I felt it was time for some clarification on the layout of your esteemed Castle Amber. Up to this point I have intentionally never given such information so as to maintain its 'mysterious' qualities, but there are areas your characters would simply know well, and I feel you should too, in case things ever come up where exact layouts are relevent. I have taken many of my ideas for some specifics from the Visual Guide to Castle Amber, a book which is just that. Tysen and I both have copies for anyone's perusal. But, beyond what I state here, please don't assume anything at all from that book applies. Thanks.
The Amber Castle was once, long ago, much smaller then it is now. After a short period of Oberon's reign (the first liege of Amber), he massively enlarged and restructured the Castle, anticipating in some ways more contemporary needs of it. It is a huge Castle, with a separate high wall all about it, enclosing about 100 feet of courtyard on every side of the Castle itself. There is no moat, and the Castle is just to the north end of the City of Amber, which stretches from the port of Amber up Mount Kolvir.
The Castle has several separate gardens about, mostly without the outer walls. It has long, spindle-like towers coming up in odd though not unattractive places.
The main gate (of several, some very well hidden and practically unknown) leads into the main foray. It is here, near the main gate, that trumps of Castle Amber lead to. Just to the left of the main gate within the foray is the entrance to Random's most common yet informal throne room. The actual throne rests within the great hall, but he has a tall, comfortable chair he uses there, and it is where you most often meet him. He has only used the real throne on the day of his coronation. These informal rooms are large (there are two of them), and only a slight partition separates them, coming out of the walls only a few feet to give the semplance of separateness. Adjacent both to these rooms and the rest of the main foray (which is basically a long hallway leading to the back of the Castle where the main stairs up are) is the great hall, where large dinners are held. It is repleat with a musician's loft and high ceilings, and it is behind the great hall where the great stairs down to the Pattern are. Beyond the great hall, on the far side from Random's meeting rooms, is the kitchen and servants' quarters.
On the opposite side of the main foray from the great hall (this is now on the right side of the main foray when facing into the castle) are many sitting rooms, guest rooms, and recieving rooms, as well as a small atrium and some of the royal guard's quarters. Official guests of non-royal status usually stay somewhere in these rooms, and these rooms take up this entire side of this floor, save the back, near the kitchen, which is taken up by the armory.
The stairs up to the second floor are huge, and there is a large balcony most of the way up from which one can see the whole foray.
The second floor is primarily taken up with the quarters of the Amber royal family. Every member recognized to date has been given quarters in the Castle, and strangely enough there are rooms enough to fit them all. Each person is normally alloted two adjacent rooms. Most elders have private servants to clean their rooms, if they have them cleaned at all. Most of the sets of rooms are divided into three two-room suites between hallways.
Directly above the stairs and just to the right are Bleys's quarters, adjacent to Duncan's, whose quarters are directly between those of Bleys and Caine. On the far side of that complex from the stairs are the quarters of Raven, abutting those of Eric and Llewella. Next to the stairs just to the left are Benedict's, Gerard's, and Julian's quarters. Beyond those are previously unoccupied quarters now held by Miyel, Ash, and Kendric, with Miyel in the middle. Ash has quarters which until recently belonged to Random, and Kendric is in those once held by Flora.
Along the wall further to the left from Benedict's quarters are a row of rooms belonging to Merlin, Brand, Fiona, Corwin, Deirdre, Adriale and Martin, respectively, with Martin's rooms therefore across from Kendric's. Of all those rooms mentioned so far, only this last row is adjacent to an outside wall, and therefore has windows.
Behind the stairs are what used to be guest quarters a long time ago, but are now more family rooms. Long ago Lovaine, Lothiriel, Aradia, and Stone were given rooms in that area, and despite the fact that they do not seem to have beenused in a very long time, they have been left for them regardless, in the same tradition that has seen the rooms of Brand, Eric, and Caine maintained.
Opposite those older rooms, more recently Coral, Chance, Trent, and Dominique have been given quarters. Despite the fact that Trent had spent some youthful time in Amber, he had never been given official rooms. Upon his more recent visits, he simply commandeered the ones he now has, to which no one seems to have objected.
Of the rooms behind the main stairs, Lothiriel's, Aradia's, Stone's, Trent's, Dominique's, and Coral's all have windows.
Afar from the stairs, on the other side of the quarters is the main dining hall of the elders, when they dine together, that is. Across from the right-most apartments (those of Eric, Raven, Caine, Duncan, etc.) is the Library, which has its own set of stairs to the third floor. Some remaining rooms behind the stairs (therefore above the kitchen and armory) are still guest quarters and storage rooms. There are also several sitting rooms throughout this floor, which many of you have put to some use over the last year, amber time.
The third floor sustained massive damage about a year and a half ago when supposedly Merlin and at least one friend from Chaos caused some sort of power imbalance between the Logrus and the Pattern, which resulted in a large explosion. All work on the floor is now almost totally complete. Flora took the opportunity to move upstairs into some larger rooms. No one who noticed seemed to have objected. Random's rooms are up here also, nearer the stairs. The rest of the floor is taken up by a large training area, the upper floor of the library, the labratory, which doubles as the medical facilities in-castle, and many storage rooms, sitting rooms, guest rooms, and other rooms you have never explored. Many of the towers lift off from the third floor.
Since most of the guard and in-castle military are housed in large basements (which are higher then the caverns and Pattern), the fourth floor is largely unused, and the doors at the top of the great stairs are locked to it. It holds many of the King's things and official Amber secrets probably lie within it. Some more restricted towers lead down to this floor. It is actually possible there is a fifth floor, too, looking from the outside, but none of you are sure.
If some of the specifics seem puzzling there, please try to get your hands on a Visual Guide, either at a book store, or from Ty or I. Even just glancing at some of the maps within will give the general outlay, and with that in mind, rereading this message, you can see where my ideas diverge from those.
It is important to note that the Castle is sort of an imposing place, and should remain so in your mind even though I have laid some of it out for you. It is often said to be haunted, and those who have lived there long often attest to this personally in some way. Sometimes a door which should lead one place will lead you to another, one time only. Rooms sometimes seem bigger than they should, or sometimes doors simply aren't where you are positive they should be.
Rumors of a hall of mirrors have circulated occasionally in the past, which is a strange hall people can be led down, with mirrors which cast fortunes and sometimes give items to the walker, though it can also be a dangerous place.
There are also supposedly secret passages throughout the Castle; from floor to floor, room to room, in and out of the Castle itself, etc.
Okay, please ask any question of me who still have to us all if it is a point of clarification, or just to me if it is a question of what your character knows about all this and more....=)