Orca Bay Alehouse

"Aye, you've 'ad enough 'ave ye? Yer tired o' being worked ta death knowin' t'at yer gonna die in that damned factory? T'at if something 'appens, rather than having any protection, yer children will likely be roped up ta take yer place. Tired o' bein' unspoken fer? Angry and betrayed as ye buried o'er forty friends and neighbors on t'at dark day but three months ago? Then come down ta where the Wolves o' t'e Sea would quench their thirst. Tell the proprietor your there for the 'Factory Meeting'. Hope ta see ye there."

Message being passed amongst the Ghel-men known to be among those whom have been protesting and marching over the last few weeks in Geata Iarainn.

The Orca Bay Alehouse gets its name from being directly across the bay from where the navy's facilities are to train with and interact with the pod known as Iron Wolves, the pod that serves with the North Suranthi Fleet. It is something of an attraction to some in the region, a bit of free entertainment for the working class and poor, sitting out at the outdoor dining area when weather permits, watching navy crews and orca go through drills with patched up captured vessels, or old retired and patched up navy vessels. These exercises aren't a daily event, but generally every week or two they will do such a drill and its a favorite event of the locals in the area.

However this inn and tavern has much more going on than this simple cultural entertainment the last few weeks, and quietly, on the lips of the downtrodden factory workers, the core whom make up this neighborhood, the whispers are growing. Some lady calling herself 'Gilly Ghel' is organizing their protests, unifying their anger, giving them purpose, direction. Forty. Forty of their own dead. The kids of those men and women now forced to work in the very same sort of facilities to support toddler brothers and sisters. All for wages that while deemed 'fair' from the outside, are not even close to fair for the conditions and hours and sheer recklessly dangerous ill maintained equipment they are forced to use. But without recognition as a trade, without legal writ to form a Guild, what can they do?

Well to hear the Gilly Ghel tell it, you can organize and unionize and force recognition. And that's what it is. The beginning of a worker revolt. The beginning of a crime that is already well known, for its been going on a for a week. The police have pushed back, the local criminal syndicate, the Kirklands, have pushed. But the Ghel-men refuse to back down. Its an open secret amongst the Ghel-men that the basement of Orca Bay Alehouse is where all this is organized from. They keep tight lipped though, for if anyone else, especially the police, were to find out....well they'd be charged for rebellion. Gilly would likely hang.

Purpose / Function

The Orca Bay Alehouse is a drinking house and eatery first and foremost, and has been a popular spot for many a working class individual for an evening of affordable, and delicious for the price, food and drink on Saturnalia after a long work week. The Alehouse has a long and proud history of being involved in the unionzation/guild recognition of many trades, and bears that history quite proudly. Above the bar, mounted on the wall are the various guild and union crests of every Guild or Union which can tie its formations in Suranth to this tavern in Geata-Iarainn. Iron-workers, ship-wrights, stevedores, whalers, fishermen, carpenters and framers, glass-blowers, and of brewers/distillers. As such this long history has created the imagery, which is not entirely incorrect, that the place is dual purpose. Indeed its current owner, the fourth generation of the Tunnaris to own the building, a dwarf named Grunki Alevikmac Tunnaris, is a staunch and proud union supporter, insuring the only alcohol he stocks comes from Guild licensed breweries, wineries and distilleries, even the imported stuff. He has even, five decades earlier, spent the capital to turn the building far more...militant. It should be noted that the Suranthi Navy respects the establishment and its history, mostly because they respect the Tunnaris name, as each generation has served in the navy with distinction for at least a century before taking over the family business, and the siblings whom don't end up taking over the alehouse pretty much all served. Currently Grunki's own sister is serving on the Glacial Ghost, the flagship of the Suranthi Navy.

Alterations

In its history it has been put to the torch by anti-unionists twice and by the Suranthi military once. Now its walls are reinforced with steel plating, the windows are narrow, and he keeps two dozen rifles with powder and shot in a locked room in the back, ready to use should they be needed. The basement is fortified, with but one entrance, and it starts as a narrow hallway and stair case, basically a kill tunnel, before you get to the actual cellar. The alehouse also has a second floor, with rooms that can be rented, ten of them on the books. In truth, within that, there are three extra 'undisclosed' rooms hidden behind a false interior wall, these 'panic rooms' are also oft used to let wanted Ghel-men (or others in some periods) hide if needed. In the basement, under the cellar, there is another basement level that is well kept by the dwarf, but until relatively recently, wasn't yet used. This five room set up acts as a command center now for the Ghel-man Guild Movement, as it has many other times for many other guilds and unions in its long and storied history.

Architecture

The Orca Bay Alehouse is built in a very anarchistic style, blending centuries old middle age artisanal sylings with new age techniques and industrial finish. Functional, with the artistic additions limited, toned but beautiful in their own working class way. Brick walls, with the second floor done in solid oak, an expensive import, plated in thin steel siding, painted in a oceanic blue. The weather and salty ocean mist has taken its toll, but this has only added to the finish, the salt crystalization creating white streaks and stains upon the paint job, adding to that oceanic imagery. The windows are narrower than normal, but numerous enough to keep a good spread of exterior light getting in. Indeed the windows might, not incorrectly, remind one of arrow slits or gun ports. The interior walls seem pine wood planking, though strapped between that and the brick work is iron reinforcement sheeting. The stonework outdoors is simple, plain, but of notable quality, the masonry skill on display with the very tight, smooth finish of each course of stone blocks.

Two fireplaces keep the common area warm and well lit, the bar large, the common area with fourteen tables capable of seating six or seven patrons. The kitchen well stocked and always busy, with all the latest equipment available to its staff, including a large charcoal stove and a third fireplace specifically designed as a meat grill, rack and all to work with. The building is the largest tavern/inn in the south end of the Dock District. This isn't true of its overnight capacity of course, but it is primarly a drink house and eatery, the function of an inn is secondary. Then of course there is the cellar, a simple one room layout.

The basement mentioned is for reference for summer camp reasons but the layout will be a secret, as will the basement's existence later

History

To describe the Orca Bay Alehouse's history in a short manner would be a true dis-service to the storied existence of this establishment. But in short this building, and the neighborhoods in the Docks Districts of Geata-Iarainn as a whole have been a central point of the Age of Revitalization in Suranth, in that the recognition of the value of workers and labor (by force as required) over the centuries. The building has been put to the torch three times, and one of them actually involved military intervention and unleashing two small cannons, which of course caused abhorrant amounts of civil damage and civilian collateral. Ultimately the military squadron which committed this action and its officer core were charged with treason and other war crimes, and were locked up for life. As stated above, the Alehouse holds the rather undisputed bragging rights as the 'Birthplace of Guilds'. As one might expect, this plays into much of their marketing.

Given the history, it is a checkered opinion amongst any sort of authority. Some policemen and women actually enjoy the place and are regulars, respected, well liked even. These however, are a select few, only four really, in the local precinct's staff of near twenty. The rest find the place distasteful, think of it as a den of crime, rebellion, and a few select extreme minded folk, including one or two officers on the force, see it as the birthplace of the most illicit and distasteful 'protection racket' in history. That being a direct reference to Guilds and Unions. Which is a bit of a hypocritical stance, given the police have a Guild of their own, though with necessary and reasonable limitations on some of their actions and rights in the matters of strikes, protections from dismissal, and other such things.

Tourism

The working class, lower and middle mostly. Factory workers are common, and it is the Alehouse of preference for many Ghel-men. Some stay here, most eat and drink and socialize their fill, then go home to sleep it off and enjoy their one day off with their families. Others whom come here that do stay the night often are foreign sailors, workers from merchant ships and trade vessels and the like. It is a place where one can rub shoulders with all sorts, criminal, lower and middle class across all parts. You can meet many people worth knowing, and many people worth talking to. They come for the drink, stay for the food, and enjoy learning of the region and of Geata-Iarainn from the perspective of those whom live and work there every day. They also enjoy the implied 'danger' and 'rebellious' nature of the establishment.

Journalists visit the place regularly from the Geata Gazette, because it is well known that it is one of the best places to best put your finger on the pulse of the city's working class and poor.

Founding Date

1262

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Parent Location

Geata-Iarainn

Owner

Grunki Alevikmac Tunnaris