The Whistling Gallows, previously known as Skeld's Place, was a small historic tavern and an inn, located in Lonelywood, one of the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale.[1][2]
Structure[]
The taproom and the innkeep's lodgings.
The inn was a large log building with two stores located close to the heart of Lonelywood.[1]
Interior[]
The inn's second floor and guest rooms.
The inn's large taproom opened up as soon as a guest stepped through the front doors. The entire interior could be described as rustic. The log walls were abundantly decorated with a collection of antlers and taxidermied beast heads. A firepit was at the taproom's center, with roasts slowly turning, dripping fat and juices into the flames underneath. Long wooden tables and benches were spread around the room, illuminated with candles. Directly across from the main entrance stood the stairway to the second floor. To the left of the stairs stretched a long barstand made out of a single massive sawed tree trunk with tree stumps in front of it instead of bar stools. Shelves full of alcohol, kegs, and bottles were behind the bar, as well as a small metal tub to wash tankards in.[1]
To the entrance's left side, a small hallway was locked behind a door. From there, the proprietor accessed a small kitchen and the cold storage. On the opposite side was the room used by the tavernkeep as lodgings. It was a small room with a huge mirror built into a wall. The mirror, however, was "magical," if some were to be believed. It could be opened, allowing passage to a secret room used by Kieran Nye as a wizard's lab, filled with books, enchanted trinkets, reagents, and a crystal orb perched atop a pedestal, radiating blueish glow. The lab's walls were draped in expensive-looking blue tapestries. Some of the curious items there included a rogue stone, a robe of the neutral archmagi translocation arrows, a flask of oil of speed, and a scroll of a rare mage spell – seven eyes.[1]
The second floor was fully used to house guests – a long hallway of rooms with various levels of decoration, but most included a nightstand, a bed, a wash tub, and some had more mounted beast heads and wardrobes. The hallway was decorated with several hanging paintings.[1]
Services[]
The Whistling Gallows offered warm beds, strong drinks, and food to its guests. In 1281 DR, the inn had a resident drunkard who was also the entertainment – bard Murdaugh. If one were to discover Kieran Nye's secret, the wizard offered to trade some of his most precious magical artifacts in exchange for their silence.[1]
Some of the drinks sold at the inn were simple cheap ales, Iriaeboran North Brew, Knee Cracker Cider, Luskan stout, Winter Wine, Bitter Black Ale, Cormyran brandy, and Moonshae whiskey.[1]
History[]
As of the Year of the Weeping Wives, 1232 DR, there were no settlements north of Termalaine. The land surrounding the Lonely Wood held nothing more than several logging camps and trapper huts. The town truly was born with the construction of the famous Whistling Gallows Inn. Back then, the inn was better known as Skeld's Place, run by a violent half-ogre named Skeld who clobbered unruly patrons and used a tree outside the inn to hang those who wronged him. At night, cold northern winds whistled between all the hanged frozen corpses. Soon after, houses started appearing around the inn, and more people started settling in the secluded northernmost town. Only shortly before the Year of the Cold Soul, 1281 DR, Lonelywood was recognized by the council of the Icewind Dale. Skeld died sometime before 1281 DR, and the inn was purchased by Kieran Nye, an old Tethyrean wizard who at one point was a member of the organization that would eventually be known as the Host Tower of the Arcane. Kieran was a deserter, and the Host Tower wanted him dead, so he kept his past affiliation a secret.[2][1]
Appendix[]
Trivia[]
- The paintings on the second floor are easter eggs depicting in-game renders from Planescape: Torment depicting a lavishly-dressed female aasimar from Sigil and one of Nameless One's companions – the feline-looking tiefling Annah. Another painting depicted the in-game art of the Sea of Moving Ice.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Black Isle Studios (February 2001). Designed by Chris Avellone, Steve Bokkes, John Deiley, J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter. Interplay.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Black Isle Studios (August 2002). Designed by J.E. Sawyer. Icewind Dale II. Interplay.