The ‘Roads is laid out roughly north-south such that one entering the main doors is facing north towards the kitchen, and sits hard by the eastern bank of the Selintan River, about a day’s good journey downriver from Greyhawk City itself. It sits along the West Road to its south and along the River Road to Greyhawk to its east. It is located in the center and along the western edge of the town of Ford Keep, named mostly for the Lord’s Keep that sits just across the road to the south of the main entrance.
On the outside, the Crossroads Tavern (CRT) resembles a T-shaped three story house with the top of the ‘T’ to the south and a short ‘stem’ running northward. The two wings run east- west. The exterior is timber and stone, with the ground floor being entirely fieldstone and the second and third floors cantilevered over it slightly. The stone is granite and unpainted, a natural gray color with here and there bits of moss and ivy growing along it. The second and third floors are whitewashed plaster and beams. The roof is thatch, specially magicked to be proof against the elements. The front door is a massive affair, composed of ancient, seasoned oak and bound in ornate iron hinges with fanciful rivet heads here and there. It is carved with a dwarven rune design both intricate and pleasing to the eye.
Entering the main doors one steps in from the south looking north to the bar area and the doors leading beyond into the north ‘wing’. A raised dais or stage occupies the center of the room, and ideal place for bards and performers to work their trade. The walls are wainscoted, the upper section plastered between the beams and the lower third paneled with darkwood and the border between them bearing intricately carved animal heads and other designs; these being the portal keys to various places. Evenly spaced booths and windows that open outward along the center run along the south wall with tables and chairs scattered about in the wide open area between booths and bar. Between the windows are hung tapestries showing various scenes from hunts to battles. The walls sport weapons and shields of long time patrons and the banners of others.
Along the northern wall is the bar, a highly polished and intricately carved roanwood of three levels. The left or western end is higher to accommodate larger patrons. The center section is the correct height for average folk, and the section running to the east is built lower to accommodate the smaller patrons. On the bar are a tip jar and a charity box for those who feel generous. A bell hangs behind the bar with a fancy knotted cord not far from a large, granite golem who serves drink and food to those that ask and pay. Coins for payment are placed in the magically warded till. Two doors to either side of the kegs and shelves of bottles and jugs lead back to the kitchen area. The door in the kitchen area is used by tavern staff only, and access behind the bar or to the kitchen is strictly forbidden to non-staff.
Heavy wooden beams support the second floor and provide a place to hang herbs and various other items. While there are no rafters to climb on, the beams provide hanging space for those able and of a mind to. However, there is a risk one might be harvested for the stew when mistaken for dried meat or herbs. You have been warned.
The second floor contains the banquet hall, the owner’s quarters, and the royal suite which is used for adventuring parties or newlyweds when there are no visiting dignitaries. The banquet hall can be rented out for various events simply by reserving it with the tavern owner in advance. The center of the banquet hall is an open balcony overlooking the hearth and common room below. The third floor is all rooms for rent. Those with windows over the river are three nobles a night, while those without windows along the roadways are only two nobles per night. The best rooms are those in the north wing since they are the quietest. Cheap lodgings can be had in the roofways under the eaves, where it is warm if not luxurious. Clean straw pallets are available for those who sleep therein. Free lodgings are available at the owner’s whim in the stable loft.
The eastern doors open onto the River Road and the heavy traffic it carries, while the western doors open into the tavern courtyard and its smithy, barn, and coaching stables. Turning north from the west doors takes one to a postern gate in the wall and from there along a path into the garden and eventually to the Field of Honor in the clearing farther north.
Exiting the coach gate on West Road or the western postern takes one directly to the ferry or the tavern owners’ pair of warehouses and docks respectively.