Rising Phoenix
2009-07-27, 02:52 AM
Helgas' Crossroads, Inn and Tavern:
General Information
Layout:
Recently built on a junction of roads that lead to a great many places, Helgas’ Crossroads is a two storey building constructed largely using firm oak wood.
-Outdoors:
Adjacent to the inn there’s a small vegetable and herb garden, a small barn, a latrine area and a decently sized stable.
- Vegetable and herb garden:
Here vegetable and herbs are grown as well as a few fruiting trees. Depending on the season one can expect to find strawberries, cherries, spring onions and radish in spring, rock melons, water melons, beans, cucumbers, egg plants and tomatoes in summer, potatoes, red and white onions, pumpkins of various sizes and broccoli in autumn and near nothing in winter.
When in season asparagus, berries, acorns, fish, fungi and game animals are gathered from the surrounding temperate woodlands, fields and water bodies.
- Barn.
Around 20 chickens, 10 ducks, 3 geese, the odd tamed pheasant, 4 pigs, 2 black goats, 2 sheep, a brown milk cow and a donkey are kept here. These animals are kept largely for their eggs and milk and not for their milk. Those that are obviously meant as meat (pigs and geese) are bred carefully to ensure that some stock always exists.
The inns four guard dogs (treat as riding dogs) and three cats also live here and Helga hopes to add a pigeon house when time and money allows.
Animal names:
A large reddish rooster: ****
An old one legged brown duck: Martha
The Brown Cow is called Lilly
The pale grey donkey: Mihan
Dog names: Pirate, Bitch, Brambles and Lean
Cat names: Scruffs, Mittens and Furball
-The Latrines:
If you have to visit the three toilets make sure you do so early in the day because they are only cleaned once and that is early in the morning…Located close to the stables to mask the smell and planted with dense bushes and ivy that haven’t yet grown enough to hide them these crude wooden structures can actually be described as a wooden stool with a hole in the middle…
-Stable.
This arching, dark wooden construction has enough space to house 12 large sized mounts with ease. A smithy is also in the making here (the forge is complete and usable, but many of the tools are missing) and Helga hopes to find a stable master and smith in the not so distant future. She also wishes to start trading in mounts (normal ones), but at the moment she has non available for sale.
-Ground Floor:
The bar, feast hall, dance/ perform area, kitchen and a room that can be reserved for private functions are found here.
-The Bar:
This polished dark wooden structure is the first thing a traveler sees when he enters through the front door. Several bronze and red leather bar stools are positioned invitingly in front of it and an impressive collection of brews, wines and other beverages are displayed openly… as is Helgas’ +1 merciful Greataxe called Last Resort.
Helga is usually behind the bar and she’s ever alert for trouble, thus far the rich brown bar has no scratches or other abrasions but she knows it’s only a matter of time. That said she doesn’t mind ‘responsible’ revelry and will have spontaneous ‘two for one’ nights when things seem to be picking up or quieting down.
Sample prices and drinks:
I’ll let you guys create a list of drinks and prices . Helga has a great many contacts so she could get quite exotic drinks
- Feast Hall:
Knowing that nice, elegant furniture wouldn’t last long in the feasting areas, Helga has opted for the cheap, easily replaced alternative and thus most items here are unremarkable. 14 tables can be found here, capable of seating anywhere from two people to an impressive twenty four on the massive dwarven feasting platform. Chairs and stools are provided in abundance so that the guests can pull up one and join any table or company they please. Two massive bronze chandeliers light up the entire room and a large stone fireplace, probably of dwarven origin as well, ensures that there’s ample of warmth and shadow for storytelling.
-Dance/ Performance area:
A part of the feast hall this section of the ground floor is kept free of tables, chairs and other clutter and it is hear that any dancing takes place. An elevated platform at the back of this room is probably the space on which the performances take place and any minstrel or performer is invited to have a go. Impressing Helga usually means that the performer gets free lodging.
- Kitchen:
The domain of Charlotte Connifer, the halfling cook, is not a place to be entered light heartedly. Constructed of stone brick to prevent fires from spreading it has all the kitchen wear any chef would ever want including a massive iron cauldron.
Sample Menu and Prices:
Pheasant/Fowl Anything,
pork medallion dishes made from wild boar
Rib specials the night after she catches one,
fried fish,
fried chicken,
Fried pheasant,
stir fry,
various soups,
baked potato,
sweet potato,
fresh cookies,
Steppes Style Hot Soup
Meat pie
More Meat Pie
and light salads.
- The Private Room:
A sign on the heavy oak door leading to this room reads “No drunks beyond this point” and on entrance it becomes clear why as its furnished with several red velvet armchairs, a small library, a mini bar with choice drinks, a large golden harp of elven origin and a dark wood table that can seat eight on comfortable brown leather chairs. Four large crystal lamps fill the place with a pleasant bright light.
This place is reserved for the type of customers that like it quiet and for private meetings. The room’s usually locked but can be opened by Helga on request if a wealthy, civil looking customer asks for it (no charge) or hired from her (30 gold pieces for a day, includes a good meal and access to the mini bar).
-First Floor:
A total of twelve rooms are to be found here. 8 of them can house 2 people, 3 four and 1 5. They are not furnished luxuriously but are comfortable none the less. Apart from the duck feathered beds, each patron has access to his own chest, set of draws (keys to these two are provided with the room key when hired), closet and silver wash basin. The rooms are typically lit by small lamps and a warm bath can be called though it will cost an extra silver piece.
Prices/day:
2 people: 5 sp
4 people: 7 sp
5 people: 1 gp
Baths cost an extra silver piece.
Staff:
-Helga, female human 38 yo, Owner
The owner of the place, Helga is a tall, blond, muscular woman with a temper of equal proportions. Her ex occupation, that of an adventuring warrior, has left her blue eyed face and body with plenty of shallow scars and a general dislike for arcane mages whom she refers to as “paper brains”. She doesn’t, however, regret her adventuring days saying that “It be something that makes ya rich, both in the pocket and the noggin quick, if ya can survive the gore.” Today Helga has put her axe on the wall of her newly built inn and is hopeful that her new lifestyle will be just as productive, but less risky, then her old one.
Despite her apparently bitter personality, Helga actually has a soft core that she had to bury under layers of thick skin in order to survive on her adventures. So long as you don’t wreck her inn you will always be welcome to her place and if you have the mettle to be a successful adventurer she’s like to become a friend and will love listening to your stories.
Role playing tips:
- Towards strangers she’s bitter and laconic. To friends she’s warm, loud and cheerful
- She will generally keep her opinions to herself. If asked for advise regarding adventuring she will warn about the dangers, but say the that the rewards are ripe.
- Helga did not receive a proper education and learnt to read and write herself. Her manners are rough and definitely not civil but she tries her best.
- She will not tolerate any trouble makers for long
-Charlotte Conifer, cook
30-something female Halfling
"Behind every great tavern hostess, aside from the great or cheep booze, is a great cook. Charlotte isn't exactly the greatest, but dammit, she gets results! Surprisingly skinny for a halfling chef, the dark skinned, black haired woman is a sharp counter to Helga and Tilde in the looks department, but like Helga she can seem fierce, and temperamental. In fact she's more moody than the others, normally only jolly like a halfling when cooking, and can be something of a pill otherwise. She favors big hats (but not necessarily chef hats and has a trusty apron about her waist whether she's infront of a stove or hunting down something for her cooking pot before she shoots it with a crossbow or wings it with her cleaver.
Yes, you read that correctly. This halfling ranger is the younger sister of Crayce Conifer, known markswoman rogue who apparently lent to her younger sibling some of her skills. Charlotte however wasn't fond of the open road and quickly settled down (sort of) working for Helga after she opened the tavern, more content to hunt down wildlife and stray burglars than seek fortune on the open road. She shares some comradeship with Helga herself, though often the two have known to argue over the halfling's pay rate as a chef.
In that sense (as a chef), she's rather pragmatic but creative with her means of cooking. She keeps a garden for spice and tastes more than nutrition but she can make an occasional salad. Mostly she's a carnivore of tastes, and a little bit of violence. She has no problem catching her own meat, and in fact is something of a nite owl, sneaking out of the kitchen at Ass-Early O'clock to hunt, oftentimes sleeping rather late well past the crack of noon. This can cause the service quality to vary and since she's reluctant to change her ways she's tried to teach someone else how to cook, perhaps gain a sous-chef of sorts so her lazy ways don't mar the tavern's business...
-Tilde Sonneston
21, Female Human, waitress
"Kissed with fire," that was what the travelers would call sweet Tilde, and all of them know that that always means luck. Her distinct red hair, not to mention her fiery personality made her a favorite among the regular patrons of Helga's. She was shapely, and comely, and the type of sight that would make men swear that their drink is sweeter and fuller than what it truly was. And hey, she could sing as well. Never seen without her serving outfit, she could be found charming the drunk and the disorderly in Helga's place.
She could laugh with the men, and drink with the best of them. Her sense of humor falls between childish and bawdy. Service with a smile, is the one creed she lives by. It doesn't hurt to add a wink, either.
She was even born in a tavern. Her parents being adventurers themselves, Tilde was not unfamiliar with the setting. As a child, she would wander the land with her family, visiting unknown lands and having untold adventures - she never stayed at the same place the same week. But all that came to a halt, however. Sensing that the open road is not the best place for a child, her parents left them at the care of Helga.
Tilde's parents were friends of Helga's, and owe them a favor or three. So, although begrudgingly at first, Helga took Tilde under her wing. And that's why her smile now brighten the walls of Helga's place.
Tips:
- Think of her as the coolest big sis you never had.
- She has a sense of humor
Still need 1 more waiter!!
It's early summer and the earth underneath your feet is dry and powdery, rising in small clouds with each step you take under the large setting sun.
For those of you that still have vital signals the day, and journey, has been a long and lonely one. With a dry throat and a dust and sweat covered face the sight of new looking inn and tavern is a most welcome sight.
The heavy, ivy surrounded, door opens without a creak and a sign on it reads "Helgas' Crossroads, Inn and Tavern".
Inside you find the place to be spacious and new smelling, but quiet. No one else appears to be here apart from the bar-tender, a towering well muscled, blond woman that looks at you with sharp brown eyes.
"What do ya want at Helgas'?..." She asks in in a rasping, almost angry voice.
"...I have drinks, food and bunks if ya want. But no shabby activities at my place! I just opened and I brought an ol' friend ta help" she says pointing towards a fine looking great axe on the white wall behind her.
Go ahead and introduce your characters. :). Have fun everyone and good work!
General Information
Layout:
Recently built on a junction of roads that lead to a great many places, Helgas’ Crossroads is a two storey building constructed largely using firm oak wood.
-Outdoors:
Adjacent to the inn there’s a small vegetable and herb garden, a small barn, a latrine area and a decently sized stable.
- Vegetable and herb garden:
Here vegetable and herbs are grown as well as a few fruiting trees. Depending on the season one can expect to find strawberries, cherries, spring onions and radish in spring, rock melons, water melons, beans, cucumbers, egg plants and tomatoes in summer, potatoes, red and white onions, pumpkins of various sizes and broccoli in autumn and near nothing in winter.
When in season asparagus, berries, acorns, fish, fungi and game animals are gathered from the surrounding temperate woodlands, fields and water bodies.
- Barn.
Around 20 chickens, 10 ducks, 3 geese, the odd tamed pheasant, 4 pigs, 2 black goats, 2 sheep, a brown milk cow and a donkey are kept here. These animals are kept largely for their eggs and milk and not for their milk. Those that are obviously meant as meat (pigs and geese) are bred carefully to ensure that some stock always exists.
The inns four guard dogs (treat as riding dogs) and three cats also live here and Helga hopes to add a pigeon house when time and money allows.
Animal names:
A large reddish rooster: ****
An old one legged brown duck: Martha
The Brown Cow is called Lilly
The pale grey donkey: Mihan
Dog names: Pirate, Bitch, Brambles and Lean
Cat names: Scruffs, Mittens and Furball
-The Latrines:
If you have to visit the three toilets make sure you do so early in the day because they are only cleaned once and that is early in the morning…Located close to the stables to mask the smell and planted with dense bushes and ivy that haven’t yet grown enough to hide them these crude wooden structures can actually be described as a wooden stool with a hole in the middle…
-Stable.
This arching, dark wooden construction has enough space to house 12 large sized mounts with ease. A smithy is also in the making here (the forge is complete and usable, but many of the tools are missing) and Helga hopes to find a stable master and smith in the not so distant future. She also wishes to start trading in mounts (normal ones), but at the moment she has non available for sale.
-Ground Floor:
The bar, feast hall, dance/ perform area, kitchen and a room that can be reserved for private functions are found here.
-The Bar:
This polished dark wooden structure is the first thing a traveler sees when he enters through the front door. Several bronze and red leather bar stools are positioned invitingly in front of it and an impressive collection of brews, wines and other beverages are displayed openly… as is Helgas’ +1 merciful Greataxe called Last Resort.
Helga is usually behind the bar and she’s ever alert for trouble, thus far the rich brown bar has no scratches or other abrasions but she knows it’s only a matter of time. That said she doesn’t mind ‘responsible’ revelry and will have spontaneous ‘two for one’ nights when things seem to be picking up or quieting down.
Sample prices and drinks:
I’ll let you guys create a list of drinks and prices . Helga has a great many contacts so she could get quite exotic drinks
- Feast Hall:
Knowing that nice, elegant furniture wouldn’t last long in the feasting areas, Helga has opted for the cheap, easily replaced alternative and thus most items here are unremarkable. 14 tables can be found here, capable of seating anywhere from two people to an impressive twenty four on the massive dwarven feasting platform. Chairs and stools are provided in abundance so that the guests can pull up one and join any table or company they please. Two massive bronze chandeliers light up the entire room and a large stone fireplace, probably of dwarven origin as well, ensures that there’s ample of warmth and shadow for storytelling.
-Dance/ Performance area:
A part of the feast hall this section of the ground floor is kept free of tables, chairs and other clutter and it is hear that any dancing takes place. An elevated platform at the back of this room is probably the space on which the performances take place and any minstrel or performer is invited to have a go. Impressing Helga usually means that the performer gets free lodging.
- Kitchen:
The domain of Charlotte Connifer, the halfling cook, is not a place to be entered light heartedly. Constructed of stone brick to prevent fires from spreading it has all the kitchen wear any chef would ever want including a massive iron cauldron.
Sample Menu and Prices:
Pheasant/Fowl Anything,
pork medallion dishes made from wild boar
Rib specials the night after she catches one,
fried fish,
fried chicken,
Fried pheasant,
stir fry,
various soups,
baked potato,
sweet potato,
fresh cookies,
Steppes Style Hot Soup
Meat pie
More Meat Pie
and light salads.
- The Private Room:
A sign on the heavy oak door leading to this room reads “No drunks beyond this point” and on entrance it becomes clear why as its furnished with several red velvet armchairs, a small library, a mini bar with choice drinks, a large golden harp of elven origin and a dark wood table that can seat eight on comfortable brown leather chairs. Four large crystal lamps fill the place with a pleasant bright light.
This place is reserved for the type of customers that like it quiet and for private meetings. The room’s usually locked but can be opened by Helga on request if a wealthy, civil looking customer asks for it (no charge) or hired from her (30 gold pieces for a day, includes a good meal and access to the mini bar).
-First Floor:
A total of twelve rooms are to be found here. 8 of them can house 2 people, 3 four and 1 5. They are not furnished luxuriously but are comfortable none the less. Apart from the duck feathered beds, each patron has access to his own chest, set of draws (keys to these two are provided with the room key when hired), closet and silver wash basin. The rooms are typically lit by small lamps and a warm bath can be called though it will cost an extra silver piece.
Prices/day:
2 people: 5 sp
4 people: 7 sp
5 people: 1 gp
Baths cost an extra silver piece.
Staff:
-Helga, female human 38 yo, Owner
The owner of the place, Helga is a tall, blond, muscular woman with a temper of equal proportions. Her ex occupation, that of an adventuring warrior, has left her blue eyed face and body with plenty of shallow scars and a general dislike for arcane mages whom she refers to as “paper brains”. She doesn’t, however, regret her adventuring days saying that “It be something that makes ya rich, both in the pocket and the noggin quick, if ya can survive the gore.” Today Helga has put her axe on the wall of her newly built inn and is hopeful that her new lifestyle will be just as productive, but less risky, then her old one.
Despite her apparently bitter personality, Helga actually has a soft core that she had to bury under layers of thick skin in order to survive on her adventures. So long as you don’t wreck her inn you will always be welcome to her place and if you have the mettle to be a successful adventurer she’s like to become a friend and will love listening to your stories.
Role playing tips:
- Towards strangers she’s bitter and laconic. To friends she’s warm, loud and cheerful
- She will generally keep her opinions to herself. If asked for advise regarding adventuring she will warn about the dangers, but say the that the rewards are ripe.
- Helga did not receive a proper education and learnt to read and write herself. Her manners are rough and definitely not civil but she tries her best.
- She will not tolerate any trouble makers for long
-Charlotte Conifer, cook
30-something female Halfling
"Behind every great tavern hostess, aside from the great or cheep booze, is a great cook. Charlotte isn't exactly the greatest, but dammit, she gets results! Surprisingly skinny for a halfling chef, the dark skinned, black haired woman is a sharp counter to Helga and Tilde in the looks department, but like Helga she can seem fierce, and temperamental. In fact she's more moody than the others, normally only jolly like a halfling when cooking, and can be something of a pill otherwise. She favors big hats (but not necessarily chef hats and has a trusty apron about her waist whether she's infront of a stove or hunting down something for her cooking pot before she shoots it with a crossbow or wings it with her cleaver.
Yes, you read that correctly. This halfling ranger is the younger sister of Crayce Conifer, known markswoman rogue who apparently lent to her younger sibling some of her skills. Charlotte however wasn't fond of the open road and quickly settled down (sort of) working for Helga after she opened the tavern, more content to hunt down wildlife and stray burglars than seek fortune on the open road. She shares some comradeship with Helga herself, though often the two have known to argue over the halfling's pay rate as a chef.
In that sense (as a chef), she's rather pragmatic but creative with her means of cooking. She keeps a garden for spice and tastes more than nutrition but she can make an occasional salad. Mostly she's a carnivore of tastes, and a little bit of violence. She has no problem catching her own meat, and in fact is something of a nite owl, sneaking out of the kitchen at Ass-Early O'clock to hunt, oftentimes sleeping rather late well past the crack of noon. This can cause the service quality to vary and since she's reluctant to change her ways she's tried to teach someone else how to cook, perhaps gain a sous-chef of sorts so her lazy ways don't mar the tavern's business...
-Tilde Sonneston
21, Female Human, waitress
"Kissed with fire," that was what the travelers would call sweet Tilde, and all of them know that that always means luck. Her distinct red hair, not to mention her fiery personality made her a favorite among the regular patrons of Helga's. She was shapely, and comely, and the type of sight that would make men swear that their drink is sweeter and fuller than what it truly was. And hey, she could sing as well. Never seen without her serving outfit, she could be found charming the drunk and the disorderly in Helga's place.
She could laugh with the men, and drink with the best of them. Her sense of humor falls between childish and bawdy. Service with a smile, is the one creed she lives by. It doesn't hurt to add a wink, either.
She was even born in a tavern. Her parents being adventurers themselves, Tilde was not unfamiliar with the setting. As a child, she would wander the land with her family, visiting unknown lands and having untold adventures - she never stayed at the same place the same week. But all that came to a halt, however. Sensing that the open road is not the best place for a child, her parents left them at the care of Helga.
Tilde's parents were friends of Helga's, and owe them a favor or three. So, although begrudgingly at first, Helga took Tilde under her wing. And that's why her smile now brighten the walls of Helga's place.
Tips:
- Think of her as the coolest big sis you never had.
- She has a sense of humor
Still need 1 more waiter!!
It's early summer and the earth underneath your feet is dry and powdery, rising in small clouds with each step you take under the large setting sun.
For those of you that still have vital signals the day, and journey, has been a long and lonely one. With a dry throat and a dust and sweat covered face the sight of new looking inn and tavern is a most welcome sight.
The heavy, ivy surrounded, door opens without a creak and a sign on it reads "Helgas' Crossroads, Inn and Tavern".
Inside you find the place to be spacious and new smelling, but quiet. No one else appears to be here apart from the bar-tender, a towering well muscled, blond woman that looks at you with sharp brown eyes.
"What do ya want at Helgas'?..." She asks in in a rasping, almost angry voice.
"...I have drinks, food and bunks if ya want. But no shabby activities at my place! I just opened and I brought an ol' friend ta help" she says pointing towards a fine looking great axe on the white wall behind her.
Go ahead and introduce your characters. :). Have fun everyone and good work!