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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy E Grenemyer" data-source="post: 6880332" data-attributes="member: 12388">NOTE: What follows is another stripped-down version of an entry that will appear in my Cormyr sourcebook, minus all the Realms references, with a little added flavor to fit the generalist nature of this thread.*********The Moonlit Gargoyle(Inn sign is a rectangular wooden board thrust out over the entrance, that hangs from an ornate iron post. It shows a gargoyle with grey skin shot through with blue-green flecks, that sits beneath a full moon, all on a field of black. White stars decorate the upper portion of the sign.)Exterior Description: The Moonlit Gargoyle sits atop a small hill, and is surrounded by a thriving village that sees constant merchant traffic, barge and cog traffic from the river north of the inn, raw stone hauled out of quarries in the mountains to the east, and timber harvested at much expense (and even more danger) from the woodland north of the river. Built of granite and sandstone, the Gargoyle stands three stories tall beneath a steep gabled roof that is layered over in thin slate sheets. Several chimneys break up the sleek look of the roof. Double windows reinforced by interior wooden shutters grace all four sides of the inn, while man-high double windows stand in the lee of the roof; these open onto stone floored balconies edged with iron rails on two sides of the inn (suggesting a fourth floor in lieu of an attic).The stone façade of the Gargoyle is covered from ground to roof in small alcoves the height of a two year old child. These house small gargoyles with large heads and stub wings, all carved from marble, granite, sandstone and other varieties of natural stone. Under the light of the moon the faces of the gargoyles seem to shimmer and come alive. Interior Description: The common areas of the Gargoyle are decorated with paintings and tapestries, and fine furniture and plush chairs. The wooden floors are clean, and decorated with carpets worth a small fortune. Abundant lighting is available in the form of lamps, candles and fireplaces. A manual pump system allows uniformed servants (never "staff") to dispense fresh water into buckets on all three floors; guests requiring water to drink, or for a bath, need only grab the bell pull in their room to call for it. Each room is divided into a guest area, bedroom, closet and commode, and comes equipped with its own fireplace, bath, writing desk and chair, ample shelf and dresser space, a closet, extra chairs and a couch. Paintings, decorations and tapestries fit the theme of each room (each room has its own name to suit the theme). The bell pulls are ornately decorated, and can be accessed from the guest area and bedroom. The type of bell that sounds indicates both the room and what is desired, be it water, firewood, food, drink, or "other".There are at least as many servants on each floor as there are rooms, and the servants never fail to appear and inquire as to the specific needs of a guest, no matter the hour of the day. They stand ready in a servants room that is equipped with a fireplace, extra room supplies, a tub over hot coals from which to draw hot water for baths, and so on.Servants fetching food and drinks navigate up and down the inn by means of a spiral stairway that parallels the servant's fireplace along the back wall of the inn; it runs from the basement below the inn, to the kitchens on the ground floor, to the roof level. This allows them remain out of sight, thus avoiding guests who make their way to and from their rooms to the ground floor by an elaborately decorated U-shaped staircase that stands in the center of the inn.The roof level is reserved for the proprietor and those she keeps company with. Prices are expensive, and justifiably so.Proprietor: The Master of the Gargoyle (never the "proprietor") is Maeraedithe Hardivyper. Maeraedithe's presence commands the attention of everyone in a room. Those she looks upon feels the weight and measure of her gaze. An expectant look from her is enough to stand men up from their seats and make ready to be commanded. Her servants are highly trained, work doubly hard to avoid her displeasure, and are loyal. Maeraedithe is assumed to be a noblewoman from another land--she certainly dresses the part--but none can say for certain. What is known is that she courts adventurers, and provides them with discounts on food and lodgings during their stay. She can be found most hours on the roof level, but in times of need she will take the place of any servant. Thus she may be found cooking in the kitchen, hauling chamberpots to the river to wash them, or manhandling a guest out of the inn that's overstayed.Notable Guests:Indragar “Coinbelly” AerlondA one-time trader of silks, rugs and tapestries. Ask any merchant in the region and they will tell you Indragar’s paunch is rumored to hold more than his belly, as everyone knows he keeps coin sleeves over his gut. The fall of the Aerlond family forced Indragar to leave his native land, and he quickly settled in the busy little village where the Moonlit Gargoyle is located, having sold numerous of his wares to the inn that he now calls home. Indragar has paid in advance for a two month stay at the inn, that he might have a base of operations to resume his business; as a result his large belly has shrunk rather quickly for a man of his appetite. Indragar considers the region's intrigues to be brutish—practically homely—compared to those of his native land, and he has already thwarted attempts to unseat him from his place at the Gargoyle. He desires to know all he can about his new surroundings before he acquires property for a new shop, and is interviewing adventurers with reputations for doing their work quietly and keeping their mouths shut after (of which there are plenty in and around the Gargoyle), in order to supplement the growing number of paid contacts he has assembled with men and women of action.Other Details: Popular rumor holds that one gargoyle of the many that decorate the exterior of the inn comes to life each night. It flies out into the village, seeking to impart a secret to one lucky person, or to give aid to those in need, before returning to its perch. Villagers oft claim of hearing whispers in their dreams, of the sort that promises good fortune will follow in the wake of certain actions undertaken, while other villagers have discovered upon awaking that objects are rearranged in their homes so as to lead them to something valuable or presumed lost. Rarely can a gargoyle from the inn be found atop one of the buildings in the village after sunrise, and so making prisoners of all who dwell within. Whatever power the gargoyles hold to prevent any entrance or exit (magical or mundane) is unknown to the Master of the Moonlit Gargoyle, but only she is capable of releasing a gargoyle’s hold over a structure. Villagers believe the Master of the Moonlit Gargoyle tasks her servants with counting the gargoyles on their perches each morning in order to stoke rumor and interest in her business, but the count is made in all seriousness. She keeps one band of adventurers on retainer at all times, allowing them free room and board in her establishment and paying them handsomely to accompany her anywhere in the village to deal with whatever macabre scene or lurking horror they find, but only after her small army of runners have searched high and low in the town to find the missing gargoyle, and only after she has released the gargoyle's hold on a building.Adventure Hooks:1. The bodies of the Company of the Angry Chamberpot have been discovered inside a residence in the village. All floated in the air over the floor the main room of the house, by means of magic unknown, and were arranged in a circle that slowly spun counterclockwise. The backs of their heads were missing, as were their brains. Rumors exchanged between adventurers in the village claim the Angry Chamberpot were on retainer to the Master of the Moonlit Gargoyle, and that she seeks replacements to find their murderer or murderers.2. Representatives of the Guild of Stonecarvers and Gemfinders have approached the Master of the Moonlit Gargoyle, seeking permission to interview the adventurers staying at her inn. Wyverns have been harassing members of the guild working in the quarries in the hills to the east of the village, and at least one mated pair has made a nest in a quarry. If pressed, the representatives will admit to the truth of the rumor that a blue dragon emerged unexpectedly from a cavern entrance where the woodland borders the mountains, that leads to valuable gem deposits. The dragon slew several guild members before the rest could escape.3. Coinbelly has decided to test the adventurers in his employ by giving them the names of his rivals who are secretly engaged in duplicitous merchant activity, slaving, and worse, so they might uncover proof or otherwise put a stop to it.</blockquote>

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