Elfsong Tavern
The Elfsong Tavern was a well-known tavern in the city of Baldur's Gate.
Menu:
- Ale sold for 2 cp per tankard
- Stout sold for 4 cp per tankard
- Wine sold for 5 cp per tallglass
- Rollrum (dark, licorice-laced drink from the Tashalar) sold for 1 sp per flagon
- Stew sold for 1 sp per mug, and 2 cp extra for a large bowl
- All servings of other food were 1 sp (one serving made half a meal for most people)
Purpose / Function
The Elfsong catered to persons on the wrong side of the law, but it was more popular with adventurers and independent operators than with the established organizations of the underworld, who tended to frequent the Blushing Mermaid. The city watch had an arrangement with the management and could be expected to maintain a comfortable distance unless a full-scale war erupted inside.
People came to the Elfsong to do business of all sorts, most of it illicit. Fences, smugglers, assassins-for-hire, and many adventurers with hard-earned coin and tall tales to tell would drink at the establishment. Pirates and miscellaneous outlaws from up and down the Sword Coast were often found within as well. Patrons were expected to go armed and were completely responsible for their own safety. Murders were not unheard of, especially upon the dim and winding staircases.
Architecture
The two-story building was large and elegantly built, albeit somewhat dilapidated. The ground floor was the taproom featuring the bar and a large number of tables and dark, anonymous booths.
The only lighting was provided by the many blue driftglobes that floated about near the ceiling. The furniture was stout wood marked by any number of nicks and slashes from swords and knives. Individual tables were cordoned off with hanging tapestries that provided visual (but not vocal) privacy. The upper floor was filled with private meeting rooms, which could be rented either by the candle—the time it took a short taper to burn down—or by the evening.
Under Alan Alyth's ownership, much of the upper floor was given over to a large dining room with tables for eating and gambling. There were two private dining rooms: the Beholder Room and the Displacer Beast Room, named for the mounted heads contained in each. There were also two small guest rooms; two larger, more luxurious guest rooms; and Alan's private bedchamber.[
History
The Elfsong Tavern was one of the city's most popular taverns in the mid-1300s DR.
In the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, when the Dark Alliance first began to threaten Baldur's Gate, the Elfsong Tavern was where the fight began. Vahn, Kromlech, and Adrianna were attacked by thieves working for the Dark Alliance and recovered in the Elfsong Tavern. From the Elfsong Tavern they eventually went to the Onyx Tower, where they learned the secrets of the Elfsong. The ghostly elven woman who sang in the tavern sang for her husband, who had worked for the Company of the Crescent Blade. Her husband had left to defend Baldur's Gate and promised one day to return but never did. She continued to sing because she was still waiting for him to come home. In the Onyx Tower, the three adventurers met a ghost who revealed himself to be the husband of the elf woman. The destruction of the Onyx Tower freed the ghost and brought the elf woman peace.
In the Year of the Silent Flute, 1437 DR, Baldur's Gate suffered a major undead crisis. Although this brought all the dead back to life, it did not bring the Elfsong Ghost back to life, but instead brought its song back, as the ghost had been brought peace. The song continued to play regularly under the administration of the aged bartender.
Type
Pub / Tavern / Restaurant
Parent Location
Related Report (Primary Locations)
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments