Cafe Sardivel
A popular cafe in the center of the desert city of Anthep. Run by Sardivelian expat Rick Gentiloni, the cafe serves a variety of customers looking for an exotic drink or a place to discuss sensitive business in privacy.
History
Rick was lucky enough to survive the Red Monday massacre of 881 and Paoli Piedmonte's consolidation of power, but life in Sardivelia became stifling under the new regime. The oppressive new taxes on the Gentilonis and other noble families made them functionally dependent on the regime's good graces, and any new business venture required approval from Paoli's noble council.
Tired of his homeland's politics, Rick decided to set sail for the continent of Pescat and set out his own path in the world. He'd read countless books in the Gentiloni family library on the vast beauty of the Campanel Desert, and with the half-elf kingdom of Despero's recent conquest of Anthep he saw a perfect opportunity to invest in a growing territory. He sailed through the Strait of Myltev and up through the Arrayas Ocean to the desert metropolis of Anthep, purchasing a small restaurant from a browbeaten merchant and transforming it into the world-renowned Cafe Sardivel in a matter of months.
Cafe Sardivel became an attraction for tourists and locals alike, hosting everything from discreet meetings among insurrectionists to luxe parties for Despero's elite. Celebrities like the bard adventurer Elan Quinn passed through the cafe's swinging doors, and Rick only ever banned one person from the cafe: Paoli.
Rick enjoyed the success and acclaim, but after years in the unforgiving desert he began to miss his homeland and its balmy coasts. Having left behind an old lover named Isabella, he spent years hoping she would one day join him in Anthep but after a decade of silence he resigned himself to a life of solitude in the desert. He traded words with the corrupt half-elf constable and enjoyed listening to the cafe's talented thri-kreen pianist, but every year Sardivelia's coastal beauty became more and more of a distant memory.
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