take: left, right, and straight ahead, through a pair reinforced, wooden double doors. Past the doors, there are two sets of stairs, with one going upwards and the other going down. Both sets of stairs lead to the main hall in their own way.

    The main draw is, of course, the performance hall, and it is part of Angel Lake's namesake, unique when compared to typical auditoriums. A large, stone stage dominates the centre of the room, decorated with red carpet, and a shell-like glass sculpure at the top. A lift-like wooden platform, operated by magic, sits behind a pair of curtains, which raises up from the dressing rooms below. This lift can be raised up to the platform around the shell, which can also be reached through two stairways to either side of the main stage entrance. It is what surrounds the stage that sets it apart, however, and gives Angel Lake is name.

Rather than seats or plain flooring surrounding the stage, there is instead water, carefully fed through channels in the wooden walls, which are treated to avoid damage from the water. Atop the water sit small gondolas, which can be guided by magic or by hand, and are sent off from a small, indoor dock at the bottom of the downward stairs. The other options for seating are more typical booths that line the walls, reached through the upward stairs. Above the hall is a glass ceiling that lets light filter in, but an also be covered if the performance necessitates its own lighting. Five more guards stand ready in the booths, keeping a vigilant eye.

## Public Wing

Before entering the double doors that lead to the performance hall itself, there are two other paths, leading to the two other wings of the building. The one on the right is for customers, and has various facilities for their use, and also for the relaxation of employees when they're off-duty. The first area encountered is a rather plain sitting room, with chairs and sofas for relaxation, as well as a few shelves with books on various topics, from fiction, to religion, to history. Naturally, there are also toilets hooked up to Absalom's sewer system, two for men and two for ladies. There are also two more guards here. From here, there are three more exits. One leads to the gardens described above.

The second exit goes downwards through a well-lit corridor, towards a hotter area of the hall. Here can be found something that Alison was inspired to add by her closest friend, Marianne. There are two varieties of relaxation to be found here, each with three rooms split between male, female, and mixed. The first are the saunas, while the second are the artificially-created hot spring baths. Each room is split down the middle between wooden panelling and worked stone, and then more natural, unworked stone.

     The final exit leads to the bar and restaurant held within Angel Lake, a brightly-coloured room that truly pays homage to the rainbows of Shelyn and Arshea with its loud colours and decorated walls. There is only one guard here. The restaurant serves a variety of foods both regular and vegetarian, and the bar serves alcohol past 3pm. The downstairs walls are decorated with magical lights and images of vegetation, while the upstairs has a more classic, wood-panelled aesthetic with more of Angel Lake's trademark water features.

## Staff Wing

The western wing of Angel Lake is open only to staff, who all carry a key to the reinforced, locked door. The first room upon going through the door is a common staff room for employees to relax in private when they're on break. There is one guard in the common room, to make sure that nobody sneaks in where they shouldn't be. Past that are five rooms, all aligned in one corridor where there are two guards. Opposite the first is the infirmary, which has a small altar to Shelyn, and is where the cleric spends most of her time. Next to that is the laundry room, connected to the seamstress' workshop.

At the end of the hallway are three more paths. The one on the left leads to the baths and showers, while straight ahead is Alison's office, shared with her guard captain, which holds a mixed altar to her three godesses. The captain can usually be found there, guarding the office himself. The path on the right heads underground, beneath the performance hall, to the dressing rooms, where the makeup artist can be found, as well as two more guards, whose genders match the dressing rooms.

Since it is partially designed for defence, there is a secret escape route within Angel Lake. The mens bath has a secret door, behind which is a tunnel that leads into the sewers of Absalom. The way to open the door is known only to Alison, the captain of the guard, Marianne, and Charlie.

## Employee Gallery

Asen, the Sylph Wizard. Arrogant, but not overly so, and charming when he wants to be.Thanzi, the Drow seamstress. Exacting and noble, but she's well-meaning at heart.Ceday, the Half-Orc Druid. Shy and struggles with the crowds, but she loves the dances.Raisha, the Human Cleric of Shelyn. Cheerful and motherly, but can be stern when necessary.Sotan, the Tiefling Bard. Sweet and approachable, but tricky with her words.Karru, the Human captain of the guard. Serious, but reasonable and accomodating.The Angel Lake guard uniform.The Angel Lake garden guard uniform.