Red Ember Tavern Area

Appearance

The tavern is a sturdy, two-story building made of dark timber and reddish stone, blending into the warm, earthy tones of the Steppes. Its roof is slanted and covered with crimson shingles that shimmer faintly under the Shroud’s glow during eclipse season. A large sign hangs above the entrance, depicting a glowing red ember with the words "Red Ember Tavern" carved in a rugged, fiery font. The windows are wide, with iron grilles, emitting a warm, amber glow from the firelight inside, inviting weary travelers off the road.

Interior

The main room is spacious, with a high ceiling supported by thick wooden beams. A massive stone fireplace dominates one wall, its flames crackling with an unusual reddish hue during eclipses due to a local wood that burns with a crimson tint. Long wooden tables and benches fill the room, scratched and worn from years of use by adventurers. A few private booths line the walls, draped with heavy crimson curtains for those seeking discretion. A small stage in the corner hosts traveling bards during eclipses, playing haunting melodies that echo the Shroud’s influence.

Food and Drink

The tavern serves hearty meals like roasted steppe boar, ember-baked flatbreads, and a signature drink called Hearth Ale, brewed with a local bitterroot herb that gives it a spicy kick. During eclipses, the ale takes on a reddish hue under the Shroud’s glow.

Lodging

The second floor has 10 simple rooms for rent, each with a straw mattress, a small table, and a window overlooking Steel Road. Rooms cost 5 silver pieces per night, a fair price for the area.

Adventurer’s Board

A large board near the bar lists jobs and rumors, often tied to the Gate 12 miles south. During eclipses, the board fills with requests for escorts, artifact retrieval, and Gate scouting missions.

Supplies

Kote keeps a small stock of basic adventuring gear (rope, torches, rations) for sale, though he charges a premium due to the tavern’s remote location.

Kote – Owner and Barkeep

A human in his late 40s, Kote is a retired adventurer with vibrant red hair starting to gray. Gruff but kind, he runs the tavern and stables, manages the adventurer’s board, and sells basic supplies, often sharing cryptic tales of the Shroud.

Lysa Emberdawn – Cook

Kote’s niece, a human in her mid-20s with fiery red hair, Lysa cooks hearty meals like roasted steppe boar and brews Hearth Ale. A dreamer who longs to be a bard, she’s warm and chatty, often sneaking out to hear bards perform, and fiercely protective of her uncle.

Gavric Stonehand – Server and Bouncer

A half-orc in his early 30s, Gavric is a stoic former miner from Stonerift with a limp. He serves food, clears tables, and keeps order, loyal to Kote as a father figure. He has a soft spot for children, slipping them extra flatbread.

Elara Duskbloom – Server and Cleaner

A tiefling in her late 20s from Crimson Glen, Elara is quiet and observant, with deep purple skin and glowing amber eyes. She serves, cleans, and gathers gossip for Kote, fascinated by the Gates and the Shroud, suspecting Kote’s past holds deeper secrets.

Ownership and History

Five years ago, Kote won the stables in a bet with a wealthy merchant from Emberheart, Drenn Blackthorn, who boasted he could outdrink anyone. Kote tricked Drenn by drinking watered-down Hearth Ale while Drenn drank the full-strength brew, winning the deed by midnight. Drenn left the Steppes in embarrassment, and the story has become a local legend, often retold by Kote with a sly grin.

Management

Kote kept the halfling couple, Mira and Tobin, as managers to run the stables’ day-to-day operations, valuing their expertise. He invested in a new corral and a small herb garden for Mira to grow healing plants for the mounts, ensuring the stables remain a valuable asset. Jorin Whistlewind, their nephew, works as the stablehand, often running errands between the stables and tavern.

Appearance

A modest wooden stable just east of the tavern, marked by a horse head symbol on a sign. A large corral to the south holds horses and steppe ponies, while a small herb garden and attached house for Mira and Tobin are to the north.

Services

Rents horses and steppe ponies (5 silver per day for a horse, 3 silver for a pony), sells basic riding gear and feed, and offers stabling (2 silver per night per mount). Mira provides minor healing for mounts using herbs from her garden (5 silver per treatment).

Tobin Blackthorn – Stable Manager

A halfling in his late 40s from Havenbrook, Tobin is practical and good-natured, with sandy blond hair in a ponytail, a trimmed beard, and hazel eyes. Wearing a green tunic and straw hat, he manages the stables’ finances, rentals, and repairs, often muttering dry quips about the weather or late-paying adventurers.

Mira Blackthorn – Stable Manager

A halfling in her early 40s, Mira has curly chestnut hair and warm brown eyes. Dressed in a blue dress and leather apron, she’s nurturing and cheerful, tending the mounts and her herb garden, providing herbal treatments, and encouraging Jorin’s adventuring dreams with a kind smile.

Jorin Whistlewind – Stablehand

A halfling in his early 20s, Jorin works at the stables, eager to adventure. Cheerful but naive, with curly brown hair and blue eyes, he wears a tunic and straw hat. He runs errands between the stables and tavern, idolizing Kote and often asking about his red hair, which Kote brushes off with humor.

Appearance

A squat stone building just west of the tavern, marked by a hammer and anvil symbol with a red outline. A chimney belches reddish smoke from local ore, and a scrap metal pile and forge pit sit outside. A small house attached to the forge houses the Ironstrike family.

Services

Repairs weapons and armor (10 silver for a sword, 20 for armor), sells basic weapons (daggers, short swords) and armor (leather, chainmail) at a slight markup, and offers a special engraving service: a crimson rune on weapons for 50 silver, claimed to ward off Shroud-born creatures.

Kara Ironstrike – Blacksmith

A dwarf in her late 50s from Stonerift, Kara is gruff and no-nonsense, with gray-streaked brown hair and burn-scarred arms. She runs the forge with her family, valuing hard work and fairness, and keeps a shrine to a dwarven forge god in her shop.

Dorin Ironstrike – Blacksmith Assistant

Kara’s younger brother, a mid-40s dwarf with a limp, Dorin is soft-spoken and methodical. He sharpens blades and crafts small items like nails, content to work in the background and support his sister and nephew.

Bruni Ironstrike – Blacksmith Apprentice

Dorin’s son, a dwarf in his early 20s, Bruni is eager but clumsy, learning the trade under Kara. He handles deliveries and admires adventurers, often lingering at the tavern to hear Kote’s stories, dreaming of crafting a legendary weapon.

Kote’s Bet

A merchant claiming to be Drenn Blackthorn’s cousin demands Kote return the stables, alleging the bet was unfair. Players can mediate, investigate Drenn’s story, or help Kote keep the stables through a new challenge, like a drinking contest or test of wits.

Kara’s Request

Kara needs a rare ore from the Gate to craft a special weapon, offering a discount on repairs if players retrieve it. She warns of Gate beasts guarding the area, setting up a dangerous fetch quest.

Bruni’s Mistake

Bruni overcharges an adventurer for a repair, leading to a confrontation at the tavern. Players can calm the situation, earning Kara’s gratitude or the adventurer’s ire, depending on their approach.