Helm and Cloak

Located at the heart of the Upper City, just steps from the High House of Wonders and the High Hall, the Helm and Cloak serves the upper crust and has prices to match. Its food is excellent, and its accommodations are sumptuous. The Helm is a fashionable place to dine and chat. Patriars and Lower City residents who have lofty social ambitions favor it.

Unlike other high-priced establishments, the Helm and Cloak doesn’t follow the latest fashions. Its proprietors devote themselves to providing patrons with a warm and comfortable environment in which to stay, conduct business, or have a quiet meal or drink. Traditional good taste, plush furnishings, a quiet atmosphere, and attentive service keep the Helm and Cloak busy.

The upscale inn and tavern consists of two connected buildings. The Helm is an old rooming house that faces Gond’s High House of Wonders. A massive iron helmet once worn by a titan (according to the wait staff) shadows its entry. The smaller Cloak, an old house that fronts a courtyard off Windspell Street, faces the High Hall. A cloak hangs over its porch. As the story goes, a priestess of Sune once owned the house and had lurid pictures painted on its ceilings. The original cloak was hers, but many mantles of different colors and fabrics have been displayed above the Cloak’s door since then.

The Helm’s common room holds a marble unicorn bust whose bronze horn is touched for luck. The statuary is a symbol of the Knights of the Unicorn (see page 50), a group of chic-younglings-turned-adventurers who used the Helm and Cloak as an informal headquarters.

A Cormyrean husband-and-wife team runs the inn and its large staff with smooth efficiency. Unknown to most, Vedren and Halesta are retired members of the Knights of the Unicorn. The organization has grown far beyond its humble beginnings and now boasts members across Faerûn. After Vedren and Halesta’s adventuring party fractured, the two humans came to Baldur’s Gate to share a less dangerous life together. The unicorn bust is a reminder of what brought them together. Still, old habits die hard, and the innkeepers keep their ears to the street and their swords sharp.

Type

Inn

Parent Location

Upper City