Two specific items set the Dragon's Heart apart from the common role-playing tavern stereotype: indoor plumbing [or "interior irrigation" as the locals see it] and magic buffers.
The first and most complex from an engineering standpoint is the plumbing. It starts on the inn's fourth floor, where a large room is open to the exterior when weather permits. Sliding wooden walls, like around the pools on the first floor, permit the opening.
In this room is a large, solid basin, capable of holding many gallons of water. Beneath it is an enclosed furnace, fed coal and maintained by rotating shifts of two men each.
The coal is brought up by the rope elevator that can also be used by the workers in the kitchen, from the coal pile in the basement.
Water is brought up from a culvert that runs beneath the inn via a crude hand pump that requires having water poured into it to function. This seals it and allows a vacuum to suck the water all the way up to the third floor, but requires a great deal of strength and endurance.
Water can also be fed into the basin by the rain water which is collected by drains all about the inn's roofing. Pipes trickle it in above the basin, where it falls through a thick rope net that catches large debris, like leaves and twigs. From there, it passes through five fine silk sheets secured in wooden frames and capable of being slid out of their mountings to be cleaned.
In times of excessive rain, there is an overflow offshoot in the piping above the basin that allows backed-up water to flow down and into the culvert beneath the inn meant for feeding this system.
At the south end of the long, deep basin is a drain that flows into the pipes that feed the parts of the inn that need it. Simple valves here are used to open the lines so water doesn't stagnate in them.
The areas fed are the kitchen for its dishwashing basins, the public and private baths for bathing, the small hot pool at the back of the inn, and the two showers for the gardeners when returning from their dirt-laden work outside.
Three solid stone culverts like the one feeding the plumbing run beneath the inn. The first other is the fish pond's drain. To ensure that the pond doesn't become stagnant and dead, there is a constant flow of water from the mountains to the east, down through the pond and on into the creek to the inn's west. Two grated ports feed water into the pond, and one lower down, opposite, drains. The other culvert feeds and drains the main pool at the back of the inn. This is heavily filtered to ensure the water is clean and safe for swimming.
The second particular feature of the Dragon's Heart is simpler on the surface, but required far more research and a greater monetary cost: four stones with an immensely complex magical endowment that allows them to filter and impede the use of magic in and around the inn. Most of what they do is limit the amount of power that can be put out by any one person, but they will also forcibly eject people and objects that someone is attempting to teleport, no matter the distance. Ejected items and people will find themselves planted on the inn's lawn, near the drainage creek at the front. Depending on the particular manner of teleportation spell attempted, the ejection may be accompanied by a certain degree of physical momentum, which could send the item or person sailing into the trees on the other side of the creek, or maybe right into the water.
Destructive spells, such as fireballs and lightning, will find themselves fizzling and sputtering out ineffectively, while beneficial spells, like healing and other such reconstitutive spells, will be weakened considerably. Transmogrification and summoning spells will be blocked entirely.
The stones are hidden in the woods around the inn and no written record was kept of their whereabouts. Only S'qarr knows where they are. Complex webs of energy dispersal masks their locations to intuitives.
The cavernous tavern heart of the inn, the common room is surrounded by thick, warm walls and filled with a hearty, comfortable atmosphere. A mingle of pipe smoke and mouth-watering food hangs in the air, inviting the visitor to relax and smile.
A sea of nine round floor tables is centered, with a few fixed wall tables on either side. Couches and plush chairs rest near the common room's half of the round fire pit near the bar, and in the round corner alcoves at the west end of the room.
A long, curved bar reaches out into the room, drawing the patrons in like a hug. Several stools dot its length, where one can sit a while, or just wait a moment for a drink to be done. Food can also be had here, if desired.
A peculiar set of two plush armchairs and a table sit off to the side, where Mahayr and S'qarr will join the patrons.
Two lines of strong wooden pillars support the simple, but sturdy rafters that hold the roof and a third-story room aloft.
Two arched doorways lead into the base room of the tower that stands over the inn, where two long, curved tables are waiting to seat a private party for dinner, or just a meeting.
Every surface is a warm, polished and stained golden oak; durable and pleasantly smooth to the touch. The effect when daylight streams through the many windows around the room is altogether warm and comforting, with threads of gold and silver light snaking along the wood grain.
Serving girls dot the company of local and traveling patrons, hips swaying deftly between tables and chairs. A tender minds the bar at all times of day and night.
At the back of the bar is a wide window, which looks into the kitchen. Girls working the kitchen will watch for hand signals from the tender when things are needed. Next to the window is a small, locked desk where Mahayr will sometimes sit and do paperwork. This desk only contains comparatively unimportant papers, such as stock reports and order forms, which the inn crews will slip into a drawer through a slot.
Between the bar and the round-walled fire pit is a door to the kitchen, through which the serving girls will carry trays of food. On the other side of the bar is a door that leads to the back areas of the ground floor, including the pools.
Against the side of the tower are stairs that lead up to the second floor. Inside the tower is another staircase that leads to the private chambers of S`qarr and Mahayr. When they sleep within, a sheathed decorative dagger with a broad, curved blade is hung from the door handle by a chain. The door is always kept locked.
The inn's service areas take up most of the ground floor, providing convenient housing for the several full-time employees that don't care to commute to and from their home towns daily, and the guests with food that has helped make the Heart the prime stop for visitors and locals in the Ba'Haleahr's Crossing area.
The large kitchen is always abustle with activity; the cooking crew must be ready to feed any number of guests and residents at any given time. During the later wakes, though, a much smaller team maintains readiness, with others not far if help is needed.
A central circular fire pit, with four fires going for most of the day, boasts several spits and cauldrons of various sizes suspended around its edges. A water wheel in the basement, powered by the water that feeds the plumbing, keep the spits rolling through a simple system of gears and knotted ropes. Embers from here will often be put into metal cans, which are then wrapped in towels. The whole is slipped under blankets to warm beds, if a visitor or resident feels the need for extra warmth on a particularly cold day.
The circular fireplace shared by the common room and kitchen is used to heat the day's main stew, so that its rich, hearty scent can waft easily into the common room, enticing visitors' hunger.
Three large island counters sit about the room where food is prepared, each with tools needed for different kinds of foods suspended on shelves above, and on shelves below. Spices and other condiments are also available within easy reach, to flavour special orders by request.
Two large round washbasins are fed hot water from above and drain into the fish pond's drainage system to spill into the western creek.
Cabinets along the east walls hold clean dishes, utensils, napkins and unused cauldrons. The one cabinet on the west wall holds cleaning rags and oven mitts. The cabinets above the south wall counters hold spices, herbs and fine oils for the dishes and drinks prepared there.
The three southern ovens are used for baking breads and sweet desserts, reheating soups and warming cold dishes.
On the main part of the west wall, above the counter there, is the broad window through which the kitchen crew will observe the bartender for gestures detailing orders for food that he can't personally fill out.
To the east of the kitchen, through doors, are four rooms. The south-most room is where a small rope elevator can be used to lift items stored in the basement. The same elevator is used by the water-heating room two stories up for coal, and also for sending the heating crew their meals. The room next to it is a canning room, where jars of preserves, rice, wheat, flour and the like are kept dry. Next to that is the insulated cold room, where fresh things like vegetables and fruits and meats are kept cool by ice brought from the north-western mountains. Next to that is the broom closet, where mops and other cleaning implements are kept for the ground floor. This also opens to the resident quarters' hall.
To the west is a door that leads outside, where a pile of wood is kept well stocked. This wood is carried into the round fireplace shared by the kitchen and common room, to keep both those fires fed. It is also carried into the kitchen to keep the cooking fires stoked.
To the north are two doors; the left leads to the basement, while the right leads to the resident quarters. Here, there are stairs to the second floor, a small hall to the outside where stairs leads up to the aerie, and doors to the five rooms shared by the resident employees. Each room has two comfortable beds, night tables with oil lamps or candles and cabinets for personal belongings and clothes. Ideally, residents on the same shift will be paired together. The corner room is shared by the two kitchen crew chiefs. Their cabinets are arranged like a wall across most of the room, as they each work a different shift. There is no chief present for the two latest and earliest wakes, when activity is lowest.
A door at the end of the resident quarters' hall, and another in the south wall of the kitchen lead into the pools' hallway, for easy access to that half of the ground floor.
The public bathing room contains four baths, half of a grated fireplace and a linen closet with towels and wash cloths.
The four ceramic baths are fed hot water from the plumbing and drain down into the fish pond's drainage system through piping in the basement. To get the hot water to flow there are belled chords hanging next to the pipes that hang from the ceiling, ringing bell a bell on the fourth floor. There, the water crew releases some of their water. Each rope, when tugged, causes a small sign to pop up on the second floor, where the water is routed by another crew on rotating shifts.
One might think it possible to see through the fireplace, which is partly in the bathing room, and partly in the entrance hall from the barn, but grating on both sides makes it impossible.
Visitors, whether they are paying for a room or not, can pay for time in the baths. This is especially useful to traveling parties, who don't intend to stay long, but feel grimy from long travel.
Residents can also use the baths, but not while guests are in there.
The door locks from the inside, but can not be left locked with nobody in the room. This is because there is no means of unlocking the door from the outside, to ensure the safety of guests enjoying a bath.
Bathers are offered the possibility of having their clothes laundered while they wash themselves. This is done on the third floor, in the water-heating room, where the clothes are washed in hot water, then dried against the oven that heats the inn's water. This is not done for delicate clothes, like silks, as they take too long to dry. More complete laundry services are available in Ba'Haleahr's Crossing.
Clean towels, washcloths and bath robes are drawn from the closet and lain beside each bath after each use.
Bars of soap made from natural plant extracts by an alchemist in town are made available. A fragrant, creamy, lathering soap can be mixed in with the bath water for a unique experience. A variety of fragrances are available.
At the back of the ground floor are two pools lined with blue, purple and light green tiles in subtle wave patterns. These are reached through the south hall at the back of the common room, or by stairs from the second story. Visitors who aren't paying for a room at the inn can use the changing room just off the side of the hall, where clean towels and swimming clothes of a few sizes are available in a cabinet at the end. Other cabinets with locks line the south wall. Unused ones have keys in the locks, which visitors can use to hide away their possessions. A soft bench lines the north wall.
A table with four chairs sits on the floor where one can sit and watch their children swim, or just chat and enjoy a drinks, which can be ordered from a serving girl who will be on hand when people are about here.
The east wall can be opened almost entirely because it was built in segments on rails. Pillars just inside the wall provide support of the floors above. When open, the entire pleasure garden is visible and the back porch is accessible. Several long chairs dot this porch, with small drink tables. A beige silk sheet is suspended over this area to cut sunlight.
The larger pool is long and deep enough to provide a good swim, while the smaller is round and can be fed warm water from a pipe that runs down from the ceiling. It issues into the area where the seats around the edge are not present.
The seats around the edge are staggered in height, so someone as short as a child can sit in the central seats at the north east edge and not be submerged. The deepest, at both ends, are for adults of good size to sit with no more than their heads and shoulders above the water. The central part is deep enough for a standing adult to be completely submerged. A flow of cooler water keeps this pool topped off, running from the same source as the larger pool. It can not be entirely filled with nothing but heated water as the coal needed to do so and still feed the rest of the inn would be ridiculous.
At the very bottom of this pool, directly beneath where the hot water pours down, is a grated vertical drain that flows into the same culvert that the main pool drains into. Near the top of the pool, just above the surface of the water, is another drain, which ensures it doesn't overflow. The bottom drain and main source can be closed off for the pool to be filled only with hot water, but this is mostly only done during the winter months.
The main pool has its source at the north end of the east side, just next to the stairs, while the main grated drain is at the south end of the west side, in the floor, right next to those stairs. Along the surface of the water near the main drain are overflow drains. This pool does not have access to heated water, making it largely unusable during the winter months. A heavy cloth cover keeps it from being used.
The inn has four outhouses, two to the north and two to the south.
All four are basically the same interior design; a tall, narrow shed with a peek roof. There's a seat with a hole that goes down into a septic tank far below. A pile of soft, cheap napkins lie at the user's right hand.
When facing either of the pairs, the right one's door is decorated with a sun, while the left is decorated with a moon. Beneath the sun is the word, "Male" and beneath the moon is the word, "Female." These are delicately embossed on plaques.
The southern outhouses are for visitors, customers and the barn crew. Since they are across the trench next to the tavern's main body, though, a small wooden bridge has been built and is kept clear during the winter months. In rainy weather water can run through this trench, but it's not entirely necessary to use the bridge otherwise; it's just there for convenience.
The northern pair are for the inn's crew, being more difficult to reach without passing through the kitchen and resident quarters' hall. This is for their privacy.
The smell in them is rendered bearable by a mixture of chemicals made by a utility alchemist in Ba'Haleahr's Crossing. A bucket of the mixture is poured in each about once a week. It helps to break down the waste, cleans the shaft to the septic tank and lightens everything with a fresh minty scent.
On the interior walls of the two public outhouses are peg boards where notices and advertisements can be posted. And so people can see what they're doing during the dark late hours, oil laps are hung from the ceiling, well out of the way of the average patron's head.
The Heart's gardening supply room serves also as a small greenhouse and a quiet sitting room.
Cabinets along the north wall hold tools and equipment used for caring for the two gardens behind the inn. Next to the cabinets are two shower stalls where the gardeners can wash off before entering the other areas of the building. Both stalls have heavy curtains that can be drawn for privacy, are fed from above with heated water and drain into the same culvert as the pools.
In front of the cabinets and stalls are wide shelves that hold young plants which need careful attention during their development before being transplanted in either of the two gardens, as needed.
In front of these are two plush chairs and a small table where people can sit and relax in quiet, separated from the rest of the inn's activity. The round wall in front of the chairs is mostly made of fine screens, so air can easily flow in and out of the room.
A locked north door leads to a row of cabinets that contain seeds and stairs to the basement. The east and south doors lead into the food garden. Access to the pleasure garden is gained through a gate in the low wall that separates them. The wall was built atop a section of foundation from the old monastery. Sections of foundation can be seen running about the grounds of both gardens. Some were used to delineate paths or sections of plants and flowers. Some sections were just broken up and buried. The outermost sections of the foundation were used to make walls and fences around the back of the property to keep wild critters out.
The fish pond, located behind the inn, in the middle of the pleasure garden, used to be the foundation of a large, but long-crumbled tower. It was excavated and a water line was brought from the east mountain creeks to fill it. A drain on the western side ensures a continuous flow of water to keep the fish in it alive. The pond is at least a good twenty feet deep at its deepest. Small ledges are positioned around the pond, where people can sit and fish, or just dangle their feet in the water. Metal ladders are fixed in the stone foundation, where anyone who falls in can easily climb back out.
Both source and drain points are heavily grated. Neither lines are filtered, so silt and pebbles regularly flow through. Unfortunately, this means nobody really knows what's in the pond. There are probably leeches and possibly something else more deadly, so swimming is not advised.
Schools of fish caught from the lake have been brought to live in the large pond, where food for them is plentiful because of how the pond was built. Plants, turtles, snails and small shellfish keep it alive and healthy.
Trout and other such fish can be caught. Visitors must pay a small fee to do so, but those renting rooms do not need to. Caught fish can be taken to the kitchen, where they will be cleaned and cooked to taste.
The Heart's barn is attached to the main building via a covered walkway that crosses a trench several feet deep. Though covered by a roof that overhangs on both sides, it is guarded by only a rail and supports to allow a view of the land while moving to or from the Heart proper.
The entrance hall from the barn has a two-part fireplace shared by the bath room, which is lit on cold days to warm visitors arriving through there. For privacy, it is not possible to look through the fireplace to the bath room.
The barn's ground floor is geared entirely to the storage and care of horses, with fourteen stalls available. Two of these are reserved for Mahayr's own two quarterhorse mares who spend most of their time grazing in the fenced area away from the inn. This area includes some trees for shelter, but is mostly grass. Visitors' mounts are not put out to pasture unless they plan to stay a while because it's not always easy to wrangle them back up for a quick departure.
The front rooms on either side of the main barn doors are for tack on the right and feed on the left. Both are kept locked so visitors' tack can't be stolen. Hay is kept on the second floor, where the barn crew sleep, warmed by the beasts below them and the hay they can pad their beds with. There are doors in the floor that they can open and ropes they can drop in order to get down quickly if there is a disturbance. There is at least one armed guard sleeping with the crew each night.
The stairs to the second floor are behind a door that is kept locked at most times so the barn crew can have some safety and privacy.
The walls for the three walled-off "rooms" on the first floor are several feet high, but don't meet the ceiling because the second floor doesn't come that far forward. This is so they can easily drop bails of hay down onto the floor or raise them up with a rope-pulled elevator.
Please Note
This page is temporary and incomplete. These maps and descriptions are largely based on what is visible of the main building and the land immediately around it in this exterior illustration, so please refer to that when you're visualizing what the exterior looks like.
The inn has four floors above a basement:
The basement can be reached from slanted wooden doors by the kitchen exit, through the service hallway or by stairs behind the locked door in the gardening room. Windows above the slanted wooden door allow some sunshine to light the way down the two sets of stairs, but it's still safer to have a torch. Its walls are mostly the remains of the old monestary's foundation, giving them a soft, musty texture and odour. Its several rooms are used for the storage of various goods, such as wood, coal and food that requires cold temperatures, along with dried seeds, cuttings and chemicals for the garden, which are behind another locked door below. Clean sheets, pillows, matresses and blankets for the regular rooms are kept here as the odour is considered to be quite relaxing. These rooms do not extend beneath the common room, however, allowing solid ground to support the heaviest and most exotic of the tavern's patrons. This solidity of support does not extend anywhere else, though, so they are limitted to the common room. The culverts flowing beneath the inn can be accessed from large grates in the foor beneath the service area: The water's flow can be cut upstream, allowing for the easy--if still moderately dangerous--cleaning or unclogging of debris. Drainage pipes from above feed into these culverts and most of the back of the basement is dominated by the pool's drainage system. The coal and cold storage areas both have easy access to the rope-pulled elevator that can go all the way up to the fourth floor. Precautions to keep coal dust out of the food must be taken at all times, so the elevator is divided in two by a vertical board. Since there is only one elevator, though, it has to be shared. There are rumors that old monestary passages still exist beneath the inn, but employees don't share in the gossip.
The second floor is mostly for regular guest rooms, but above the gardening room is a public library that is well-stocked with a variety of fiction and non-fiction from several nearby kingdoms and some more rare volumes from further abroad, but these are mostly untranslated. This room has a sitting area that looks out on the gardens. Between the guest rooms run some small halls that the inn crew can use to quietly move around, taking away dirty linens to be cleaned, or delivering food to guests. These halls are behind discrete doors. There are no secret wall panels in any rooms to reach these halls. It would be a hassle to explain to every visitor why they would be there. There is also a room where a crew directs water coming from the fourth floor to the public baths, the showers in the gardening room and the hot tub by the pool. Above and behind the common room is a small balconey with sofas and comfortable chairs where people can watch the people below or just sit more quietly by the fireplace, which is directly above the one that is shared by the common room and kitchen, sharing the same chimney. Food can be delivered to patrons here too. This balconey is reached by the curved stairs on the outside of the tower. The second floor does NOT extend above the common room at all: There are only rafters there. A banister keeps anyone from falling off the balconey. There is a small third-story room above the rafters.
The third floor is entirely devoted to the more expensive suites, with a room above the common room's rafters that contains rocking chairs, some books and some artistic materials. Sunlight streams in through the window during the early hours of the day, making it ideal for sipping tea and watching the sun rise through the trees. This window can be seen in this exterior illustration. The suites have their own bathtubs, also supplied by the "interior irrigation".
The fourth floor is much smaller and contains the equipment needed to filter and heat the water that is run down to the rest of the inn. There is also a small eyrie for landing oversized riding birds. Mahayr and S`qarr can often be found here, feeding and tending to their two hawks, which nest up in the trees nearby. He also keeps a smallish, but quick riding bird that has dark feathers and a nasty beak for strangers. He has battle equipment for it, though he has not yet had to use it. It is only barely large enough to carry the two of them at the same time, though its speed and range are greatly reduced. A steady supply of large live rodents is raised here to feed the birds.
Please also remember that the inn is not an abandoned building. It does brisk business from locals and travellers around the Ba'Haleahr's Crossing area, so there are always NPC patrons and employees moving about. It would otherwise not survive as a business.The inn and the land around are owned by the Ba'Haleahr familly, for which the town is named. This is Mahayr's family, who is S`qarr's Mate, though this is not his real name. His real name is not locally known. He does not own the building, but helps protect and run it and is generally considered to be "in charge".
The man usually tending the bar during busy hours is named Michael and looks like a large, hairless ape. With obvious experience under his belt, he keeps a keen eye on the common room and the girls running tables hop quickly when he gestures for them to see to anything. He has worked here for several years and has as many bright scars to show for it. He rarely speaks above what is absolutely necessary for whoever he is tending to hear. He has great experience with hand gestures and communicates with the kitchen crew this way through the window behind him. Any money he receives from patrons is quickly secreted away with gestures that befuddle the watching eye so its location is entirely unclear; whether it's on himself or elsewhere can only be guessed. When he is not personally tending, he keeps rotating shifts of two or three older, grizzled, experienced men at the bar in his place who normally act as bouncers or guards for the barn and lands. They have the look of old soldiers and hard drinking about them, but they never drink on the job; Michael was sure to beat that into them when they were hired. Having them also work as tenders makes sure they keep up some measure of people skills. Several quick clubs are kept behind the bar within easy reach.
The kitchen is run with an iron ladle by an equally impressive woman of much smaller size. She will abide patrons invading her kitchen for short times, but has a hot temper and hard lashing for anyone who leaves a mess for her or her girls to clean up. She has a fondness for children and young women, but little tollerance for most males. Her second in command keeps up a firm front, but is much softer in general. They tend to balance each other out. When given reports of patrons abusing any of the girls, they will go out in force to oust the roudy patron, whoever he may be. S`qarr, Michael and the other tenders will enforce this expulsion, no matter who it may be; officials, dignitaries, soldiers, hoity-toity merchants or street urchins.
The girls running the tables and kitchen are almost entirely of local stock. The prettier girls work tables, but the girls in the kitchen get equal wages to keep it fair: Tips are tallied weekly.
When not working indoors, any of the inn's employees can be found tending their own personal areas in the gardens, or just performing general maintenance on the whole under the guidance of a full-time gardener.
The stable boys can talk a crass mouth, but the old stablemaster tries to keep a leash on that. There is always a helpful hand ready to greet visitors and help anyone depart, since they work largely for tips and room and board. For a small fee, which they tend to share amongst each other, they will clean and brush any normal mount. Oversized beasts of unusual type tend to scare them, leaving the owner to handle them.
A pack of wild gray wolves roams the woods around the inn, attracted by Mahayr and S`qarr, who sometimes go out to visit with them. Otherwise untamed, it's not clear to observers--of which there are very few--why they tolerate either.
Slinking here and there outside the inn are several house cats of varrying dispositions. S`qarr is a cat person, so nobody is allowed to abuse them. Such offenses are very personally dealt with. Unfortunately, the gardner has always hated them in general, but is paid to tollerate them. Over the years, he has developed a quiet and secretive fondness for one or two of them, which he will indulge in at the oddest times.
Somewhere out in the woods, between the inn and Ba'Haleahr Manor, is a barn where the Ba`Haleahr family has been raising and breeding oversized cats for riding. S`qarr has his black one that he rides once in a while, while Mahayr's is coloured like a silver bengal, but is not a tiger. Their sizes varry and can be anywhere from the size of a miniature pony, to the size of a good mule. S`qarr's is somewhere in the middle, chosen for its lean, wiry frame built for running and its long tail for balance and sharp turns. The breed is not yet stable or domesticated enough for proper sales to the public, so S`qarr mostly treats his as a pet in order to more quckly lead them towards domestication. His involvement and experience with felines has greatly helped their efforts, but the breed was originally manipulated through magic, which is to blame for their unstable temperaments. Breeding and domestication of oversized dogs has been considered more feasible and is also being pursued at another facility.
The patrons in the inn varry from local or travelling officials and soldiers, to merchants and farmers. Elves and Dwarves are uncommon among the general patronage, though one Elven man in particular, Paeter, is infamous, if rarely seen anymore. Known to travellers for its excellent relaxation facilities, it attracts a higher set of travelling patrons than most of the inns in Ba'Haleahr's Crossing. Known to locals for its excellent food and reasonable cost, available at any hour, it also attracts local farmers and townspeople. Michael and the other tenders ensure that tensions between the two groups rarely flare.
On special occasions, the wall tables on the right side of the common room can be removed to clear an area for entertainers to act out plays, tell bards' tales or play music. There is a small acting guild in town that will come out once in a while to try a new play on a ready-made audience of broad backgrounds. One or two stable boys can usually be found in the audience, memorizing the acts in order to relay them to their comrades. They also have a particular fondness for a woman in the group, who sets them all atwitter.
While government taxation is not welcome at the inn, officials and dignitaries who visit peacefully and with no demands are welcome. Otherwise, they can find themselves quite rudely ejected. The influence of the Ba'Haleahr familly on trade throughout Lensharol ensures that considerable force can be brought to bear in their name when needed, both on the local and political levels. Most wealthy merchants travel with guards and most of those would be happy to lend their arms if called. Since the inn and town usually have at least several wealthy merchants on their way through, that is no small threat. Michael carries a spare purse of a number of gold coins for spontaneously hiring mercenaries on the spot if a situation is too much for him and his men to handle alone. Or if S`qarr is not around to handle it himself.
Though dormant as an organization, a group known long ago as "The Hive" keeps an unseen eye on the inn and one of several men or beasts can be called at a moment's notice if S`qarr feels that normal men alone are not enough to handle a particular threat. These are mostly solitary men that wander and camp the nearby woods and roads after long, hard lives in the service of The Hive.
The tower in which Mahayr and S`qarr live while staying at the inn--as opposed to when they are at the Manor, which is fairly rare--is a four-story affair, with two stories set aside for their bed and personal belongings, including an extensive collection of artworks, books, maps, scrolls and weapons collected by both of them during the years of The Hive's highest activities, when such travels were possible. Above that is an open bell tower, where bats can be found nesting. They will sometimes go up to watch the little beasts hunt in the moonlight, but will never ring the bell. One such bat has been tamed during its rehabilitation after an injury and can sometimes be seen in S`qarr's hand, hanging from his thumb, or hanging from Mahayr's ear. They feel the smoke haze in the common room can't be good for her, though, and so rarely bring her down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What should I do before I start playing for the first time?
A: Read the rules, this FAQ and the descriptions above. If some areas haven't been described yet, look through the existing descriptions for hints as to what to expect in them. If in doubt, ask. Or be vague. The Heart is not your typical cubic tavern structure; read the descriptions, study the maps. We will be playing with them in mind and we will expect you to also. If you have any questions, ask them in the OOC channel, or PM S`qarr or Mahayr.
Q: What kind of characters can I play in The Dragon's Heart?
A: This is a touchy subject. We recognize how many people want to play the uber-protagonist with an anwer to any situation. Unfortunately, this doesn't make for balanced or interesting play for many. It's just plain boring to watch, no matter how entertained the player with all the answers is. That's why we do NOT allow gods or characters with remotely godly powers, including the ability to instantly teleport or form matter or dissipate matter with waves of their hands. We do not play characters like this and you shouldn't either.
Q: How much magic can I use and how powerful can it be?
A: Please, please, please don't go waving your hand around and making things appear instantaneously. Don't go instantly healing anyone back from the brink of death. Don't go teleporting around. Don't go solving every problem without the slightest bit of effort. That is not the kind of uber-easy shortcut-taking we care about. There are magic buffers in place to force a considerable downgrading of the magic that is possible: Remember this.
Q: What is the Heart's target audience?
A: The ideal age for players in the Heart is at least fifteen. New and experienced players are welcome. New players can ask their questions and learn, but the experienced ones had better not be in any way derogatory toward them. Respect.
Q: It's such-and-such time of day in real-time where I am. What time is it in The Heart?
A: It's whatever time you want. Just be sure to make it amply obvious to other players what time of the day during which you're playing your character so people playing their characters during the morning won't get involved with people playing their characters in the evening. You can look at the "Notes on Local Society" for an explanation on how the locals tell time if you want to use that scale, which is recommended for the sake of continuity.
Q: Is there a tender behind the bar?
A: Since The Dragon's Heart staff is busy tending to the needs of an important crossroads town and the populace residing nearby [NPCs] at most hours of the day, there is a tender behind the bar and girls working the floor to serve food and drinks to people at the tables.
Q: Okay, so there's a tender. How do I handle that?
A: See the description of Michael and his other tenders above. Otherwise, a generic tender can be handled without being terribly specific, as can the generic serving girls. Do, however, treat them as intelligent people. Mahayr and S`qarr run a tight ship with competent employees. There are no clumsy ditzes working in the Heart.
Q: I want to order something that's not on the menu and S`qarr doesn't have Michael around to give me a price. How do I handle that?
A: You can say that the tender gives your character a price without saying exactly what he says, then describe your own character handing over the appropriate coinage without specifying exactly how much coinage is passed. If S`qarr is playing Michael, he may or may not specify an exact price, depending on mood.
Q: What kind of climate is the Heart located in?
A: Lensharol's right up around the same latitude as Ireland, so it can be a very bitterly cold land. This world did not recently suffer a "Little Ice Age," though, so the forests are largely old growth and can be quite impressively tall, such as around the Heart, where it is quite old. Winters are long and bitter, while summers are glorious, but comparatively short. The middle seasons are also unfortunately long to percollate.
Q: My character walks around with a bag full of chocolate bars. Is that alright?
A: No. Chocolate, in this world, is still an extremely rare commodity that the Ba'Haleahr familly is fortunate enough to be able to very occasionally indulge themselves and their staff in. S`qarr has built up his own personal stash of cocoa that he rarely dips into. It's difficult to make it taste right and he's not very good at it, so he needs help, but who does he trust with such a treasure?
Q: Can I play a character that's on the Heart's staff?
A: This is a responsibility we expect our staff to take seriously. Therefore, we need to get to know and trust you before we accept such an application.
Q: I want to fight someone in the tavern proper. How should I go about getting it started?
A: Read the appropriiate rules, first and foremost. Then play it out naturally. You should PM the other person and ask if they feel like getting involved. If you don't ask and they decide to flee or ignore you, that is entirely their right. Nobody in the Heart is allowed to force anything on anyone, especially combat or sex. If you feel like mocking someone for fleeing, watch out how you do it. If the administration feels you've gone too far [either OOC or IC] you may be dealt with in a manner you may not enjoy, either OOC or IC. Anyone who comes to the Heart is here to enjoy themselves. You are not allowed to take away from that enjoyment.
Q: I've been playing this particular character for years and years on-line or in tabletop RPG sessions with my buddies and it got built with complete legitimacy. I'm really attached to it. It's got all these maxed-out abilities and uber-weapons. Can I play him in the Heart?
A: This isn't Diablo. There is probably not the slightest speck of a reason why you would need to be toting around something so powerful. The Dragon's Heart is meant to be a place of interaction between characters, not a random and completely useless list of stats and items. There are plenty of places where you can compensate for your real-life problems by playing such stat sheets; The Dragon's Heart isn't one of them.
Q: But! But! Other places let me play it!
A: We are deeply and most sincerely in every possible way unimpressed.
Q: I did something stupid and got in trouble. What now?
A: Whining won't get you anywhere. Be mature. Admit your mistake. Depending how you handle it, you may be pardoned. It is not up to anyone else whether or not they should be offended by your attitude: It is your attitude that must be shaped to not offend anyone.
Q: I think I could make a better role-play setting. Who should I tell?
A: That's great. Go do it. You have our blessing. But you'd better do it honestly. Boasting will get you nowhere, but putting your money where your mouth is may very well impress us.
Q: How do you pronounce "S'qarr"?
A: "Scar." Not "Square," which most people seem to think it is. Yes, it is only a complicated way of spelling "Scar." No, that's not his real name, nor is it the character's, but that's how he chooses to be known.
Q: How do you pronounce "Mahayr"?
A: "Mah-hair." Not "May-hair."
Q: Hey! I was in DH way back in the old days.
A: Great! We're happy you could join us! Just don't bring old issues and start problems based on them.
Q: But I really don't like you and I really want to cause a scene!
A: Thank you. Come again.
Q: Can I play a Yautja character?
A: Not without express permission from S`qarr. The reason is that there is a long history of Yautja interactions in the Dragon's Heart world. Several years ago, a sentient Xenomorph Hive sprouted up in Lensharol. Their father devoted them to benefiting the other sentient races of this world. They quickly gained space travel and other technologies not native to the Heart's world and vowed to not make them public, choosing to allow the world's varying races to develop on their own, naturally. They colonized other worlds and inevitably encountered the Yautja, who were deeply disturbed by what they encountered, after having hunted comparatively non-sentient ones for centuries. A treaty was struck between the citizens of this Hive and the Yautja. One of the stipulations of the treaty was that the Yautja would no longer use the Heart's world as a hunting ground. As such, Yautja may visit, but they absolutely may not take a life, which includes seeding the world with wild Xenomorph eggs. Because the Yautja are what they are, authorization must be sought for any to even visit. This is easiest if those seeking authorization are human citizens of the Hive accepted into Yautja society. Because of the Hive's decision to not force the local societies to advance technologically through outside influence, Yautja technology is limited to blades and what little is absolutely necessary in order to see and stay warm.
Q: Can my Yautja pilot a Gundam?
A: NO!!! Absolutely, under none of the most far-out circumstances may your character of any race whatsoever be a Gundam pilot in the Heart's universe. Yes, somebody actually tried to use that idea.
Q: Can I play a Xenomorph character?
A: The nature of the sentient Xenomorph Hive on the Heart's world was such that they decided to leave it as untouched by their hands as possible, which drove them into what can be considered a "dormant" state. Nothing but the barest minimum of creatures maintains the Hive structures and obligations throughout the world. None of them will willingly show themselves to anyone who was not already aware of their presence. Unfortunately for anyone wishing to play a Xenomorph character, the only option would be to play a wild, non-sentient one, which could only be there by the hand of the Yautja, who are not permitted to do so. Which means they can not be played in the Dragon's Heart continuity.
Q: Can I play a dragon character?
A: In the world of the Dragon's Heart, dragons exist only in dreams. They are creatures outside of the normal reality, which can only touch the Heart's world through people's dreams, where they rarely say anything. In very rare instances, people have claimed to do something because they were told to by a dragon in a dream. Such creatures seem to have little interest in the Heart's world, however.
Q: Can I play a wolf character?
A: The Heart is in the middle of a wild pack's territory. Mahayr and S`qarr have a relationship with them for personal reasons. Strange packs and lone wolves may be a problem, depending how they treat the resident pack and its alpha.
Q: Can I play a werecreature?
A: Werecreatures will be unable to conceal their natures from Mahayr or S`qarr because of their relationship with the local wolf pack. Magical veils attempting to hide their natures will be ineffective because of the magic buffers around the area. Werecreatures are permitted, but can not expect to be the strongest beings in the Heart. The local laws will apply to them too; the means of enforcing it against such powerful creatures is in place.
[ Click HERE for Other Floors and Descriptive Notes ]
