The Sheaf of Wheat was an inn in the town of Ghars, Cormyr, in the mid–14th century DR. It was owned by Lukas Spoondrift.[1][2][3]
Structure[]
The inn had a kitchen[3] and a buttery.[4][5] There was also a small meeting room with fireplace and comfortable chairs[6] and a large room for hosting events.[7]
Atmosphere[]
Volo described the Sheaf of Wheat as "forgettable, but not dreadful".[1]
Services[]
The food was equally average, but passed for fine dining in Ghars.[2] Spoondrift tended to cut corners and use cheaper meats, such as mutton in the lamb stew and using horse meat in place of beef or stag meat.[7] Other regular dishes available included butter-tomato soup.[2] During the Merchants' Guild reception, there was also Beef and Oysters Barnabas (the imported chefs and oversight on Spoondrift helped).[2] [8]
While it was not simply a place for drinking,[2] there was a bar for patrons.[8] Drinks during the reception included Westgate Ruby,[2] Suzale, and Elminster's Choice.[8]
Inhabitants[]
Lukas Spoondrift and his wife lived in a room at the inn.[3]
Jasper once worked as a slop boy (dishwasher and waste remover) at the Sheaf of Wheat. He slept on a pallet in the buttery.[4][5]
History[]
Having been "hired" by Benelaius as his servant, Jasper told Spoondrift he was leaving his slop boy job in Eleint of the Year of the Staff, 1366 DR. Spoondrift was enraged by the news and shouted at him until he left.[5][3]
Over time, part of the inn's roof became damaged and, as Spoondrift left it too long to get it fixed, leaks caused the beams and joists below to rot. Finally, he hired the local roofer Rolf to repair it in around Ches of the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR. While working on it, Rolf left heavy boxes of wood shingles on the roof overnight and around midnight the rotten beams broke and the boxes fell through the roof and attic floor, and rained shingles down on Spoondrift and his wife in their bed. While Spoondrift blamed Rolf, Rolf denied the rotten beams were his fault. Rolf's father, also a roofer, offered to share the cost of rebuilding, but Spoondrift refused. They took the matter to a magistrate in Wheloon, and argued about it through the rest of the year.[3]
In summer, hosting the annual meeting of the Merchants' Guild in the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, the local merchant Barthelm Meadowbrock arranged for the guild members and their retinues to be lodged in both the Sheaf of Wheat and the Silver Scythe, since there were too many for one inn to accommodate. Barthelm also supervised the stocking of its larder and cellar and brought chefs from Suzail.[2] In preparation, Butcher Skedmoor delivered beef, lamb, poultry, and fish on Eleint 18.[3] The next day, Jasper, Mayor Tobald, and Captain Flim of the Purple Dragons met in the Sheaf of Wheat's meeting room to discuss Benelaius's orders regarding recent murders in Ghars.[6] The guild members arrived that afternoon and attended a grand reception in the Sheaf of Wheat starting at 7 o'clock,[7] with dining tables and buffets and drinks at the bar. It closed at ten o'clock, officially, before most members hit the bars, but Meadowbrock and Tobald were forced to leave early to assist in the murder investigation.[8]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ed Greenwood (July 1995). Volo's Guide to Cormyr. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 183. ISBN 0-7869-0151-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 5, pp. 28–31. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 23, pp. 146–150. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 2, p. 7. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 4, pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 28, pp. 176–178. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 28, pp. 180–182. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Chet Williamson (July 1998). Murder in Cormyr. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 29, pp. 183–185. ISBN 0-7869-0486-0.