Elsk Thavarask

Elsk Thavarask was the owner of the Missing Minotaur tavern in Everlund, circa the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR.

Description
"Squarejaw" Thavarask was about 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) tall with brown hair and green eyes. His face and skin showed evidence of many years spent outdoors.

Personality
Elsk was very even-tempered and slow to anger. He enjoyed being around people and he allowed them to be themselves in his tavern, up to a point. From past experiences, he disliked people who threw magic spells around without regard of the consequences for bystanders, the location, or the environment. He was also averse to fires that were not tended properly. Although he was a skilled fighter and could disarm folks who became belligerent, he preferred to surreptitiously drug patrons that were becoming a danger to themselves or others, and put them to sleep.

Abilities
Thavarask was very observant and often foresaw dangerous situations before they became unmanageable. He was quite skilled with a longsword and was proficient enough with a crossbow in a tavern environment.

Possessions
In addition to the Missing Minotaur, Elsk owned a set of +2 scale mail, a +1 large wooden shield, a +1 longsword, boots of speed, and a masterwork heavy crossbow. He kept some gold and gems hidden in various caches around the tavern.

Activities
Squarejaw enjoyed hunting for deer and boar in the lands around Everlund. He was a map enthusiast, and his hobby was expanding and adding detail to the large map of the North on the wall behind the bar. He would buy or bargain for sketches of trails, drawings of street layouts, descriptions of landmarks, locations of potable water, and signs of forgotten ruins. Whenever he acquired a new scrap of parchment, he carefully made two copies that he stored in other locations before posting the original on his wall where it might become a bargaining chip.

Elsk had a standing arrangement with the Harpers that, for five hundred gold pieces per year, he would keep a secret bedroom with a hidden entrance and to feed and shelter anyone who gave him the correct password for as long as they were in need.

Keeping the peace at the most rowdy tavern in Everlund wasn't always easy, and Thavarask often kept a damper on the most troublesome patrons by slipping a sleep-inducing toxin into their drink when they got overly aggressive or destructive. He acquired these poisons from merchants that did business in Waterdeep, and especially, Skullport. His knockout elixirs included nightviper venom, numbfish jelly venom, pauper's poison, Saldruth's viper venom, slarkfish venom, and udderfish venom. All of these were thick, milky white liquids with a slightly sweet taste that could be mixed in water or alcohol. When ingested, they degraded the victim's faculties and usually progressed to a period of unconsciousness.

Relationships
Elsk was a Harper sympathizer and knew how to get in contact with a number of their agents. His barmaid, Elanthra, was also privy to these secrets.

History
Elsk Thavarask was born in Neverwinter, but his parents soon moved the family to Waterdeep. They had a small laundry and seamstress business on the edge of Castle Ward. With youthful exuberance, Elsk joined an adventuring band that eventually turned to piracy on the Sword Coast. Fortunately for him, he had a knack for survival, carefully picking his battles and knowing when discretion was better than valor. He moved from group to group until he became a leader and formed his own band known as the Men of the Mask. He enjoyed years of relative success, but grew tired of enduring the weather, maintaining constant vigilance, and being unable to stay in one place for any great length of time.

After disbanding his adventuring group, he and some friends (who he suspected were Harpers) retired to Everlund. He opened the Missing Minotaur and accepted the rough clientele that other taverns frowned upon, using his unique methods to keep things from getting too far out of control.