The Wizard's Hand was an inn in the village of Maskyr's Eye in the Vast in the late 13th and 14th centuries DR.[1] Although the only inn in the village,[2] it was famous to travelers in the Vast, who thought to be among the three best inns to be found along the region's roads,[2] if not the finest inn in the Vast and one of the best in Faerûn at the time, rivaled only by The Worried Wyvern in Sevenecho.[3][4] It was named for the archmage Maskyr One-Eye.[4]
History[]
The inn was established some time around 1277 DR[2][4] by Riothar Orlsyr. This followed the burning down of a prior inn, The Three Dead Orcs.[2]
Location[]
It was situated beside the House of Plenty, a temple to Chauntea.[1]
Structure[]
Constructed of stone and timber under a thatched roof, The Wizard's Hand was a low and sprawling structure.[2]
Interior[]
The inn held ten private rooms and one grand common room wherein around forty-five people could sleep in comfort.[2]
Atmosphere[]
In the evenings in good weather, The Wizard's Hand taproom would fill with Maskyrvians, who met to drink and to hear news, clack, and music from the travelers, adventurers, and itinerant minstrels that passed through. If bidden, the Maskyrvians told their own stories of the area, sometimes growing quite exaggerated. Bards were especially welcome, with audiences gladly giving coin for a ballad or dramatic story, despite how often it might've been heard before.[1] It saw the occasional brawl.[5]
Services[]
As well as drinks of beer,[1][2] brambleberry wine,[1] sund,[2] and Mulmaster brandy, a typical meal could include roast stag with wildsage vegetable stew. For dessert, there was sweet tarts with brambleberry jelly and bowls of sugarbread soaked in brandy and coated in cream.[2]
When dwarves journeyed out of the mountains and stayed in Maskyr's Eye to trade for around four days, two or three times a year, merchants from Mulmaster would rush to the village to trade with them. At these times, The Wizard's Hand would fill with guests, and those who missed out paid to stay at a local farm or camped by the road.[1]
The village council also met in The Wizard's Hand, unless it was full, in which case they went to the House of Plenty next door.[1]
Inhabitants[]
In the late 1350s DR, the proprietor and innkeeper was Lhullbannen Orlsyr, son of Riothar. Although aided by his wife and four daughters, he was unwilling to leave the day-to-day business of the inn to them, expecting they wouldn't run it to his high standards.[2]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Ed Greenwood (September 1990). “The Everwinking Eye: A Closer Look at Maskyr's Eye”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #55 (TSR, Inc.), p. 24.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Ed Greenwood (January 1991). “The Everwinking Eye: At Home in Maskyr's Eye”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #57 (TSR, Inc.), p. 21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood, Julia Martin, Jeff Grubb (1993). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 2nd edition (revised), A Grand Tour of the Realms. (TSR, Inc), p. 74. ISBN 1-5607-6617-4.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ed Greenwood (October 1998). The City of Ravens Bluff. Edited by John D. Rateliff. (TSR, Inc.), p. 147. ISBN 0-7869-1195-6.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (November 1990). “The Everwinking Eye: Adventures in Maskyr's Eye”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #56 (TSR, Inc.), p. 26.