The Cask

Where ale and music flow.

A hungry Acturus Albani.

The Cask is a tavern found in the Treasurebox Ward of the City of Lightbank, the capital city of the Duchy of Adeah, which is found in the western side of the Kingdom of Crendameth. The building itself is a repurposed cask of gigantic proportions, approximately 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter and 16 meters (52 feet) in height. Due to complications with the rest of the city's architecture and residents, and for practical purposes, the tavern lies horizontally instead of vertically, which is how it original owners envisioned it originally.

Purpose / Function

It is believed, due to its proportions, that the cask originally belonged to a giant of some kind, who discarded it for unknown reasons. Popular speculation places the former ownership of the now-building to a storm giant, but such claims have yet to be corroborated.

Nowadays, The Cask is a popular tavern in the city of Lightbank, frequented by inhabitants from all of the city's six wards. It serves different kinds of foods and alcoholic beverages, specializing in ale and certain wines.

It also has rooms that can be rented by patrons that are looking for a place to rest. These can be found at the far end of each floor, with the topmost rooms being more spacious and expensive.

Alterations

The main alterations that have been done to the cask is the integration of leveled wooden floors where patrons may take their orders without fear of falling to the cask's curved interior, a series of stairs that takes both patrons and waiters from one floor to the next or the previous one and a pulley system that allows for the rapid dispatch of orders on different floors. This system also allows The Hanging Band of Bountiful Bards to perform on their signature moving platform.

Architecture

The building was originally constructed using bent strips of oak wood, which had been soaked in what is believed to be some sort of naturally-occurring resin and held together with circular iron bands and a series of iron bolts. The carpenters hired to repair the cask after its fall attempted to replicate the style of this construction, yet signs of their handiwork can be plainly observed to this day.

The wooden floors on the inside are of a similar make, yet include other types of wood to accommodate for the different 'feel' that each floor has. This has been paired with the decorations that can be found hanging on the walls, which are an assortment of trinkets, baubles, banners, maps and other miscellaneous items that have either been donated by the patrons or bought by the owner at the time.

The tavern is outfitted with two dozen Magilights, whose wallrings are all styled after small mugs.

History

The cask was found above some crushed houses during the first year of Elmeyon Crendameth's reign, when the people of Lightbank returned from the city after the were driven out by the Voidlord's forces. Because no-one was left behind, it is very unlikely that anyone was harmed when it was discarded.

Though battered, the cask still retained most of its integrity. After much discussion, the Breena family bought both the plots and the leftover materials of the crushed houses to compensate for the families that had lost them and won the approval to turn the cask into a business, with the condition that a sizable percentage of their income had to be paid to the Duchy's treasury for the first ten years of its existence, which would then be divided equally among the affected families while taking a small part as a tax. Soon after, work began to restore the outside and to furnish the inside.

During its opening night, it is estimated that as much as fifty-one percent of the entire city went to visit, including the Duke himself. To this day, the tavern has experienced a flow of returning and new customers under the ownership of the Breena family.

Tourism

The main draw the tavern has is its drinking competition, which promises

"Big wins for big beerbellies!" - Flyer advertising the competition

to whoever can drink a large amount of ale the fastest. The drink is always served in a small keg, which is called a cask for thematic purposes and doubles as a large tankard. The contest is quite famous for the mood that is set beforehand by the tavern's musicians and staff, with all of them chanting a song that has been named 'The Aleslide' by regulars. Its lyrics are

"Well! Think to prove your mettle?
We don't drink from kettles, oh no!
Here we drink from the cask
So if you're up to the task
Drink up and fast,
And in the ale bask!" - The Aleslide

after which patrons and onlookers are invited to chant 'bask' until someone shows that they've drank all the ale. Whosoever is the first to do so wins the accumulated prize pool, which is normally fifty gold pieces or more.

Another staple in the tavern is its band, The Hanging Band of Bountiful Bards, which plays music from a platform that moves up and down the entirety of the tavern using the pulley system, accepting song requests and regaling their audience with tall tales and riveting songs. The band is comprised of eight members, all hailing from different parts of the Kingdom and playing an assortment of instruments, almost all of which are members of the woodwind family. They are led by Gylla of Windpath, a human female and the one responsable for the band's foundation.

Lastly, The Cask's food and drink have a reputation for being quite delectable, serving their own brand of ale along with with some imports from the rest of the Kingdom. Though their focus is on ale, the have a small selection of wines and spirits from which to choose from. Some with a more demanding palette tend to look for other establishments to satisfy their culinary needs, however.

Founding Date

Undetermined. The wood that makes up the cask, as well as the iron rings that bind it, have shown little signs of deterioration.

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Owner

Breena Beren