The Wizards Sleeve

From the outside this tavern looks folksy, cheerful and enchanting due in part to the fact it was established inside an old mage tower.

## Description

Stacked stones and stone pillars make up most of the building's outer structure. It's hard to see through the large, stained glass windows, but the enjoyment from within can be felt outside. As you enter the tavern through the thick, wooden door, you're welcomed by amazing, but unknown scents and a pleasant atmosphere. The bartender is handling some customers, but still manages to welcome you with a wink.

It's as engaging inside as it is on the outside. Stone beams support the upper floor and the large candles attached to them. The walls are packed with all sorts of travel memorabilia, most likely all collected by the owner.

The tavern itself is packed. Passing traders seem to be the primary clientele here, which could be seen as the best sign you can get. Several long tables are occupied by happy, excited groups of people, some are dancing on the table, while others cheer them on with clapping and yelling. The other, smaller tables are also occupied by people who are singing and dancing, occasionally pulling an unsuspecting waitress amidst their dancing group.

Even most of the stools at the bar are occupied, though nobody seems to mind more company. Judging by the amount of women in this tavern and the amount of them trying to subtly eye the bartender, it's probably his good looks and charm. You manage to find a seat and prepare for what will undoubtedly be a great evening.

On quiet nights, guests gather around a large fireplace in the taproom and swap tales of distant places, strange monsters, and valuable treasures.

On busier nights, the place is loud and crowded. The balconies overflow with merchants and nobles, while the tables on the ground floor are filled with adventurers and their associates. Invariably, the combination of a few drinks and the crowd's encouragement induces some folk to pay for a brief trip down into the dungeon. Most folk pay in advance for a ride down and immediately back up, though a few ambitious souls might launch impromptu expeditions into the dungeon. Few such ill-prepared parties ever return.

Groups seeking to enter the dungeon for a specific reason generally come to the tavern during its quiet hours. Even at such times, there are still a few prying eyes in the taproom, lurkers who carry news of the comings and goings from the dungeon to the Zhentarim. dark cults, criminal gangs, and other interested parties.

## Location

**The Wizards Sleeve** is located on ***Rainrun Street*** in ***Dawic's Administrative Ward*** between Storm's End Palace and ***Snail Street***.

## Services

**The Wizards Sleeve** offers guest rooms on the three upper floors. Well-worn boards covered the floor, but the main impression is of comfort. Rich blue tapestries decorate the wood-panelled walls of the common room, which consist of a bar and tables of stout wood.

The taproom fills the first floor of the building. A 40-foot-diameter well named "The Yawning Portal" provides access to a subterranean dungeon dominates the space. The well is all that remains of Halaster's tower, and now, devoid of the stairways and floors that formed subterranean levels, it drops as an open shaft for 140 feet. Stirges, spiders, and worse have been known to invade the Yawning Portal from below.

Balconies on the tavern's second and third floors overlook the well, with those floors accessed by way of wooden stairs that rise up from the taproom. Guests sitting at the tables on the balconies have an excellent view of the well and the action below.

### Entering the well

Those who wish to enter the dungeon for adventure (or the daring tourists who just want to *"ride the rope"*) must pay a gold piece to be lowered down. The return trip also costs a piece of gold, sent up in a bucket in advance.

Once the initial payment is made, a few stairs takes one to the top of the waist high lip of the well. The rope that hangs in the center of the well is levered over to the lip by a beam in the rafters, and when those who have paid are ready, they mount the rope and take the long ride down.

### Oddities on Display

A staggering variety of curios and oddities adorn the taproom. Traditionally, adventurers who recover a strange relic from the dungeon present it to Durnan as a trophy of their success. Other adventurers leave such curio to mark their visits to the tavern, or relinquish them after losing a bet with Durnan, who likes to wager on the fate of adventuring bands that enter the dungeon. Occasionally, something that strikes Durnan's fancy can be used to pay a bar tab.

### Madam Desireé LeCoq

The manager and chief procuress of **The Wizard's Sleeve.** Her many roles involve high brow escort services as well as other forms of prostitution for profit.

As a procurer she receives money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing, and possibly monopolising, a location where the prostitute may engage clients.

Examples of procuring include:

* Trafficking a prostitute into a country for the purpose of soliciting sex
* Operating a prostitution business
* Transporting a prostitute to the location of their arrangement
* Deriving financial gain from the prostitution of another

### Bartender

The proprietor of **The Wizard's Sleeve** is something of an enigma. Blessed with a seemingly limitless life span by treasures he brought back from his expedition nearly two centuries ago, he is as much a fixture in the taproom as the well.

Durnan is a man of few words. He expects to be paid for his time, and will offer insight and rumours only in return for hard cash.

> *"We know the odds and take our chances"*
>
>

Whether he is breaking up a card game that has turned violent or refusing the pleas of adventurers trapped at the bottom of the well who are unable to pay for a ride up.

Despite his stony heart, he is an excellent source of information about the dungeon and other dungeons, provided one can pay his price.

##### **Personality Trait: Isolation**

It's a cruel world. All people have to fend for themselves. Self-sufficiency is the only path to success.

##### **Ideal: Independence**

Someone who can stand alone can stand against anything.

##### **Bond: The Yawning Portal**

This place is my only home. My friends and family are long gone. I love this place, but I try not to get attached to the people here. I'll outlive them all. Lucky me.

##### **Flaw: Heartless**

If you want sympathy, the Temple of Ilmater is in the Sea Ward. No matter how bad things are, you'll be gone in a blink of an eye.

### Bouncer

The bouncer is a brave female human named ***Eadburg***. She possesses a magical hammer which once belonged to an illustrious warrior who claimed to have used the weapon to slay a Leviathan of the Rhûnaer Ocean.

### Serving Girls

1. **Rowe**: *Female Human Entertainer, Neutral*. Rowe has a square face, with messy copper hair and narrow brown eyes. She wears plain clothing and carries a long knife. Rowe seeks a "necromancer" to apprentice under.
2. **Forna**: *Female Human Professional, Evil*. Forna is tall, with auburn hair and light green eyes. She wears well-made clothing and several pouches hang from her belt. Forna is mourning her husband, who was incinerated by a rogue fire elemental.
3. **Ceolfra**: *Female Human Entertainer, Good*. Ceolfra is short, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wears tailored clothing and a sling of vials and potions.
4. **Becha**: *Female Human Peasant, Evil*. Becha has a long face, with dark silvery hair and green eyes. She wears modest garments and a pewter amulet inset with a dark red ruby.

## Menu

* Steamed Boar with Nutmeg and Leek, Glass of Port (2 sp)
* Roasted Shark with Saffron and Boysenberry Tart, Glass of Whiskey (2 sp)
* Braised Lamb with Sugar and Dried Grape, Glass of Mead (2 sp)
* Baked Phoenix and Walnut Bread, Glass of Whiskey (4 sp)
* Braised Oxen and Soft Cheese, Glass of Cider (4 sp)

## Denizens / Patrons

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## Rumours

You did hear rumours about this tavern, it's famous for its women who wear customised sorcerer and wizard robes to show a little more than the original creators intended.

1. The elves of the Spiderweb Vale are preparing for war.
2. Lady Sane was killed by ghouls in the hills outside town.
3. Ghosts walk the ramparts of Ryne Keep during the full moon.
4. The Forge of the Gods lies somewhere beneath the Ashwood Forest.
5. Something has been delving a network of tunnels beneath the town.
6. Agents of the Wraith Tyrant have stolen an ancient artefact from the Fortress of the Wyrm Duke.