Wild Goose

The Wild Goose was an inn found in Arabel in Cormyr in the mid–14 century DR. Although avoided by Arabellans, it was the most popular in the city among adventurers and travelers, for it was also a portal to the famous planes-shifting World Serpent Inn. In fact, the Wild Goose was often mistaken for that inn and commonly known as The World Serpent or the World Serpent Inn itself.

Location
The Wild Goose stood at the end of a short street, in the shadow of the north wall.

Structure
The Wild Goose was rundown and the exterior appeared rather shabby, even derelict.

To enter the World Serpent Inn, one must pass beneath the Wild Goose signboard, stand directly in front of the regular front door, and then knock on an imaginary door in the air. Next, the prospective visitor must invoke the proper name of any deity. This invocation always had to include the words "I" and "enter" in whatever language was being spoken, for example, "In the name of Set, I enter." or "By the honor of Azuth, I will enter." After doing so, the Inn's signboard would change to read "The World Serpent Inn" across the Inn's signature serpent symbol. The successful visitor and close companions slipped into a dimensional pocket, where they were unseen by and unseeing of others using the Wild Goose door. But using the door in front of them would take them into the World Serpent Inn. Cormyr's War Wizards were unsure how this worked.

Atmosphere
It often appeared empty for local Arabellans shunned the place and many other folk just forgot about it. However, when all other inns in Arabel were full up, a visitor would usually find a vacancy here.

Staff
Circa 1367 DR, the Wild Goose was managed by Shult, a kind old man. He was aided by his three daughters, whom Volo described as jolly, robust, and incredibly energetic about their duties.

Services
Despite its tired air, the Wild Goose was rather pricy at 7 gp per person per night, with 1 gp per animal in the stables and 1 gp for a meal. When the inn was full, Shult could allow people to take a nice corner of the attics or the cellars, for only slightly reduced cost.

But it had a much more unique service: Shult could obtain almost anything a patron could ask for, provided it could fit through the corridors and wasn't outright hazardous. This was thanks to his arrangements with Mitchifer of the World Serpent Inn. Shult would deliver it for free, but the patron must pay whatever Shult's vendors charged. Anything was possible: any known meal or beverage, any piece of equipment or good from the Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue, any known creature or person that could be safely persuaded or captured and brought through the inn, and any just about anything else, even if unique to certain place or another world. Known purchases included Shou Lung omelets garnished with gold dust, green plover's eggs from Flanaess on Oerth, crutches built to conceal swords with silver blades coated in some unusual substances, and cages of specific dimensions with locks that would take a given key, but not a ferocious lion.

Shult would tell people how to get into the World Serpent Inn for 2 gp, but only after they asked him about it.

History
Volo wrote about the Wild Goose and publicly revealed how to enter the World Serpent Inn in his Volo's Guide to Cormyr published around 1367 DR. Elminster neither corrected nor crossed out this information, but remarked "Ah, well, there goes the neighborhood!" with a sigh and a smile.

Rumors & Legends
Being a portal to the World Serpent Inn, the Wild Goose had an understandable reputation for strange happenings, hazards, and unusual beings that wandered out into the city streets. This reputation reached far outside Arabel and attracted adventurers and tourists to the city.