Auditor's Rest [Cottage Chest]

The Auditor's Rest is a modified Cottage Chest/Portable Cottage owned by the yuan-ti adventurer, accountant-auditor, and apprentice of Ichabod Crane, Shiszih. It has been modified to a higher standard, noticeably nicer than the common version of the Cottage Chest item. Even though it is owned by Shiszih, Ichabod Crane often (is allowed to) takes it over while the two are traveling together.

In it's compact form, the Auditor's Rest resembles a fine leather briefcase - it can function as a Bag of Holding for papers, books, ledgers, document folders, and scrolls - those items placed in the Auditor's Rest in briefcase form appear in the Office when it is in its Cottage form.  It also stores quills, ink bottles, and assorted other stationary supplies. When accessed by Shiszih or Ichabod Crane, the Breifcase also functions as a 'fax' machine between the item and Ichabod's office - able to send and receive to a matching (non-transforming) briefcase kept by Ichabod.

Like the standard version of the item, the Auditor's Rest transforms into a two story cottage that is 40 feet wide and 65 feet long and two stories tall with a pitched roof, but has a few notable differences both on the inside and outside of the structure.  The structure unfolds from inside the Briefcase when placed on an appropriately flat and level ground, and upon unfolding the Briefcase can then be found in the office on a shelf by the desk. See below for description of Office on the second floor.

The outside of the Auditor's Rest is of a much higher quality than the standard version, with appears as a 'woodland cottage.' This enhanced version appears as more of a fine retreat one might find overlooking a lake. High quality shuttered windows, some of stained glass, and a beautiful French entrance door. A concealed door has been added to the rear of the structure, near the stairway that leads up to the second floor.

The first floor also has the improved kitchen area with a roasting spit, oven, stove, sink with a Endless Water source, pantry, and prep tables. Normal food items can be placed and stored in the pantry. Like the normal version of the item, the Auditor's Rest produces baked goods automatically, but Unseen Servants can be summoned (by a caster) to improve the kitchen's functionality using the food goods stored in the pantry. Adjacent to the kitchen is a grand leopardwood and lacewood dinning table with seating for twelve comfortably, overhung by two glass and gold chandeliers. There is a small privy next to the concealed rear door, and a writing desk next to that with windows looking out back.

The other half of the 1st floor is set up as a comfortable den and library space with multiple couches situated in an arc in front of the hearth. Rows of built-in shelves filled with books and scrolls on accounting, auditing, financial planning, tax law, and other related studies line both sides of the area. A game-table and two arm chairs are situated near the desk, along with several beautiful potted flowering plants spread throughout the first floor in both the den area and dinning space. Lastly, a single floor-standing mirror sits near the main door - to identify vampires.

Up the staircase in the back, leads to the second floor living and working accommodations, accessed through a single hallway running down the middle of the structure. The first room directly in front of the stairwell is the guest bedroom featuring three basic, but sturdy, full sized beds, four wardrobes, a mid-sized valuables chest and a basic bath and privy room with running water for the sink and bath, magically heated as desired. 

At the end of the hall are the two suites belonging to Shiszih, and her master Ichabod Crane. Identical in size, and differing only by layout of furniture and accessories. Shiszih's room is appointed with simply designed but finely made furniture. A queen bed with nightstands, lounging couch, arm chair and ottoman, small dinning or work table with two chairs, wardrobe, and a large row of shelves perfectly organized with even more books and scrolls, ending with a small mirror.  Her private bath and privy of finely carved and polished marble, with an additional small heat-radiator/stove. Her furniture and decorations are mostly a shade of emerald green, with some minor gold or silver accents. The bookshelves in Shiszih's room contain the complete, signed, collection of Ichabod's works, hundreds of books, worth a vast fortune on their own detailing every bit of knowledge the near-immortal Ichabod Crane has written in his long life.

Ichabod's room is much more grand and gold-filled, as befitting his tastes of wealth. A silk-covered queen bed with gold candelabra's on the nightstands. Two large gilded wardrobes, a gold-silk couch and ottomans, gold framed silver mirror, and a slightly larger table and chairs. His bath is much the same as Shiszih's, just with more gold, and higher grade granite. A pass-through door connects the two rooms, allowing Shiszih to move into her master's room to defend him if someone where to breach the structure. Or for him to wake her up for emergency hours work on an auditing or accounting task.

The final room, opposite the guest bedroom and adjacent to the stair well, is the Office. One of the most feared locations in the land. Compact, but appointed as finely as Ichabod's own, a bay window has been added, giving space for a couch and armchair overlooking the 'back' side of the structure. Bookshelves line the wall, with one section magically linked to Ichabod's main office wherever it may be - allowing either Ichabod or Shiszih to share books, scrolls, and papers between the two locations as needed for their work. A finely made and master-carved desk, with a high-back armchair occupies most of the available floor space in back of the room, along with two regular sitting chairs for guests and a fine gold and emerald green carpet with woven visual stories of Ichabod's (and Shiszih's) most famous audits of tax cheats. Behind the desk is a large map on the wall between the book shelves that details provides geographic detail of the local area within twenty miles.

On the walls of the hallway upstairs, and at several locations downstairs are fine paintings, mostly of Ichabod Crane, ever overlooking "guests" of the Auditor's Rest. All the lighting inside is magical ever-flaming torches and candles that can be lit and unlit with a command word. The herringbone pattern floors, straight wall panels, and ceilings are made of fine woods - burled walnut and box-elder, birds eye maple, catalpa, and other exotic options.