The Inn At The River's Crossing
The Northern realms are littered with Inns at every traveler's road, much business stems from travelers seeking a hot meal and place to sleep for the night. The Inn at the River Crossing is no exception. Leading from Brugge to Verden, down the merchant's road leading south to Cintra, the inn sees a lot of travelers, and more importantly, their coin.
Founded in 1197AR by Florian, a local merchant from Garren's mill who saw an opportunity for a lucrative business, the inn has steadily grown over the decades it's been open. Starting as just a simple shack with some straw beds and a barn, the inn now boasts the stone inn itself, a stone hut for more travelers to rest in, and a wooden hut where the owner and staff sleeps.
Though while enjoying the Inn's success, Florian's health continued deteriorating until he died in 1221AR, at 49 years of age. His property was split up by his three sons, the eldest of which, Leonard, inherited the Inn and continued running it until his own death in 1252AR from a disease a traveler had brought with him. Dying at the age of 52, Leonard only had one son, Declan, aged 18 at the time.
It's been 10 years since Declan has ran the Inn at the River Crossing, and locals complain that the place seems to draw more unsavory types than just the regular travelers. It is a place to go fo men of the Garren's Mill or Old Oak when they are in search of earthly pleasures away from eyes of their wives and neighbours, and even more so if one wants to satiate their non-human kink, Either way, the place is a popular stop for supply caravans from Old Oak heading towards the Garren's Mill. Also, rumour goes around that smugglers meet at the Inn to hawk their wares and discuss business deals with others, and merchants trade their goods to the smugglers to avoid paying taxes in Garren's Mill. Worse yet, it has been said that the Scoia'Tael at times meet with Hawkers by the Inn to discuss business, since Declan does not care much for his clientele, as long as he earns his coin.
This situation was for a while a torn in the side of the Garren noble family, however the inn itself is a free holding outside of the Garren jurisdiction and pays it's fat tax directly to the king's coffers, making it the best place to hide when laws of the city were broken, because not even Garrens can go up against what is King's. For the rest the inn holds a garrison of fairly unsavory bouncer types of which several no doubt have a bounty on their heads in several kingdoms.
That all aside, the fact that the border guard soldiers of both Brugge and Verden tend to stand there and bide their time thanks to unreasonable good discounts makes the Inn at the River Crossing hold fairly upstanding facade and for normal traveler it is actually welcoming and seemingly safe place to stay for as long as you do not cross Declan or any of the more dangerous patrons - who however still tend to respect neutrality of the place and actively protect it: Within the walls, you are not likely to lose more than a few teeth for offense. It will be however later when you set out on the road again, you might find someone joined you for a trip uninvited to put a knife between your ribs.
Declan himself hasn't been seen in the Inn for months now, preferring to let his staff work in the Inn while he lives in Garren's Mill, only occasionally dropping by to collect the Inn's income.
Founded in 1197AR by Florian, a local merchant from Garren's mill who saw an opportunity for a lucrative business, the inn has steadily grown over the decades it's been open. Starting as just a simple shack with some straw beds and a barn, the inn now boasts the stone inn itself, a stone hut for more travelers to rest in, and a wooden hut where the owner and staff sleeps.
Though while enjoying the Inn's success, Florian's health continued deteriorating until he died in 1221AR, at 49 years of age. His property was split up by his three sons, the eldest of which, Leonard, inherited the Inn and continued running it until his own death in 1252AR from a disease a traveler had brought with him. Dying at the age of 52, Leonard only had one son, Declan, aged 18 at the time.
It's been 10 years since Declan has ran the Inn at the River Crossing, and locals complain that the place seems to draw more unsavory types than just the regular travelers. It is a place to go fo men of the Garren's Mill or Old Oak when they are in search of earthly pleasures away from eyes of their wives and neighbours, and even more so if one wants to satiate their non-human kink, Either way, the place is a popular stop for supply caravans from Old Oak heading towards the Garren's Mill. Also, rumour goes around that smugglers meet at the Inn to hawk their wares and discuss business deals with others, and merchants trade their goods to the smugglers to avoid paying taxes in Garren's Mill. Worse yet, it has been said that the Scoia'Tael at times meet with Hawkers by the Inn to discuss business, since Declan does not care much for his clientele, as long as he earns his coin.
This situation was for a while a torn in the side of the Garren noble family, however the inn itself is a free holding outside of the Garren jurisdiction and pays it's fat tax directly to the king's coffers, making it the best place to hide when laws of the city were broken, because not even Garrens can go up against what is King's. For the rest the inn holds a garrison of fairly unsavory bouncer types of which several no doubt have a bounty on their heads in several kingdoms.
That all aside, the fact that the border guard soldiers of both Brugge and Verden tend to stand there and bide their time thanks to unreasonable good discounts makes the Inn at the River Crossing hold fairly upstanding facade and for normal traveler it is actually welcoming and seemingly safe place to stay for as long as you do not cross Declan or any of the more dangerous patrons - who however still tend to respect neutrality of the place and actively protect it: Within the walls, you are not likely to lose more than a few teeth for offense. It will be however later when you set out on the road again, you might find someone joined you for a trip uninvited to put a knife between your ribs.
Declan himself hasn't been seen in the Inn for months now, preferring to let his staff work in the Inn while he lives in Garren's Mill, only occasionally dropping by to collect the Inn's income.