The Tourist Information Pavilion

Overview

The Tourist Information Pavilion—affectionately called “the Pavilion” and jokingly “the Fourth Gate”—is Leolin Bay’s bright, welcoming civic hub for newcomers entering the city. Located just beyond the Great Gates, it serves as the counterbalance to the stern Excise Office: a place of orientation, guidance, and hospitality.

Here, bewildered travellers receive maps, learn how not to get lost in the Spire, discover the city’s festivals, hire licensed guides, recover lost items, and find answers to questions they didn’t realise they had.

It is the smiling face of the capital—polished, colourful, and meticulously curated.

HISTORY

The Pavilion grew from a simple wooden kiosk where a single clerk once handed out crude city sketches. As Leolin Bay expanded into a world-class capital, civic planners recognised the need for a formal welcome centre.

The Pavilion was constructed during the reign of Queen Meradia Virellion as part of a citywide initiative to improve traveller safety, public organisation, and district navigation. Over the years it expanded to include a festival registry, guide services, safety bulletins, and an increasingly elaborate animated city model that has become a minor attraction in its own right.

ARCHITECTURE & LAYOUT

Exterior

The Pavilion stands out among the Gate Ward’s stone structures with its:

• white limestone walls trimmed in deep blue
• tall arched windows
• mosaic tilework depicting Leolin Bay’s coastline
• banners bearing the city crest
• benches for weary travellers
• a slowly rotating “WELCOME TO LEOLIN BAY” sign powered by a tiny, safe Aether fan-pattern

Warm lighting and colourful decoration make it impossible to miss.

Interior Structure

Welcome Hall

A bright, airy chamber filled with:

• a large relief map of Leolin Bay dominating the main wall
• pamphlet stands arranged by district
• model Zephyrships suspended from the ceiling
• the bustling “Ask Me Anything” counter staffed by Pavilion clerks

Soft mana-lamp lighting gives the space a calm, golden glow.

Animated City Model — “Little Leolin”

A glass-enclosed miniature of the city showing:

• drifting Zephyrships
• moving riverboats
• flickering illumination in each district

The enchantment is imperfect but beloved. Zephyrships occasionally drift into mountains; the Palace sometimes rotates a few degrees for no reason. Children adore it.

Information Counters

Designated desks for:

• Map Services
• City Events
• District Safety
• Guide Registration
• Lost & Found
• Travel Assistance & Translations

Clerks here are fast, multilingual, and trained in conflict resolution.

“Know Before You Go” Hallway

A long corridor lined with illustrated boards explaining:

• the dangers of the Umbral Spire
• etiquette in the Palace District
• temple protocols at the Church of the Lifestar
• safe vs. unsafe bridges at night
• how to recognise legitimate Peacekeepers
• essential laws for visitors

Travellers often spend longer here than intended, taking furious notes.

Registry of Guides

A booking desk coordinating licensed tour guides, including:

• historians
• nature specialists
• performers offering themed tours
• translators
• “danger wardens” for risky districts
• luxury shopper-guides for nobles

The Pavilion earns a commission from every booking.

Lost & Found Alcove

A cluttered, oddly charming space full of:

• scarves
• bags
• trinkets
• ribbons
• children’s toys
• forgotten locks and keys
• misdelivered parcels
• confused messenger birds

A harmless illusion charm rings when someone correctly identifies an item.

STAFF & CULTURE

Renna Sawstich — Senior Clerk

A cheerful force of nature celebrated for:

• impeccable knowledge of Leolin Bay’s geography
• boundless hospitality
• gentle but firm crowd management
• uncanny memory for faces

Talia is the unofficial face of the Pavilion and the person travellers trust most.

Other Staff

• Map Scribes producing hand-finished cartographic prints
• Greeters skilled in multiple languages
• Tour Brokers matching visitors with appropriate guides
• Safety Wardens offering personalised travel briefings
• Archivists maintaining the city’s official festival calendar

All clerks are instructed to always smile, no matter the chaos.

SERVICES

Free Services

• Basic maps
• District summaries
• Festival calendars
• Travel advisories
• Safety warnings
• Lost & Found
• Translation assistance for simple phrases

Paid Services

• Detailed chromatic maps
• Private city tours
• Zephyrship skydeck viewing tickets
• District-specific itineraries
• High-risk escort services
• Luxury travel planning
• Advanced translation and documentation help

ATMOSPHERE & FEATURES

The Pavilion is warm, colourful, and bustling, with:

• gentle background music from a mana-crank music box
• the scent of citrus oil used “to calm crowds”
• walls decorated with art from local guilds
• clusters of travellers eagerly studying city maps
• children pressing their faces to the Animated City Model
• clerks darting between desks with well-practised speed

It is intentionally designed to feel safe and inviting.

RUMOURS & CURIOSITIES

• Some clerks claim the animated city model updates itself based on real events.
• The Spire safety pamphlet keeps disappearing—someone steals them in batches.
• A guide on the registry accepts unusual forms of payment.
• One of the wall maps shows a district that supposedly no longer exists.
• A lost spindle-flecked trinket in the Alcove seems to shift colour under moonlight.
• Talia Merron may be descended from one of Leolin Bay’s founding cartographers.

PLOT HOOKS

• Missing Tourist: A visitor vanished after booking a guide into the Umbral Spire.
• Faulty Illusion: The animated city model displays a new structure that does not exist on any real map.
• Sabotaged Itinerary: A noble’s travel plan was secretly altered, igniting a political scandal.
• False Guide: Someone impersonating a licensed city guide has disappeared with a tour group.
• Curious Lost Item: A “misplaced” object in the Alcove is actually an artefact of value or danger.
• Diplomatic Escort: A visiting dignitary seeks a discreet escort through the city.
• Encoded Pamphlet: A festival leaflet contains a coded message not written by Pavilion staff.

IN-WORLD QUOTES

A tired traveller:
“Bless the Pavilion—finally someone who doesn’t want to search my bags.”

A merchant:
“Maps, guides, advice… it’s the one place in the Gate Ward without shouting.”

A Peacekeeper:
“If the Excise Office scares you, go to the Pavilion. Talia will explain everything twice and smile while she does it.”

A frustrated visitor:
“They said the Umbral Spire was ‘colourful’. They didn’t mention the screaming.”

A child:
“The little ships! They fly! And sometimes they crash and everyone laughs!”