Dragonbone Tavern

My first, and only, encounter of Dragonbone Tavern was not as smooth as I had hoped. Ten days after leaving my house, and my legs were exhausted from treading through the thick snow. The only companion I had was my backpack, with little food left and some money. I was almost ready to head home but I noticed some smoke rising behind a mountain. With new hope, I continued walking, and found myself looking at a brick red building nestled within a massive dragon skeleton. Opening the door, the smell of fresh food and warmth flooded my senses. I was overjoyed at the sight of full plates, yet when I looked at the guests faces, they looked dead inside. No emotion, whatsoever. It was odd, something definitely felt wrong, but I couldn't place it. I stayed for a meal, but as soon as I smiled at the food I was brought, a man with a large knife approached me. I screamed, and jumped from my chair. The man lunged, and I ducked out of the way and slammed my fist into his stomach, sending him reeling. I ran as fast as I could out of the tavern, and never looked back.

— Jerna interviewing a fellow traveller

It is important to keep calm in Dragonbone Tavern. No matter what. He can sense fear. He can sense anger, happiness. He knows, and he will hunt you. No matter what you see, no matter what you do, you must stay calm. I made that mistake once, and I've not returned.
But on the bright side, the food is nice. Not too sure what they use to make their food, but it's too good for me to question.

Parent Location

Maerkhor

Floors: 4
Rooms: 7
Staff: 7

Layout

Floors

Ground Floor

The ground floor is the only place the guests may inhabit. The ground floor is the largest, with an impressive seating area, stocked full of tables, chairs, all carved from bone wood, a rare and valuable material.
As well as the seating area, a neatly kept garden exists. Covered in a protective layer of glass, the garden is continually looked after by the garden keeper, who has a keen eye for nature.

First Floor

The first of the floors barred from guests, the first floor contains the kitchen, where all the food is prepared. Large corridors of ovens heat the food as the trio of chefs arrange all the meals for the guests. Each shipment of food materials is delivered directly to the first floor, through a large open wall. This is to disguise what kind of food guests are eating.

Second Floor

Within the second floor are all the bedrooms of the staff. The staff are not allowed to leave the premises, and all of their belongings, which are very few and far between, are crammed in the small bedrooms. The owner of the tavern, Merrin Aladox, has the largest bedroom, the same size as all of the other staff's bedrooms put together. Merrin's bedroom is mostly made of bone wood, with shelves lining the walls of rare items and materials that he has collected over the years.

Basement

No regular visitor knows about the basement. Well, except for me, because I have access, just like other suppliers and traders. The basement is incredibly large, as it follows the spine of the dragon skeleton buried underground. The ribcage of the skeleton provides structural support, with small lanterns hanging from each rib. Guarding the secrets of the basement is a large potbelly dragon, fitted with bronze armour to keep it from being injured.

Food & Drink

Food

I-Crunch

On the surface, nothing is out of the ordinary with these, yet I could tell straight away these were made from some unusual food. I was correct in thinking this, as it turns out they were made from dyed and fried fish eyeballs. Not the most pleasant, but they tasted rather nice so I always order these.

Meat On A Stick

It's exactly what you think, meat on a stick. But what meat do you think? I can guarantee it isn't what you're thinking. When I first tried the food, it tasted incredible. I took that back when I found out this was made from terani meat. I couldn't react however, so I calmly removed it from my mouth and ordered something different.

Drink

Molar Soup

The staple drink in the tavern, molar soup is a light drink in a carved out dragon tooth. I'm not sure of the species of dragon the teeth belongs to, but I am sure the soup itself is made from the dragon. Why it is called a soup I'll never know, as it has a very thin consistency.

Hidden Black Market

What's hidden in the basement you ask? Not good things, that's for sure. If you are given access to the basement, follow the lanterns, and somehow make it past the guard potbelly, you'll find a large room, decorated with unusual objects and skeletons. Dragonbone Tavern's real purpose is to trade off rare items for money, these items coming from dragons. Merrin is a collector of dragon organs, scales, bones, feathers, anything the corpses have to offer that sell for good money on the black market. I myself have made a fair few purchases in this basement, and I can safely say it is an uncomfortable place to be in. On the bright side, I have a lovely dragon jewel necklace.
According to some sketchy sources, the biggest purchase in the black market was about six months ago. A large, menacing man with an unrevealed name bought 6 live zapdragons, incredibly powerful and hard to capture. It took Merrin 2 weeks to capture 6 of the beasts, and the purchase was made immediately after. Apparently, this man is trying to form an army of dragons, but so far I have not found any more information on this.

Merrin Aladox

As the owner of the tavern, Merrin is a rich man. His underground black market business has brought masses of money, which he spends on rare items and delicious foods to spoil himself with. While he has an outwardly shallow personality, he is incredibly devious and cunning. With the intriguing ability to sense one's emotions, he is also weak to them. That is why, upon entering the tavern, you must appear emotionless, lest you get killed.
Nobody knows for sure, but it is believed that Merrin possesses abilities of the supernatural kind. It is thought that the man is able to teleport, as he has been seen walking through various doorways that would not be possible without that ability.