Court of the White Bull

The Court of the White Bull was a prominent, hardpacked dirt courtyard in the Trades Ward of the city of Waterdeep.

Description
The courtyard as a whole was a wild magic zone, causing magic to often go awry, though this fact was only known to the wider public as rumors.

Geography
This courtyard was located to the north of River Street and the River Gate.

From the north, the Court of the White Bull was the southern terminus of Gaustus Street, Nethpranter's Street, and the Wide Way. Its western side was the eastern terminus of Chelor's Alley. And its southern side was the northern terminus of Salabar Street, Urcandle Alley, and Walltower Walk.

Activities
The Court of the White Bull acted as a bazaar, being regularly visited by caravan owners to meet up and peddle their wares fresh from their wagons. Livestock was also commonly bought and sold here.

Beyond commerce, in the 14 century DR this courtyard was commonly the site used to carry floggings upon criminals.

Law
All manner of magic items, material components, and scrolls, as well as demonstrations of magic, were forbidden from the courtyard by the Lords of Waterdeep.

History
The Court of the White Bull earned its moniker from the miraculous birth of an albino bull on the spot  to an astonished caravan owner. This incident occurred back when the spot laid outside of Waterdeep's Trollwall, a time when the area was but an open field used by livestock and assembling caravans.

Taking the albino bull's birth as a good omen, the caravan owner went on to built a tavern at the spot that went by the name White Bull. The tavern later exploded in the midst of an infamous battle between Thongalar the Mighty, Shile Rauretilar,  and Shile's apprentices.

The conflict between the mages went on to not only cost Shile and his apprentices their lives, but to rip open a planar breach in the very fabric of the Prime Material plane to the Astral Plane, a breach that was rapidly widening. This planar disaster was ultimately resolved by the deity Azuth, who appeared in his avatar form and mended the breach,  though as a consequence of the incident the area became a wild magic zone.

One day in the late 14 century DR, a statue made of imported marble was unlawfully erected in the courtyard. The statue depicted a lone man, standing in a laborer's garb with a hammer in one hand and the other hand outstretched, its first finger extended out and curled into a hook&mdash;a vulgar gesture known locally as "hooking". Before the Lords of Waterdeep came to a decision on what to do about the statue, the City Watch were ordered to examine it, as the Lords were worried that it may have been a mimic as the courtyard Virgin's Square had faced a similar incident.

Examining the statue, the Watch discovered that it sported several hidden cavities for dropping messages into, one of which actually held a scrip&mdash;its contents were never divulged to the public. After the thorough examination, the statue was pulled down and destroyed, and thereafter a proclamation about the incident was read before Piergeiron's Palace.

Reputation
The Court of the White Bull was considered to be one of the landmarks of the Trades Ward.