(Also called the Vermillion Parlor)
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This was the primary receiving room for guests at the mansion. In the early years of its service, this parlor was a simple affair, with small tables and comfortable chairs. Zachariah and his wife Sarah wanted their company to feel cozy and at home when they arrived. Friends and family would greet and gossip here. Ladies would sip tea, and earnest young gentlemen would call and court the Carter girls in this room. The fortunes of the Carters increased as the decades went by, and as it became fashionable to have more than one parlor in a grand house such as this, the room was remodeled. Since the house now contained numerous sitting, sewing, smoking and drawing rooms, the main parlor was redone as an exhibition of medieval arms. Jeremiah Carter, grandson of Zachariah, was a student of European military history and traveled extensively there, touring the great castles of France, England and Austria. When he returned to Arkham, he had accumulated enough armor to outfit a small regiment! One legend that, in his youth, Jeremiah was terribly intrigued by, was the tale of the Black Armor It recalls the fate of the Prussian Prince Voldekov, who, during a break in a battle against his sworn enemy Stanislav the Savage, spied a blackbird picking at the corpses of his fallen comrades. Voldekov enticed the bird to drink from his nearly dry cup and pick at his meager food rations. For this, thought the Knight (though he was malnourished and dehydrated himself), was preferable to enduring the spectacle of this grave and unwholesome indignity. The blackbird, much gratified, began to speak! It explained to Voldekov that it was a warrior in its own fashion as well, and to demonstrate, flew high over the battlefield, returning only after nightfall. The Prince woke with a start as the bird alighted upon his breastplate and reported with an urgent whisper: "The left flank of thy foe is strong and well armed, but the Knight that leads it is blind in one eye." Voldekov jumped up. "What mail doth this cyclopean devil wear, praythee?" The blackbird responded; "The mail is black, Lord. Indeed, the Knight from helm to boot is as black as my tail-feathers." Well Voldekov now knew two things vital to the next day's campaign. The first was that the devil Stanislav was the man in the black armor he had noted earlier, and the second was that he would be leading a surprise attack with his left flank. And what joy to learn that the Knight had suffered the loss of an eye! The Prince pressed upon the blackbird to provide one more service, and when the creature heard it, it agreed, with one caveat: "Quit the field after the battle, and leave the enemy to the appetites of my brethren, disturbing nothing, and I will aid thee." The Prince quickly agreed. At first light the battle resumed, with Voldekov's forces, thus forewarned, mustering a great resistance on their right flank. Then, as Stanislav charged the front, terrifying in his ink-black armor, Voldekov raised his arm in signal, and a shrieking blackbird swooped down upon the Black Knight and with its' quick, sharp beak plucked the Slav's remaining eye from its socket. With the loss of their commander, the enemy was dispirited. Those who did not retreat were slaughtered. The Prince had won the day! With his comrades cheering behind him, Voldekov strode to the spot where his nemesis lay blinded and groaning, drew his sword, and severed his head. The black armor lay spattered and weirdly sparkling at his feet... Forgetting his agreement from the night before, Voldekov took the helmet and the armor with his enemy's corpse still within and led his troops home. The next spring, as his army set out for fresh conquests, Voldekov donned the black helmet, chestplate, gloves and boots of his vanquished foe. After a few pleasant weeks traveling through peaceful terrain, the Prince was challenged for battle by a Baron leading an army of a small eastern kingdom. The first night of battle was led by the fearless Prince, and soon more than half of the Baron's men were slain, and the birds circled ominously over his camp. On the eve of the second night, however, a terrible storm washed over the field, turning the solid earth to raging rivers of mud, and the fury of the maelstrom sent the horses galloping down into the valleys and up into the hills. A very heavy fog had also claimed the field, much to the warriors' dread... Voldekov's soaking black armor began to rust at an unnatural rate, and soon he found he could hardly lift his sword-arm! As he struggled to extricate himself he muttered threateningly to his men: "What a pity thy faith sits quailing 'neath this mean fog and suffers itself to be blinded thus! FOR I AM THE BLACK KNIGHT!" As if in answer, an enormous blackbird was sighted circling over the enemy's camp. It soon descended and alighted on the Baron's shoulder! The battle commenced. Voldekov's forces were set upon and slain. He survived the onslaught, but was captured and led to the Baron, immobilized within his petrified armor. Prince Voldekov stood helpless for his execution, and his corpse, still clad in its' rusted black armor was left where it stood; much to the ravening delight of the wheeling carrion-crows... Alas, the suit was stolen soon after going on display in the Armory, and despite Jeremiah's furious (and some say feverish) efforts, it was never recovered. 
 Following the completion of Jeremiah's thorough remodeling of the parlor, the vast front bay window was replaced with smoked panes, to allow as little sunlight into the room as possible. Jeremiah joked that the 'Gentlemen', as he called these medieval relics, fared poorly in the light. Interestingly enough, Jeremiah himself acquired an acute case of Nyctophobia (fear of the dark) later on in life, and steadfastly refused to enter this or any other mansion room that lacked sufficient natural illumination.  He eventually became a recluse and died in a fall from his third-floor window one night during a thunderstorm which briefly knocked out the mansion's electricity. According to a servant's diary, Jeremiah must have been terribly disoriented during the blackout, as it is not easy to fall through a shuttered window. His body was discovered in the tulip garden the next morning by a groundskeeper. The funeral was held open-casket, and everyone remarked at the excellent work done by the local mortician: no-one could even guess that the force of impact had dislodged the corpse's eyeballs.  There is a washroom to the north, through the archway, if you need to use it. To the east is the Gallery and west takes you back to the main hall.  |
