City Image - Keepr

Keepr is a unique city, built upon a tall standing rock spire. This keeps it up above the floods, the worms, and the other 'issues' that occur at ground level. People came here to acquire the resources this region has to offer, despite the dangers. Years since the first came, this base camp has become not a village or town, but an actual city.

The city, when seen from a distance, has the appearance of shelf mushrooms growing on a tall rock outcropping. The stone is a light golden color of most of the large rocks in the region. At sunset (and at a distance) the spire is said to be quite beautiful.

As one gets closer, one sees the various round extensions made of the dark greyish hardwoods of the area. The outside of most sections have patio and verandas. There is no glass in the windows, only blinds drawn as needed. Nothing dangerous flies in these parts, and the cooling breezes high up help fight the stiffling temperatures of the region.

As one approaches the base of the spire, the first thing noticed is the keep walls made all the way around the base. These are tall walls of large wooden logs supported and reinforced. There are gates dispersed around the keep walls. Water levels permitting, they are guards out on the walls to let people in and keep the local issues out.

Two thick round stone doors can bar the entrance to the city. As one enters the large cool stone hallway, relief from the heat can be felt. The floor is smooth from all the use it has gotten. The entrances to all the various hallways off the main corridor echo the round pattern of the entrance stones which are rolled into place.

The hallways here lead to either storage hall areas or hallways that lead to stairs to higher levels. No one lives at these levels. There are no businesses at the base beyond the buying of collected things and the storage of said thing for later shipping.

There are lifts here, but only those with money to spare can afford to use them for personal use.

As one rises in the spire, one reaches the Old Camp area. This is an area of outfitters, bars, foodmakers, and crafters. The walls that face the hallways here echo the building fronts of other more civilized areas. There is light here from occasionally posted lamps (with ventilation coming from a number of water driven fans). It is dark, smoky, and musty here, despite the plants brought here.

Above Old Camp, the shelves begin. Shelves are generally accessed from hallways carved from the rock. Some have stairways along the outside of the spire, a few have ropes, which allow you to get around withouth entering the spire.

Each shelf is circular in general shape, either a half circle or three quarter circle shape, with main supports fanning out from the spire benith it. Inside a shelf, the corridors are either straight spokes, or round rims. The rooms inside them have a round half arch shape, (like a piece of pizza slided in half widthwise), and a general area of 400 to 600 square feet on average. Rooms on outside blocks are bigger than ones on inside arcs. Some of the larger rooms have been subdivided over time, as families, groups, or businesses have taken them over. Interior rooms get light from either lamps or skylights. (Usually each shelf has two or three rim hallways, thus two or three blocks of interior rooms, with one larger block of exterior rooms).

All the exotic woods here are stained and polished to a metal smooth degree. The older the shelf, the more likely it has some intricate carved details, as older shelfs have had more time to be worked on. The floors and ceilings are the local common wood, strong, easy to dry, and becomes a nice dark gray with a little work. The walls here are thick resin hardened woven mats strung tight between supporting wood beams, occasionally reinforced with timbers. The reason for the mats is to save weight. Some people use similar mats on their floors to protect them. Doorways are normally sliding wood panels.

Plants are a decoration here. There is a huge variety of plant life around the city and not all of it has 'complications'. A few domesticated fronds and flowers adorn the area. Not only do they make the area more beautiful, but they keep the air nicer.

The looks of the rooms is generally Balinese or Indonesian. Dark beautiful woods, woven mats (but ours are hard as a piece of thick plywood), and open feels. The woodwork is exceptional here, as their business is exotic woods and similar materials.
Need help visualizing? www.indo.com/ services/garisbali/ or
www.bali-hotels-special.com/ hotels/tanjungsari/ or
www.bali-hotels.co.uk/ Villa_Canggu_Indonesia.html

Most shelves are a mix of sleeping areas and business spots. (Any business or craft that requires fire must be performed inside the spire.)
It is all ramshackle in approach, making finding things difficult even for natives.

A few major business people even own entire shelves as their private domains. They serve as housing and office space for their goods. If only one owner has a shelf, they are the law there.