Blushing Mermaid

Infamous up and down the Sword Coast, the Blushing Mermaid is known as the best tavern and inn in Baldur’s Gate for those looking to get their teeth kicked in, or to kick in someone else’s. Always one spilled drink away from a brawl, the bar is the sort of place most don’t visit unless they’re well-armed or with a lot of friends — preferably both. The place takes its name from the life-sized wooden mermaid hanging above the incongruous reception desk, a dozen blackened and withered hands nailed to its body — souvenirs left by those who refused to pay their bill.
Beyond the combination lobby and common room, the Blushing Mermaid is a confusing maze of wings and oddly interconnected floors, hiding dozens of small and shabby rooms and at least four levels of cellars. Few people bother to sleep at the Mermaid, due in part to its operators’ loud pronouncement that they aren’t responsible for any losses, including those of life and limb. Instead, its plethora of back rooms and antechambers act as de facto offices for the menagerie of shady characters who spend their days drinking here. Ostensibly retired sailors, the bar’s regulars are in fact contacts for a variety of unsavory organizations, from smugglers and bandits to fences, drug dealers, and panderers. Some work for the Guild, others for operations all along the Sword Coast. Those looking to do business with the Gate’s underworld find that a handful of silver in the Mermaid can open doors, but the wrong word can find you dumped unconscious in the alley out back. While the Mermaid’s criminal aspects are an open secret, the place is well connected enough that the Flaming Fist traditionally leaves it alone.

Alterations

The blushing mermaid started out as a single two-story taproom and lodging combination. Over the years, however, the owners bought out their neighbors and connected the existing buildings through new masonry and (sometimes ramshackle) wooden corridors. No logic beyond "the cheapest way to connect this building to that one over there" is applied in the building of those connections, so the Mermaid really is a labyrinthe of rooms and corridors.

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Owner

Zanvoril Beiwynn

Related Report (Secondary Locations)

• Session 2: Securing the Sewers Report