The Ettin's Heart, Blue

The Ettin’s Heart tavern was founded in CY 564 by the Noosman family of Onnwal. For almost 30 years the Noosmans have catered to merchants and well-off adventurers within the city, and prided themselves on providing a safe, secure place for folks to meet. It insures this sense of security with strong arms, excellent blades, and a smattering of magic.

Site Overview

• City: Located in::Blue
• Country: Domain of Obsidian Bay
• Leader: N/A
• Population: 10

The Ettin’s Heart tavern was founded in CY 564 by the Noosman family of Onnwal. For almost 30 years the Noosmans have catered to merchants and well-off adventurers within the city, and prided themselves on providing a safe, secure place for folks to meet. It insures this sense of security with strong arms, excellent blades, and a smattering of magic.

The elder Noosman, Nathanial, was part of an adventuring guild in Irongate before deciding to take his rather-large fortune and head to Blue. He briefly considered going to Obsidian Bay, but felt his particular business would do better in chaotic, violence-prone Blue. He was right -- merchants from around the Azure Sea stay at the tavern while re-supplying their ships for passage north and south of the Strait of Gearnat.

The business has thrived since its founding, and Noosman is a respected businessman and leader in Blue. He has attracted excellent swordsmen to act as guards for his establishment, and he has hired mages to weave various defensive spells around the tavern. These precautions have earned the tavern it an excellent reputation that has been carried around the Azure.

The Tavern

The two-story tavern is built of reinforced -- in some places magically so -- field stone. It has a slate roof, mined from the hills outside of Brantis Hold in the Drachensgrabs. The floor between the first and second floors is made from solid, high-quality oak imported Keoland.

Those walking in the front doors are greeted by a finely-finished desk, this time made from mountain pine harvested in the Drachensgrabs. Standing behind the desk is a large stone statue of an ettin clutching its chest -- between its fingers can be seen a large ruby. Its commonly known that Nat Noosman salvaged the statue from a dungeon in Onnwall, pried out the ruby, and used it to fund his various projects, including The Ettin’s Heart. The jewel in its chest is simply a red glass replica of the original, although it is worth about 100 gp.

The downstairs consists of a large, nicely decorated dining area, a kitchen, and two private dining rooms. The food served with a distinctive Irongate style, and consists mostly of different kinds of fish and mollusks. Steaks are available as well, and while good, are often pricey because the cattle must be imported from Obsidian Bay or Onnwal.

On the second floor are several guest rooms broken down into traveler, trader and merchant classes. Traveler rooms are simple, but comfortable, and cost 1 gp a night. Trader rooms are more comfortable, and cost 5 gp a night. Merchant room are the best, and cost a platinum per night. All manner of coins are accepted in this place, but the coins of Keoland, Greyhawk, and Irongate are preferred.

Rooms on the second floor include windows with iron shutters, and these windows can be sealed with special covers located under each bed.

The second floor also contains a small store room for linens, a lounge, and a library. The lounge includes several comfortable coaches imported from Nyrond, as well as bowls for pipe ash. The library contains a few books on the history of Onnwal, Irongate, Blue and the “Poor March”, and includes a small, well-apportioned writing desk. Both rooms are manned by stewards at all times.

The Noosman Children

Noosman’s two children, Noren and Maureen, followed in his adventuring footsteps. Both elected to avoid Blue’s dangerous and sometimes psychotic guilds in favor of Obsidian Bay’s more organized ones. Noren joined the Invincibles Guild as a warrior, and Maureen joined the Starfire Guild as a mage. They adventured in and around the Pomarj for a number of years before returning home to help their father with the inn.

They have stayed in touch with their respective guilds, and still go out on occasional adventures. Noren is working with a few guild-members in Blue, as well as the church of Heironeous, to convince his guild to open a branch in the city.

During Obsidian Bay’s War of Exile, the Ettin’s Heart was home to the officers of the Blackrazor Guild after their triumphant return to the city with the hero-god Krovis. The city paid to have the guild stay at the inn, and Nat was thrilled to have them (he knew little of their reputation in the Bay).

Today Obsidian Bay is once again free, and the Blackrazors have returned home. However, Nat has a standing invitation open to the shareholders of the Blackrazor Guild -- they can return whenever they wish and stay at the inn free of charge. They still pay for meals of course (and especially for their ale -- to offer the Blackrazors free beer is to guarantee one’s bankruptcy).

For reasons unknown to Nat, his daughter Maureen seems to dislike the Blackrazors, apparently for reasons relating to her membership in the Starfire Guild.

Rumors

1. An ancient, mad Suel mage tried to drown the nations of the Azure. They say the Circle of Five -- yeah, the Circle of Five! stopped him after the Blackrazors failed ... but that the mage escaped with his life. Now he's planning something even more terrible in the depths of the Azure...

2. The ancient enemy of Krovis awoke at the same time as that hero-god, and is now headed to Blue to find him...

3. Strange, black-skinned sea-devils are preying on ships in the Strait. Some say that have strange pyramid-like brands burned into the back of their slimy skulls...

4. The Thieves Guild in Blue hates Nat Noosman, but they're too terrifed to act against him...

5. The Blackrazors killed a man in Room #3, and don't you know that his ghost still haunts the place...

6. The spectre of a drowned man can be seen walking the Low Quarter at night. They say he'll lead some lucky soul to his sunken ship ... if they breathe underwater and can best his undead shipmates...

7. The Blackrazor said they destroyed the evil in Brantis Hold, but how come no one's ever moved back there? I'll tell you why -- 'cause dark shadows move in that hold, and an even darker evil lurks beneath it....

8. The church of Heironeous thinks they destroyed the Hextorites temple, but who ever said a church needed a temple? They're still here I tell you, and you'd better not wander down in the Bottom Half after dark...

Organizations

• Blackrazor Guild: Obsidian Bay's premiere guild for chaos, accidental destruction, and inadvertent heroism.

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