Taurgaur's Tarjteir

Taurgaur's Tarjteir was an inn, luthdren (restaurant), and meeting place that catered to a predominantly dwarvish clientele. It was located in Khôltar, south Faerûn, circa the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR. The word "tarjteir" meant "place of happy gathering" in the Deep Realm dialect. It was the hub of dwarven business dealings and social interaction in the Iron City.

Location
Taurgaur's was located very near Handrornlar, the northern gate through the walls of Khôltar. It sat on the northwestern side of Orntathtar Way adjacent to the western half of Turthtraal&mdash;the twin guard towers that bracketed the gate. Next door, on the other side, was the noisy and popular Phlambror's tavern. Across the street to the southeast was Harmeirlarko's Journeys which, along with Surlpar's Stews and Jamrado's Thanetalium, occupied the blunted point of the huge intersection of Orntathtar Way with the North Way.

Structure
This stone building was six stories tall plus a few levels of cellars and storage rooms below ground. The street-facing side was carved to resemble a giant male dwarven face, including a beard that, because of the scale, was truncated at the base. All sides of the building, including the sculpted facade, had several arched windows with thick iron bars on both sides of the glass. Despite the latticework, some of the panes had been broken over the years and repaired by soldering or glued in with pitch.

Interior
The ground floor was mostly occupied by the kitchen and dining area, plus the lobby for the inn. The second floor was full of private meeting rooms that were available for short-term rent. The top four floors were guest chambers. The cellars were extensive and, beyond the food and drink storage, were storage vaults with thick walls and strong locks that were available for short-term rent. A few of these were equipped with manacles and chains for "guests" that might try to escape. Somewhere in the cellars was a secret passage that led to the Dark Corner, a notorious clandestine meeting place for no-questions-asked privacy, located in the neighborhood behind the Tarjteir.

Atmosphere
The guest rooms were all furnished with heavy, strong, and durable items in the style favored by the Stout Folk.

The second-floor meeting rooms were built for privacy and to prevent accidental or intentional eavesdropping. The door to each room opened into a closet-sized antechamber with a second door set at right angles that opened into the room. The walls and ceiling between each room had embedded "gurgle pipes" with water trickling and flowing through them from the upper floors that made a constant background noise. (These noise-making pipes were called "thaelor" in the local dialect and were originally designed for a wealthy Onsruur family that wanted a unique way to appoint their house.)

The dining hall was constantly wreathed in clouds of smoke from dwarven "trood" (very long–stemmed clay pipes). The local favorite toke-and-puff was a blueish green rockweed with a treacle-sweet odor but had, according to Elminster, "a wonderful taste and bite".

Services
Although not affiliated with the inn, many local dwarves made a living as trade agents (known as "ammarakh" in the city vernacular) for merchants from the Great Rift who didn't want to deal directly with Khôltan manufacturers, such as those in haste, those that didn't want to take the time to build personal relationships with dozens of customers or suppliers, or those that just didn't get along with humans. Taurgaur's made money off the rental of the meeting rooms and did supply runners (usually young human and halfling boys and girls) to quickly fetch any ammarakh that wasn't already in the building.

The dining hall at the Tarjteir served the basic staples in good quantity and in tasty fashion. Favorites included rothé stew, roast boar, and skewers of sarth. The ale served here was purposefully weak in order to reduce the chance for drama and damage from rowdy patrons. For stronger stuff, they could go next door to Phlambror's.

The storage vaults in the cellars could be rented short-term or for a season or longer. Some travelers trusted the establishment and felt it was secure enough to store coin and treasure here. Others were known to keep spare clothes or casks of their favorite ale in reserve, so even if they arrived in the city penniless, they would have access to the necessities.

Inhabitants
Taurgaur himself was an ancient dwarf that seldom went out in public, but he was jolly, sharp-witted, and interested in learning.