Sleeping Serpent

The Sleeping Serpent was an inn located in Mulmaster that also served as a safehouse for the Zhentarim circa the mid–14 century DR.

Location
It was located near the city docks, near or within the Docks Quarter.

Structure
The two-story inn appeared fairly ordinary at first glance. The ground floor comprised a spacious common area with ample seating and a bar, along with kitchen at the south end. The top floor consisted of a handful of single rooms, about half as less double rooms, a single triple room, and the grand Lord's Suite.

Beneath the inn were its cellar, and beyond them a guardroom that sequestered the hidden Zhent safehouse. Within these chambers were the Zhents' slave pens, their living quarters and a minor shrine dedicated to the Dark Lord Bane.

Further underground beneath the slavers' quarters was a dungeon complex that had been partially flooded over time. Its passageways branched off south and eastward, eventually connecting to a long-abandoned temple of Bane.

Services
The Sleeping Serpent was owned and operated by Seskaya Atnall, a transplant from Zhentil Keep. A single room cost 3 gp per night, a double cost 5 gp, while the triple room was one gold piece more. The exquisite Lord's Suite cost 10 gp each night, but additional services were included in the exorbitant price. The fare provided by the inn's cooks was not exactly exquisite cuisine, consisting of gruel and stew, or for those preferring meat, roast mutton and steak.

In order to access the safehouse beyond the common area, an individual simply had to submit proof of their associated with the Zhentarim to Seskaya, who would then invite them to look over the selection in the wine cellar.

Defenses
The secure area of the safehouse was protected by two stone golems, both of which could be by passed by speaking the password "Deluntem".

History
The Serpent was a crucial haven for Zhentarim operating within Mulmaster in the years leading up to 1369 DR, when High Blade Rassendyll Uoumdolphin formed an alliance with Fzoul Chembryl of Zhentil Keep. Its importance to the Zhents waned in the years that followed.

As of the, the Zhentarim were using the Sleeping Serpent as a base for slaving operations within the city, working with resident Thayan customers.

Rumors & Legends
By 1373 DR, rumors about the inn's status as a safehouse had spread across the city.

Inhabitants

 * Ardsem Skalarn, the leader of the city's slavers.
 * Etath-Dar, a spy of the Zhentarim that oversaw the slave trade in and out of the Serpent.