Commonly known by its acronym, the Thoj. Lying in Ansell Square, Yaleth, the legal heart of Dorlaf. Formerly the palace of the old Dorlafan Kings, Rudanc Masterson converted and renovated it (Stane Woolridge job, natch) during the building of the Cities to act as the new law courts. Remains very ornate and somewhat overbearing, which is handy for its purpose, as was the palace dungeons already being on site. Main areas: ground floor of the main building and some of the first floor taken up by the Law Courts - ten in number, traditionally different courts for criminal and civil cases, though flexible if necessary. Underneath the ground floor, the old Palace Dungeons, used now for holding short term prisoners, those awaiting trials, prisoners about to be shipped to the New Reystone across Ansell Square or, in a separate wing, those awaiting execution. The western annexe, separated by courtyards from the rest, the main barracks & HQ for the Eleventh Regiment. Underneath the courtyards are the chambers where private or secret executions are carried out. Much of the upper levels of the Thoj taken up by archive rooms or admin. purposes, but the fourth floor since 1266 is the HQ of the Guards Central Command.
"Although the turmoil of the Erish Empire and the Christotan civil wars had gutted it to various degrees, and its conversion in federal times into law courts and barracks brought more radical changes, traces of its old existence can still be seen. High walls surround the Thoj, solid, ugly and bearing obsolete ramparts and arrow slits. The main building is a cream coloured monolithic block. The grim keep of the old castle still climbs from its roof but, as if to mitigate it, another was later built onto the far end of the building, bedecked with bright red beams and capped by a silvery pyramid roof. Standing on the highest ground in the Cities, the Thoj is the second most noticeable feature on the local skyline, overshadowed only by the gargantuan glitter of the Church of Garrath on the northern crest of the hill." (from City Hobgoblins)