D1. Shanty Town: The 'Town' isn’t a place, exactly, or at least not a single place. The locals give the name to the pockets of tents, lean-tos, and squatter habitats that appear and disappear through the district. Scattered along the southern edge of Drac’s End, the ever-changing territory of Shanty Town plays home to transients, sailors, the homeless, and the very poor. These shanties are also the focus of Drac’s End’s criminal activities, a hideout for thieves, and a place where richer citizens can come to buy spice drugs, stolen goods, or information.
History
There have always been stretches of open space in Drac’s End without any buildings at all, and squatters have claimed these areas over the years. They camp out there under the stars, right in the shadow of the walls of the Old City but afforded none of its protections. The Watch rarely patrols these areas, and the Captains’ Council occasionally makes noises about cleaning out the “transient problem,” but for the most part ShantyTown is left alone.
The population of Shanty Town varies radically with the seasons. During the dry months, when the weather is pleasant, Drac’s End is packed to the gills. It’s difficult to find a clear patch of ground to lie down on, much less pitch a tent. The only areas that are regularly clear are the roads, thanks to the regular traffic of carts and pedestrians. During the rainy season, Tent Town shrinks, as no one likes getting caught out of doors during a monsoon. Every year, though, the poorest residents are rained out; people can find some shelter in the kinder parts of the Temple District, but even these places are quickly packed to overflowing.
Many residents of Shanty Town are sailors that abandoned their ships, seeking a new berth or different purpose in life. Others are transients who came to Freeport and ran out of money, thieves in hiding, itinerant laborers doing their best to stay out of the sinkhole of Scurvy town, residents left homeless after the Great Green Fire, or anyone else down on their luck. A few rare souls are those who choose to live a ragged outdoor existence, but for the most part no one lives in Shanty Town who doesn’t have to do so. Crime is more common in Shanty Town than anywhere else in Drac’s End; it’s the frayed edge of the district, where the sense of community and solidarity is weak or nonexistent. Drug dealers, thieves, smugglers, and pirates set up shop in the roughest areas for a night or a week and then move on before the authorities catch them. Tents are hard to defend or lock up, so thefts and robberies are common—not that many residents have much worth stealing. Fights—over territory, resources, or anything else—are not uncommon and the losers of such conflicts might have to pitch their tents in some of the least desirable places.
Description
Walk around any corner in Drac’s End, and you may find yourself in Shanty Town. Rough tents made of canvas or burlap are the most common “buildings,” but there are other, even less respectable accommodations—shacks assembled from driftwood, lean-tos that incorporate packing crates and barrels, or simple mounds of blankets and refuse. There are definite “neighborhoods” within Shanty Town, better or worse territories; the least desirable locations are located around ditches, common privies, and refuse areas, while better locales have less traffic, access to clean water, and the occasional protection of the Watch.
The external cleanliness or squalor of a Shanty Town neighborhood tends to mirror the interiors of the residences as well. Those in the less-desirable areas are usually dirty and squalid; the residents have few possessions and no luxuries, and the tents stink of unwashed bodies and abandoned hopes. Residents in better areas are still poor, for the most part, but may have retained some of their belongings from better days, along with some sense of domestic pride.
Prominent NPCs
Irena: Lacking the funds or desire to erect an actual temple, Sister Irena maintains a shrine outside of the city, deep in the heart of the jungle, where she and a handful of other priests serve Karmalok. Quen comes to the city, pushing a cart full of dirt, grass, and dung. She sings hymns to Firiel, extols the virtues of proper respect for the natural order, and whenever she sees someone being wasteful or dropping rubbish to the city streets, she picks up a clod from her cart and expertly flings it at the offender. For her troubles, Irena has earned no shortage of cuts, scrapes, and death threats.
D2. Pawn Shop: Drac’s End has several secondhand shops where people can buy and sell whatever goods they can get their hands on. The owner of the Pawn’s Shop, Egil Horne, is a bit less curious than are others about where his goods might have originally come from. In blunt terms, he’s a fence.
History
No one really knows what Egil Horne did before he set up his shop over ten years ago, and no one much cares. All that matters is that anyone looking to buy or sell just about anything can come to the Pawn’s Shop and try their luck, no questions asked. The Watch knows Horne’s a fence, but he makes enough money to pay them to leave him alone. They see him as more of a service to the city than a threat, so they only hassle him if something important turns up missing. The bribe money is just icing on the cake. At least this way, they know who to go to if they’re looking for information on a specific stolen item.
Description
The Pawn’s Shop is a small, narrow shop front at the end of an alleyway in Drac’s End. Bars cover both the long, narrow windows and the door at the front, a door so thin only one person can enter and leave at a time. A sign above the door shows both the shop’s name and a rough painting of a chess pawn.
The store is quite dark inside; Horne prefers not to see the faces of his clientele too clearly—or for them to see too far into the depths of his haven. The security on the building is incredibly tight for a place in Drac’s End, mostly to keep the clientele from getting any ideas. The windows and doors all bear good locks, as do the cases around the store, while Horne always keeps a weapon or two on hand (and he knows how to use them). Behind the store area, other locked rooms contain additional merchandise and Horne’s living quarters.
Prominent NPCs
Egil Horne: Egil Horne is a businessman, pure and simple. He’s happy to buy just about anything from anyone at a below- market price, as long as he’s reasonably confident that he can turn it around later—and that the real owners aren’t going to come around to give him any grief. If he gets hassled by the law or anyone else over anything, he’s usually more than happy to hang the people out to dry who sold him the goods in question. After all, it should be their problem, not his.
D3. Freeport Academy: While Freeport is hardly the first place people might think of when discussing seats of higher learning, there is a temple to Atanavar in town. Wherever you find such a place, you generally find a school as well. Of course, Drac’s End wouldn’t be the first place in Freeport where most people would think of building a school either. But the dean of the school—Director Mandamus Whitetree, has dedicated his life to shining a bit of light into the darkness where it’s most needed.
History
Mandamus Whitetree founded the Freeport Academy over one hundred fifty years ago, and the venerable elf still heads the school today. While he could have established his Academy anywhere in the city, Mandamus chose Drac’s End in the hope he could educate the poor and working classes to give them a chance to overcome their beginnings. It’s a dream that’s hardly universally realized—most graduates of the Academy come from the wealthy families of the Merchant District and the Old City—but Mandamus' idealism has given many poor students the opportunity to learn and better themselves.
The Freeport Academy educates people from childhood through to post-graduate collegiate work. Many teachers at the school are also acolytes of Atanavar, doing their part by sharing what they’ve learned in their holy orders. It does cost money to attend the Academy, but the Temple of Atanavar has set up scholarship funds for poor children and young adults. As long as they were born in Freeport, poor applicants have a good chance of gaining admission. Proving this, of course, can be a difficult process, possibly involving trips to the Office of Public Records.
Description
The Academy is the largest structure in the city. It is a massive, four-story white stone and dark wood building ironically placed in the poorer district of Drac’s End, towering above impoverished and uneducated masses who could never afford the Academy’s high tuition on their own. The building is so large it blocks access from most of Drac’s End to the Merchant District, which is just the way the powerful in Freeport like it, and they have long subsidized the Academy for this very reason—as well as the fact that it gives them a decent place to send their children to school. Built from stone and timber, the Academy came through the Great Green Fire unscathed, and it continues to be well maintained by its wealthy patrons. The various rooms of the Academy house classes, study halls, multiple libraries, offices, and all the trappings required of a place of higher learning. Classes tend to be small and cover many academic topics: history, languages, philosophy, and mathematics are the most common courses. But the Academy is prepared to teach almost anything if an instructor wishes to conduct a course. Few people actually live within the Academy, as most students and teachers have homes locally, but Mandamus and some of his associates keep quarters at the top of the building.
Prominent NPCs
Mandamus Whitetree: (male elf) Mandamus Whitetree is old, even for an elf, but he has lost none of his intellect and faculties. After several human lifetimes of exploring and studying the known world, he came to Freeport in the hopes of sharing the greatest treasure of all—knowledge. Mandamus has been around long enough he knows most of the rich and powerful in town—after all, he educated many of them. However, the studious elf has absolutely no interest in politics and no agenda beyond spreading knowledge as far and wide as possible. He is a close friend of High Priest Egil of Atanavar, and the two meet often to discuss scholastic topics.
Husani the Sage: (human male) A completely bald 50-year old Eloysian, Husani has become the Academy's foremost scholar of the myths and legends surrounding Freeport. He traveled here more than thirty years ago from the Seven Cities of Bronze, and arrived under mysterious circumstances. He is particularly interested in the stories of the serpent-folk rumored to live under the city, and has collected a number of books and maps referring to stories about them. He is a chronically absent-minded man, given to going on lengthy tangents about troglodyte grooming habits or the use of Shorafi artifacts to deduce the mating rituals of ancient societies. He dresses in academic robes and simple spectacles, with his only indulgence being a pair of fine gloves he wears to protect ancient artifacts from skin oils.
D4. the Cluster: Stretching around the Freeport Academy at the western edge of Drac’s End is the neighborhood called the Cluster—a collection of dormitories, boarding houses, taverns, and shops. The Cluster is home to a wide variety of students, academics, artists, sages, visitors, including many members of the nonhuman races.
History
The Cluster sprang into being shortly after Mandamus Whitetree founded the Freeport Academy and has continued to grow over the last one hundred fifty years. It’s perhaps the wealthiest area in Drac’s End, not on an individual level, more so because of the constant passage of visitors and their funds—not to mention the proximity of the Merchant District. The Cluster is also a popular destination for Academy students and staff, for free thinkers, musicians, bards, sages, scholars, cultured merchants, and all kinds of travelers. The bars and halls of the Cluster are one of the few places where the poor and the wealthy might rub shoulders over a drink, discuss the art on display at a gallery, or get into a fair fight over who cheated at cards.
Description
Dozens of buildings of all kinds are crammed together in this neighborhood (that’s why it’s called the Cluster, after all). Space is at a premium, and even calling the passageways between the buildings “alleys” is a stretch. Still, the Watch heavily patrols them, as well as wardens from the Temple of Atanavar and vigilant locals, making this one of the safest parts of town.
Inside the buildings of the Cluster, the neighborhood quickly betrays its academic leanings. Students live and work in almost all the buildings, easily recognized by their ink-stained sleeves, strained eyesight, and appalling haircuts. Books, scrolls, musical instruments, unwashed clothes, half-eaten plates of food, empty wine bottles, unfinished experiments, and inexpensive prostitutes—these are the hallmarks of academia in Freeport, and all can be found within the Cluster.
Prominent NPCs
Lucius: Lucius is a former librarian from the Temple of Atanavar whose checkered past is a mystery to everyone—including himself. A native of Freeport, he was expelled from the temple ten years ago for improper behavior, spent several years traveling the world, and then returned to the city with a treasure trove of obscure books and no memory of the previous five years. When his lost memories began to spill into his nightmares, he attracted the attention of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, who kidnapped and tortured him to learn his secrets. Allies of High Priest Egil rescued him, but even after the cult was destroyed, the nightmares persisted, and his memories remained lost.
Two years ago, Lucius left the temple (under better terms this time) in search of his past. The scars of his torture have left him too frail to withstand much travel, so he instead came to the Cluster—the one place in Freeport where the past might come to him. Lucius works as a freelance scribe and translator, a role that gives him access to many works of obscure lore, books of ancient knowledge, and visitors from faraway climes. He hopes that, over time, something will jog his memory or give him some insight into his lost years. In the interim, he makes a comfortable if simple living, enjoys the constant stream of new sights and old lore, and drinks himself into a stupor whenever the dreams return to plague him.
Oskar Broadhammer: Oskar Broadhammer has been a miner, sailor, stonemason, and blacksmith at various times in his life, but now he finds other people to do manual labor. Anyone who needs a crew to unload a ship, build a house, or excavate a drain comes to Oskar, who (for a fee) finds day laborers and workers from the folks of the Cluster or the transients of Tent Town. Oskar travels throughout Drac’s End every day, recruiting and hiring, and keeping an eye open for new faces with new skills. Oskar tries to do his best for the community while also making a profit; he’s decent and reasonably honest but not above finding warm bodies to do something shady as long as “his boys” are paid well and not put into too much danger.
Lou, Lorelei and Durph: The owners of a small local curio store, these three all live together in a small home in the Cluster. Lou is a youngish, scrawny-looking man, apparently somewhat elven. He wears loose clothes, complete with a rapier hing from his belt. He seems half-asleep most of the time, and usually runs the store. Lorelei is an attractive young woman with long, lustrous shoulder-length brown hair. She dresses colorfully and well, and speaks with a soft, lilting accent. She attracts a lot of male customers, and excels at getting them to pay more than they had expected to. Dale is a hunchbacked, sour-tempered man who smells terrible and tries to avoid talking if at all possible. Despite that, he is popular with customers because his terrible negotiation skills allow them to pay below-market prices.
D5. The Indecipherable Scroll: (TAVERN) One of the most notable places in the Cluster is the Indecipherable Scroll, a small tavern that specializes in poetry readings, bardic performances, and amateur plays. This is considered the seat of cutting- edge culture in town, which perhaps says more about Freeport than the quality of the culture in question.
History
Not every mage enjoys the ivory tower atmosphere of the Wizards’ Guild or the dry discussions of the learned professors of the Freeport Academy. Bored by her fellows in both institutions, Professor Wilmina Gertz decided that running a tavern would be both a challenge and a chance to interact with a more interesting cross-section of Freeport’s populace. For more than ten years, the Indecipherable Scroll has been a haven for the students of both the Wizards’ Guild and the Freeport Academy. Both groups see the Scroll as a place to freely exchange ideas—and a place to escape the boorish thugs that inhabit the rest of Freeport. (The boorish thugs, for their part, cooperate by avoiding the Scroll. The students might seem like easy pickings, but even the roughest goons aren’t dumb enough to mess with a wizard of the Professor’s caliber.)
Description
Like many other buildings within the Cluster, the Indecipherable Scroll is an old building located in an alley somewhere within the maze of the neighborhood. Regulars and locals know where to find it, but visitors may wander lost for some time before finding the unassuming tavern. The exterior boasts a placard with a scroll covered with squiggles, sigils, and scribbles—scribble that some say changes when no one’s watching. The tavern’s interior is comfortable, well lit, and generally quiet (except when there’s a performance in progress, or when the odd case of “artistic differences” or “clash of thaumaturgic theories” flares up). Musicians, actors, and performance poets use a low stage at the back of the main room, and a small reading room and library lie further inside the building.
Prominent NPCs
Wilmina Gertz: (female human) Crouching over books to decipher ancient text is no way to spend your days, let alone your nights. For all her considerable magical talent and academic knowledge, Professor Wilmina Gertz prefers a life with a bit more variety—not to mention more music, more conversation, and more drinking—than do her colleagues. Managing the Scroll (while teaching both scholars and mages a few nights a week) keeps her spirits up and her mind sharp. It’s a busy job, but her magical gifts make it easier—and while no one’s quite sure whether she’s capable of making good on her threats to turn troublemakers (and lackluster performers) into toads or weasels, no one’s interested in finding out first-hand.
D6. The Red Moon Monastery Freeport is a dangerous place, no matter where you live, and there are few citizens of the city who haven’t needed protection from their enemies at some point. The strangely named Red Moon Monastery exists to meet the security needs of Freeport’s less affluent citizens. Headed by a quiet and and timid-looking Daroon man named Yoshi Sakawa, the monastery teaches martial arts, meditation, and plain old common sense to defend their clients from assassins, debt collectors, and other enemies.
History
Hailing from Yamada far to the east, Yoshi Sakawa worked for a time as a hired deckhand, but found life at sea too cruel for his tastes. Instead, he honed his skills in the Tranquil pose style (a martial art native to his homeland) and then moved to Freeport about ten years ago to found his monastery. Over the years, the cheerful foreigner has become a valued member of the Drac’s End community, beloved by both clients and neighbors, and a number of locals have come to train under him and work for his agency. Yoshi Sakawa even provides free training in combat to locals if asked; such training is very basic, but it’s enough to let people defend themselves in a crisis.
The Red Moon Monastery is very firm about its services; Yoshi Sakawa explains to potential clients his job is to protect them and not to intimidate or beat up enemies. He usually has his guards work in two-man teams. An obvious bodyguard stays near the client, while a less conspicuous partner scouts around nearby for trouble. Bill does not believe in unnecessary violence and teaches his men to avoid fights when possible. It is rumored that the monastery is also a base for the Red Mood Synod from Corwyn, but no one really knows for sure.
Description
The Monastery can be found in a two-story building near the Merchant District. A sign outside consists of a red crescent moon on a black field. The neighborhood is very quiet, and strangers may feel like many of the locals are watching them—because they are—and anyone making trouble may find the citizens surprisingly well-trained in self-defense. The first floor of the monastery is split between a combat training room and an office with a couple of writing tables that Yoshi and his scribe use. He meets prospective clients, or their agents, in the office. The upper floor is used as sleeping quarters for Yoshi and his employees. He has roughly a dozen agents (male and female) in his employ, all of them natives of Drac’s End and trained in the Tranquil Shark style, which incorporates a number of armed and unarmed combat techniques
Prominent NPCs
Yoshi Sakawa: (Male Human) a quiet, diminutive Daroon man with typical oriental features. He comes across as a very calm and balanced person. He is capable of great violence when necessary but tries to avoid incidents. He is very generous, especially with friends, and even potential customers will get small trinkets. He does not speak much, but when he does, he quickly gets to the point. He is friendly and smiles a lot.
D7. the Fang and Claw Located on the northern rim of Drac’s End, Fang and Claw is a business dealing in buying, selling, trapping, and training wild animals. The market for such creatures is variable, but Fang and Claw had managed to stay in operation for more than a dozen years.
History
Fang and Claw has been in operation for more than twenty years, and owner Omar Nkota sells animals to whoever needs them. One significant source of income is in training and selling watchdogs (or similar beasts) for other merchants. Another is in providing exotic pets and mascots to pirates. Sure, a captain can get a parrot or a monkey, but there’s more prestige in a panther, jungle devil, or baby land shark—at least, until it eats you. From savage creatures to aristocratic pets, Nkota has sold them all.
Recently, though, business has been lean—the Great Green Fire not only killed much of Nkota’s stock but also decimated the bestial population of the remaining jungles. In an attempt to adapt to changing times, Nkota has taken on board a partner, the trader Sarien, and is focusing more on creatures from the Continent or other islands. Many of these beasts are even more exotic and unusual than the animals of Skull Island—and more dangerous as well.
Description
Fang and Claw operates out of a compound in the north of Drac’s End that spills out of the vague city limits into the cleared section around Freeport. A high iron fence surrounds the compound—partially to keep out thieves but, more importantly, to stop escaped animals from getting out and rampaging through Freeport.
Inside the compound, the primary building is a combination of an office, living quarters, an infirmary (injuries are all too common), and equipment stores (Nkota sells many animal training tools and accessories). Cages, warrens, hutches, pens, and other animal habitats take up the rest of the compound. The exact composition of Fang and Claw’s stock varies considerably over time, but on any given day, one can find multiple native birds, smaller animals, and mundane beasts. More unusual creatures such as land sharks, giant lizards, and the like may also be present, depending on what Nkota and Sarien have recently trapped or purchased.
Prominent NPCs
Omar N'kota: Omar Nkota was born and raised in Drac’s End but left decades ago to look for adventure on the Continent. When adventure found him—in the form of a savage land shark that left him with permanent injuries and nearly killed him—Omar returned to the city of his birth, where the dangers were smaller and had fewer teeth. A skilled animal trainer, he opened Fang and Claw after spending a year trapping (and occasionally taming) many of the creatures found in the forests of Skull Island. Gruff, Omar is more comfortable with animals than he is people; he keeps negotiations brief and tries to make certain the beasts he sells will be well tended. Although well into his fifties, Omar still has the skills of a longtime hunter, and anyone attempting to rob him must contend with both his combat abilities and a variety of guardian animals.
Sarien: Sarien is Omar’s partner in the business. While Omar stays in Freeport and keeps things running, Sarien captains a small ship, the Menagerie, which travels to and from the Continent transporting exotic creatures. Sarien is a skilled animal handler, as well as a trader; he was originally part of the Menagerie’s crew but bought out the captain a few years ago and went into partnership with Omar. Largely easy going, Sarien’s only bad habit is constantly worrying about his beasts getting free within Freeport; that happened once with a land shark years ago, and the cleanup bills were a nightmare.
D8. Belle's Well: Located in one of the poorer stretches of Drac’s End, this well seems much like any other that dots the district and all of Freeport. Its claim to fame, though, is its eccentric “guardian,” Belle Banks, who believes “her” well provides the best water in town.
History
Like most other wells in town, this one was sunk more than two centuries ago when Captain Drac founded Freeport; providing fresh water was an immediate priority for the city’s creator and remains an ongoing concern for the modern Captains’ Council. The well gained its notoriety when Belle Banks, a resident of Tent Town, saw (or claimed to see) an angelic creature emerge from it one night. No one else saw it, and everyone knew Belle hadn’t been right in the head since her husband ran off with a barmaid, so the locals don’t give her tale much credence. Ever since then, though, Belle has claimed the well as hers to protect; she lives in a tent near the well and calls out to all passers-by to drink of its special waters.
Description
Belle’s Well looks like an ordinary well. A ring of bricks and stones surround a shaft that goes down to the depths of Skull Island, and it has a bucket and pulley for hauling up water (some wells in better parts of town have pump mechanisms). Belle has decorated the stone ring with shells, colored pebbles, and daubs of paint. Unlike most wells, this one is housed within a small pen (a canvas roof supported by four poles); the locals humored Belle by erecting it, due to her fears that the special waters of the well would be polluted by rainwater.
Several tents and lean-tos can be found near the well, as this section of Drac’s End contains part of Tent Town. One of these belongs to Belle Banks, though the harmless madwoman generally only goes there to sleep. During the day, she can be found next to the well, encouraging people to drink, chatting with the locals who use the well for drinking and washing, and peering down into its depths in the hope of seeing another angel.
Prominent NPCs
Belle Banks: Not much has ever gone right for Belle. She was born poor and lived poor—never making it out of Drac’s End—and when she got married to Jack Banks, he threw their money away, landed them in Tent Town, and ran off to sea with some strumpet. When Belle saw her angel climb from the well and take to the sky—on the day she’d been seriously contemplating jumping into that same well and ending it all—it turned her life around (and broke her precarious sanity, according to her neighbors). Belle now dedicates her life to protecting the well and sharing its blessings with others. Between the charity of her neighbors and washing laundry (with the holy waters, of course) Belle makes enough coin to get by, but even without that money she’d probably survive on hope alone.
D9. The Quill & Tankard: (TAVERN) A modest-sized tavern, the locals are generally a bit more welcoming to strangers than those at most other inns or taverns in Drac's End. The Quoill sits near both the Academy and the Temple District, and most of its customers work at one of those two locations. This does result in occasional arguments about theology that can get out of hand, but most customers are careful to avoid discussing controversial religious topics, especially with people they don't know well.
History
The Quill has been around for a while. It survived the Great Green Fire, and made something of a reputation by providing discounted beer and foodstuffs for firefighting crews. Aryen took over from the previous owner shortly after the fire, and has focused on attracting more customers from the Temple District. She feels that people from there are both richer and better behaved than those who live around the inn.
Description
The Lanyard sits in a simple wooden building. On the western side, there are still scorch marks left from the Fire. Inside, Aryen displays her collection of religious items donated by various clerical customers. She is careful to avoid showing anything likely to insult anyone, but has still managed to assemble a set of items sufficient to give her tavern a unique look.Prominent
Prominant NPCs
Aryen: (human female) A plainly dressed middle-aged woman, Aryen owns and runs the Quill. She took it over after the previous owner fled the city in the wake of the Great Green Fire, and managed to pay for the repairs required without bankrupting herself. Since then, she has steadily increased her supply of customers, despite the fact that her no-nonsense personality and occasionally short fuse do not match most people's expectations of an innkeeper.
D10. The Merry Mermaid: (TAVERN) This small tavern in the favorite haunt of the students and other bohemian types that inhabit the northern fringes of Drac's End. It sits right in the middle of the small tenements that house many Freeport Academy students, and has become so popular with them that some younger professors are known to hold classes in the rooms upstairs.
History
The Mermaid has been around for a very long time. It claims to predate the Academy, though this contention is not widely believed. It was originally owned by a former pirate cook, and took its name from an old pirate ship. Indeed, the figurehead from that ship is the centerpiece of the inn's main room, and gives the establishment its name. Bravon has run it for many years, and has declined to pursue any opportunity to expand his tavern beyond its current intimate setup.
Description
The Mermaid is an old building. It was originally a temporary structure, little more than a shack, and has never been properly rebuilt. Instead, years of jury-rigged repairs have accumulated, giving a distinctly messy and incoherent appearance. Still, it is sounder than it looks to be, and has not yet reached the point of needing to be torn down. Inside, the mermaid figurehead is still the central piece of decoration. It sits in the middle of the floor, and Bravon ensures that it always has a fresh coat of golden paint.
Prominent NPCs
Thadeous Bravon: Graying hair and a spreading paunch mark Bravon as a man solidly into his middle years. He has run the inn for longer than any of its regular customers can remember, and his warm, genial personality has made him something of an institution in the area. Former students from the Academy usually make a point of stopping by the Mermaid when they return to the Academy, and Bravon can still recognize many of them.
D11. The Crossed Keys: (INN) A fine inn and restaurant, guests of the Temple of Atanavar tend to stay here. The Quill sits almost directly across the street from the Temple, and has long made the most of this association. The Temple and its huge library attract many visitors from across the known world, and many of them are able to afford better living quarters than the austere guest rooms in the Temple itself.
History
The Crossed Keys Inn was founded some years ago by a former employee of the Temple of Atanavar who realized that the Temple would never pay to build guest rooms of the standard its wealthier visitors expected. Since the better hotels in the city are some distance from the Temple, he saw an opportunity for a classy tavern located nearer the Temple. Telenn took it over a couple of years ago, and has continued its close association with the Temple.
Description
The Crossed Keys Inn is a very well made building, with solid stone walls. Its founders had access to an extensive body of knowledge on architecture and construction, and used it to ensure the success of their tavern. Inside, it features simple but high-quality, generally tasteful decorations, with the opened book symbol of Atanavar prominently displayed in several places.
Prominent NPCs
Strati Telenn: Telenn is a short, scrawny-looking young man. His prematurely gray hair and beard make him look older and wiser than his age would normally imply, effects that he is of course not at all distressed about. He takes great pride in the relationship he maintains with the Temple, and he makes a point of treating all its guests well.
D12. The Grinning Jester: (TAVERN) The Grinning Jester, commonly called “the Jester” sits more or less in the center of the district, and much of the local population consists of current and former Lumber Consortium employees. Easily one of the worst taverns in Drac's End, it is a filthy place with sawdust on the floor and the smell of stale beer in the air. The locals are notoriously close-mouthed and suspicious.
History
The Jester has been around for a while, though not always in the same spot. It was founded as a place for Lumber Consortium workers to stay when returning to the city, and it is still the most popular watering hole for Consortium workers. It is no longer owned by the Consortium, but Katrina is well aware which side her bread is buttered on.
Description
The tavern sits in an old tenement building, and shows clear evidence of years of distinctly halfhearted maintenance. Many people feel it will soon have to move again, or face a partial or complete structural collapse. Inside, it is a very cheaply furnished place. The floor is covered in sawdust, and much of the furniture consists of old Consortium shipping crates turned upside down.
Prominent NPCs
Katrina: (Female Human) A gruff middle-aged woman with short, gray hair, Katrina is the current owner of the Jester. Her husband ran the pub, and she took it over upon his death. She grew up in Drac's End, and has never spent any significant time away from the messy, run-down area around the tavern she currently runs. She is publicly loyal to the Lumber Consortium, as she appreciates the steady employment she's always received from them.
D13. Finnegan's books: A large bookstore in the shadow of the Freeport Academy, Finnegan's offers a broad selection of classic and contemporary books. It also sells supplies for authors, including inks, paper, parchment, sand, and other needs of the Academy. As it sits immediately west of the Temple District, it also sells a range of books relating to religious topics. As might be expected from the owners' allegiance, this selection is dominated by books associated with the cult of Atanavar.
History
Finnegan is a former priest of Atanavar who decided Temple life was just a little too rigid for him. He decided to open a bookstore as a way of indulging his love of literature outside the clerical hierarchy. In the years since, his store has earned an impressive reputation. He realized quickly that he could make more money selling entertainment-oriented works than he would by focusing strictly on scholars, and so sells novels, plays and travelogues as well as the reference books he prefers.
Description
Finnegan is aware of the importance of looking after his store. He feels that a properly maintained building will help keep his products in good condition, and so spends what he can on upkeep. The building itself is a lovingly detailed, if obviously smaller scale, replica of the Temple of Atanavar just down the street. Inside, Finnegan tries to match the respectful tone of that building's library, but the crowds of students who regularly visit make that difficult.
Prominent NPCs
Finnegan: A gregarious, messily dressed man getting on in years, Finnegan is usually found wandering the floor of his shop. He talks to all of his customers, as he is constantly looking for used books he might be able to resell, either to other customers to add to the Temple's library. He has few enemies, as most of the people living in the area respect his dedication to books and authors. He is always willing to lend a hand to aspiring young authors, even if they don't always appreciate his advice.
D14. Beltram’s Dry Goods: This tiny grocer sells fresh food to locals. It is also rumored to be a good source of several different drugs. It sits in the middle of the district, and draws most of its custom from local people who live in Drac's End and work elsewhere. These people, however, do not have a whole lot of money, and so the store is reputed to sell additional products on the side.
History
The store has been around for longer than might be expected, give the short life of most Drac's End stores. Beltram founded it after moving to the area from his native Slums District, and the store has stayed on the same location ever since then. Beltram has family members who work in the farming towns to the south of the city, and so is able to sell food for reasonable prices. This has allowed him to make his store into an almost beloved part of the local community.
Description
Beltram’s sits in a small local building, one of many thrown up quickly after the Great Fire. Beltram has never managed to collect enough money to either move or rebuild with a sounder structure. Despite that, the building manages to look welcoming. Inside, Beltram piles his produce in messy, disorganized piles. He occasionally makes attempts to clean it up, but has never got very far.
Prominent NPCs
Jasper Beltram: (male halfling) A cheerful yet slightly shifty-looking middle-aged halfling, Jasper looks after the store more or less by himself. His family lives in a separate tenement a short distance away, and he has never hired a permanent staff. He greets customers without any real enthusiasm, and has no patience with attempts to negotiate lower prices for his merchandise.
D15. Dead Poets (TAVERN) This small tavern is a typical hangout for students at the Freeport Academy. It is a good place to argue about art, politics and current events. This tavern has been around for long enough that it has become something of a tradition for students to drink one shot of each of the 15 varieties of spirits on offer to celebrate graduations, and occasionally other major milestones as well.
History
Dead Poets has been around for a while. It was founded by a former student at the Academy, who felt he could offer a more student-friendly place than the other taverns in the area. It quickly caught on, and over forty years, became a popular place for students of all ages to go for drinks, food, music and debates. Recently, the owner dies and the tavern was bought by Myranda, herself a former priestess of Atanavar. She has maintained the boisterous atmosphere and heavy student clientele.
Description
Dead Poets sits in a small, degenerate old building that has been patched up so many times it is no longer possible to tell what is was originally meant to be. The outside has been covered in multiple layers of graffiti buy successive generations of students, and Myranda has shown no desire to clean it up. Inside, the furniture consists of tables and benches apparently selected on the basis of their being so heavy and ugly that no student would be tempted to make off with one. Despite that, it is a colorful, cheery place.
Prominent NPCs
Myranda: (female Half-elf) An unusually tall and strikingly attractive woman, Myranda is the new proprietor of Dead Poets. She came to Freeport from Iskandar several years ago, driven by a desire for a more adventurous life than that offered in her in a temple. She quickly settled in Drac's End, and took over the tavern upon its founder's death.
D16. The Melting Pot: a tiny theater, catering mostly to aspiring actors and poets. It offers a stage to those who cannot get a place at the city's more prestigious theaters, but at the price of exposing them to an audience that consists mostly of local drunks with nothing better to do. While some artists have moved on to better things after starting their careers here, most end up returning to their day jobs after they tire of dodging assorted missiles from the crowd.
History
The "Pot" was originally a local general store. In the Great Green Fire, the store was more or less burned down, and its owners did not have the money to rebuild. Since the nearby tent encampments offered enough accommodation for those seeking it, the site went unclaimed for a while. It was then taken over by students from the Academy. looking for a stage not controlled by their professors. They found this old store, with a roof but no walls, and concluded it made a natural stage. As no-one made an effort to stop them, they decided to return, and something of a local tradition has sprouted up.
Description
The roof of the old store still exists, propped up by corner posts that didn't completely disintegrate during the Great Fire. The floor now consists of packed dirt mixed in with gravel, and a couple of small dressing rooms have been set up using planks and other nearby debris. Other than that, the stage is open to the elements and the audience.
Prominent NPCs
Dellam: (male human) The most frequent spectator at Melting Pots, Dellam is a loud, raucous drunk who never shies away from expressing his opinion of the current performers. As he will tell anyone within earshot, he has seen actors from all over the world, and the current lot are the worst thing ever. He heckles everyone in what he must assume is a sharp and witty manner, but usually just involves a succession of incoherent rants about things only he can see. He has even been known to start heckling when nobody is actually on stage.
D17. the Lady Luck: (INN) This shabby inn also sells some food and drink, but much of its business comes from supplying Academy students with a variety of spices for (allegedly) low prices. The food and drink available are widely reputed to be leftovers or rejected supplies from other local establishments with higher standards, but the other products available for sale are generally of better quality.
History
There have always been a series of degenerate dives scattered around the north-west of the city, providing cheap services for the local student population. The Lady is perhaps the oldest (not that anyone really keeps track), and has become the favored haunt of the less dedicated members of the Academy. It has had many owners over the years, as selling narcotics is not a stable trade, but none of the customers care much, or even notice most of the changes.
Description
The Lady sits in what once was an Academy dormitory, abandoned once it could afford better buildings further south. It was colonized by poorer students looking for somewhere to stay, and became what it is today. It looks much as would be expected from such a poor and uncaring history, and is perhaps even less cared for inside. It is not a place that attracts guests with the budget to afford any of the other local taverns.
Prominent NPCs
Chandler: (male human) A quiet, powerfully built man with an impressive collection of scars, Chandler runs the Lady. He makes no attempt to prevent his customers from drinking or smoking whatever they please, as long as they avoid any violence and pay the house its cut of whatever transactions occur. None of his customers know much about him, and none seem to have much interest in changing that.