The Deepfires was an inn in the subterranean city of Skullport in Undermountain in the mid–14th century DR.[2]
Location
The Deepfires was situated in the Lower Heart ward of Skullport.[2] It could be found by following the bellows of the Raging Bull, a minotaur imprisoned by a forgotten slaver in an almost-unbreakable cage suspended from the cave ceiling just outside the inn's doors. None could free him, and he became a notorious local landmark. The goblin twins Nyk and Nok kept the area below swept clean of dung.[2]
Structure
The inn was a three-story building and in good condition.[2] It apparently held some secret passages.[3]
Interior
The interior decoration was tasteful and luxurious. Rooms held furniture carved of dark wood and large feather beds. There was even a heated bathroom on each floor, permitting comfortable bathing and a way to wash off the muck of Skullport.[2]
There were a good number of alcoves and salons available to patrons. They allowed privacy or intimacy, and providing a relaxing and uninterrupted dining experience for patrons.[2]
Atmosphere
The Deepfires was a quiet and subdued establishment but had a warm and inviting air that promised comfort, peace, and safety.[2]
Services
The staff of the Deepfires were courteous to the guests and helpful and obliging to their needs.[2]
The meals and beverages on the menu—particularly broths and soups—were of excellent quality. However, they had prices to match: a meal and drink would cost one around 10 gp.[2]
Defenses
The inn employed a number of bouncers and bodyguards to prevent the patrons from being disturbed. They stood among the patrons, discreet but ready to respond. There were some half-dozen on duty at a time, all capable warriors in chain mail and wielding clubs, broad swords, and darts coated with a poison that caused a target to briefly fall unconscious.[2]
Ownership
The proprietor of the Deepfires was widely believed to be Vhondryl, who had permanent rooms there and easy access to its secret passages and the services of its bodyguards.[3][1] In fact, these were a gift from her close companion, Raella Hiess, the real behind-the-scenes proprietress. The two had an arrangement whereby Vhondryl pretended to be the proprietress and Raella acted as an ordinary barmaid.[4][5][6] Raella worked as a barmaid, took care of guests and their need, and scheduled meetings between Vhondryl's own clients and customers in the poison trade.[2] Raella used the Deepfires as a means of gathering information for the Lords of Waterdeep.[4][5]
History
The Skulls of Skullport once ordered someone to go and polish the bar at the Deepfires, just one of the many bizarre demands they made.[7]
Inhabitants
The Deepfires saw a number of important or colorful patrons.
In the mid–14th century DR, wounded cartographer Aekyl Dafyre took rooms at the Deepfires and a place at the bar, and drank away his sorrows until the Skulls sent him on a more profitable errand. He later opened his new business close to the inn.[4][8][9]
Through the 1360s DR, the mage and information broker Irusyl Eraneth could often be found in the Deepfires (or else in the Burning Troll]), seated in the back of the taproom and where she could face the door. A friend of Raella, she also used the inn as a place to gather information.[8][2][9] Her apprentice Liak sometimes kept rooms at the Deepfires.[10][11]
In Eleasis of the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, a Waterdeep-based Calishite merchant named Sammereza Sulphontis stayed at the Deepfires whilst negotiating trade alliances with Vhondryl and the House Tanor'Thal drow.[12]
Appendix
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). City of Splendors. (TSR, Inc), p. Cannot cite page numbers from this product. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (August 1991). “Seeing the Sights in Skullport”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #172 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 12, 14, 88.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), pp. 109–110. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), p. 95. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7.
- ↑ Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), p. 15. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Campaign Guide”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 108. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), p. 75. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Skullport-p75" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Ed Greenwood and Steven E. Schend (July 1994). “Secrets of the City”. City of Splendors (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0-5607-6868-1.
- ↑ Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), p. 20. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7.
- ↑ Joseph C. Wolf (1999). Skullport. (TSR, Inc), p. 73. ISBN 0-7869-1348-7.