The Broken Lance
The Broken Lance Inn is located in the heart of the Town of Molrick in the Briary of Molrick. The Broken Lance Inn offers rooms, fantastic food and quality entertainment every day of the week. It is owned and operated by Rob Rickman, an experienced cook that is the darling of the entire Mol River valley, as well as his wife Elinor and their four children.
Sensory & Appearance
Decorated with Elinor's famous flowers, the windows and doorways bring large amounts of both bright light and fresh scents into the Common Room. Smells from the kitchens make mouths water from morning to night.
Denizens
The most popular inn and tavern in the Town, the crowds are considerable every night of the week. The food is delicious, the wine is surprisingly fine, and the casks labelled "Redfield Brewery" and "Black Fleece Porter" make for much merriment, singing and laughing.
Architecture
The Broken Lance is a three story timber frame structure, with many glazed windows on the upper floors. The Common Room is large and lit with bright reflected oil lanterns.
History
People who first visit the inn often ask what the significance of the "broken lance" that hangs above the door into the Common Room. The story is that when Rob first took the job as a hand in the camp kitchens while the foundations of the castle were first being dug, Briar Crole and the Duke held a tournament on the grounds that would one day be the castle yards. The tournament would last for five days, and all the food and drink would be paid for by the Duke. Rob enjoyed the first day of the tournament to its fullest, drinking an inordinate amount of wine. By the late afternoon, The Briar and the Duke called for the names of everyone that would be competing in the tilt. The prize for the first day was the granting of a boon by the Duke to the rider with the most impressive tilt.
Drunk as he'd ever likely been in his life, Rob listed in the tilt. In truth, he was a good rider but had never tilted in his life. He didn't even own armor. Or a horse! One of the knights of Blackstone, Lewin Holgate, loaned Rob his armor and horse (in Lewin's defense, he was nearly as drunk as Rob was). Rob's name was called for the third tilt, and he would be facing Darren Feldman the Knight Commander of the Lorancourt Lancers.
Rob mounted his borrowed charger, took up his lance and lowered his helmet's visor. When the horn blew, Rob spurred his horse into a charge and pretty much just closed his eyes. When the two charging horses passed, both lances touched shields and shattered. Neither rider was unhorsed, at least by the blow. In truth, when Rob and his charger reached the end of the list, Rob still had his eyes closed and the horse continued right off the field and when it stopped, Rob fell off his mount, dead drunk.
The crowd was enthralled with the match, and cheered and sang for "Sir Rob the Mighty". The applause and singing continued for an hour, and in the end, Rob's score on the shield of a landed, veteran knight and an Officer of the Duke's Court was easily deemed to be the most impressive tilt of the day. Rob's boon was to be made Chief Cook of the Briary and to be able to keep the lance he'd broken on the knight's shield. Both requests were granted instantly.
Rob doesn't tell this story himself, but it gets told often and loudly whenever someone asks about the "lance". All Rob will say is that, because of that broken lance, Rob was able to build the inn and provide for his family and all his guests.
