This is the hall of the Red Cow chieftain and the center of his household. It is grander than in many clans because Queen Ivartha the Skinner stays here when she visits, as part of her right to a ‘day-feed.’ The Cinsina preserve this tradition because of the years when the Telmori overran these lands.
Within the hall, chieftain and king meet with the ring, greet visitors to the clan, listen to the com-plaints and concerns of their communities, and hold feasts to celebrate or mourn. When Queen Ivartha is present, the hall becomes crowded.
Perhaps the finest building in Red Cow Fort, the hall is 100 feet long, thirty feet wide, and twenty feet high. The carpenters of Red Cow built the hall strongly with thick-buttressed oak walls and pierced by four doors, one in each long wall, and one at either end. The clan’s artisans carved richly decorated posts, doors, and gables. A louver in the roof lets smoke out and light in. There are also slotted windows high on the eastern wall, but most light comes for the central hearth or torches bracketed to the pillars.
A long fireplace runs through the center of the main hall; Unknown means that it never goes out or runs low on fuel. Murals painted on the wattle and daub depict the struggles of the Cinsina against the Culbrea, Dinacoli, and Telmori. The murals are simple but of high quality. The furnishings are of expert utility — the trestle tables easily bear the weight of the reveler who jumps to them, the firedogs rarely spill their contents into the hearth.
Interior walls partition the hall into four rooms: the hall proper, a kitchen with stone ovens, and the chieftain’s and king’s bedchambers. Retainers sleep on raised platforms that run the length of the hall between the pillars.