The Polished Pump

'Now, I have visited many establishments, think me not unexperienced, dear reader and friend. I have won at zhūan-dó in an alehouse made of the bones of a ten-thousand-year-old oak. I have drunk buccaneer captains under the table overlooking the Spines, and I have saved my neck from the axe of a raging bull with the promise of ayirag. I broke a man's arm upon a frozen lake in a drengr's beer-garden, and I have drank two shots at once, stood between warring empires. So when I say that in the shadows of her dockfront warehouses, Waterdeep holds one of the most unassuming yet beautiful taphouses in the world, do not think I jest, for I speak the highest praise.'- Mellikan Firovanti, author of 'Fantastic Beers and Where to Imbibe Them'. 
The Polished Pump, previously The Rusty Pump was a tavern near Waterdeep's central docks. It was on Naysayer-Cassalanter Alley.
Its deed came into the possession of Volothamp Geddarm sometime in the 1490's. He gave it as a reward to The Naysayers for saving his sugar baby, in 1502.
The Naysayers found it inhabited by a poltergeist named Lif Ariksson, a ghostly mute elf. They fixed it up nice, had live music, drinks, shows, and great food. It had a great atmosphere and a reputation for being a good place to find jobs. 
By about 1504, it was very well known, and some of the original Naysayers worked there - Lily Rocksmasher and Josephine Lemmitz. Some more of the Naysayers still frequented it, too. Lif Ariksson made peace with his former glorious property and moved on to the spirit realm in 1504 - but he repossessed his old ghostly form in the 1520s, a year or two after Warad was nearly assassinated by a member of the Teal Brotherhood but this having been thwarted by the West Marchers.
It had a dining area on the roof with beautiful views. Its signature, most expensive meal was the Vreigardt Meze, costing 10gp per head. It included flatbread, pepper and olive oil plus drinks first, then warm olives and carrots and veg, fried caprǎ, spiced pork, mint lamb, juicy chicken, sliced cured meats, roasted tomatoes and peppers, grapes, feta, falafel, fish, breadsticks with sesame seeds and more. Dessert was a simple staple - peaches in cream with mint leaves. It was a fine meal, and enjoyed by some of the city's rich and famous. 
Its number was Dockward 1216.
It was one of the nicest pubs in the city, for sure. Everyone knew about it from far and wide. If you're playing a campaign in Waterdeep, make sure to visit! 
Category:Places
Category:Places in Waterdeep
Category:Taverns