Walking Out to Meet the Dragon, or as it became known in the late 14th century DR - "Walking Dragon", was a friendly tavern in the town of Mosstone with its doors open to all, especially adventurers and various outcasts.[1]
Location[]
Walking Out to Meet the Dragon was located on one of the back lanes of Mosstone.[1]
Interior[]
Unlike the vast majority of back-alley establishments, the Dragon was a clean place with a friendly-faced and ingressive calming atmosphere. The drinking establishment offered the privacy of walled and curtained booths and the comfort of over-stuffed but mismatched seats.[1]
The spacious taproom was centered with an enchanted fountain, the Endless Fall. Its function was not just visual, however. The bubbly, trickling sounds of the Fall were designed to drown out idle chatter and protect the guests' privacy. The fountain was an upright endless ring of flowing water waving along with a glistening pile of water-polished rocks and illuminated by candles encased in glass. The Endless Fall's enchantments drove the fountain's waters down the rocks into a glass bowl underneath and then magically drove it to "fall" up to the top of the rock stack. Candles were strategically placed at the bottom of the glass bowl and behind the trickling falling water to create a mesmerizing dance of reflected and rippling light. Even though most visitors found the show pleasant and relaxing, some claimed it made them feel seasick.[1]
Services[]
Walking Out to Meet the Dragon offered moderately-priced but abundant drinks. The cellars of the Dragon held a wide variety of vintages, lacking in such rare libations as elverquisst. Travelers had a chance of finding surprising items on the tavern's drink menu.[1]
History[]
The tavern was built and named by Flindarl Alaekynjack who passed about a decade before the 1370s DR. Walking Out to Meet the Dragon, the establishment's strange name was the bravest deed Flindarl had done in his life. Alone, covered in cold sweat of terror, Flindarl walked towards a rapacious pillaging dragon. The future tavern keeper acted as a distraction for a band of stalwart adventurers. As the dragon thought the single man to be an amusing distraction, the heroes slew the wyrm with an onslaught of swords and spells. Flindarl Alaekynjack emerged from the encounter crippled by the dragon's bite but miraculously alive. With his share of the dragon's hoard, Flindarl built his very own tavern.[1]
In the years that followed, Flindarl opened his doors to numerous adventurers, creatures shunned by others, outcasts, half-orcs, disfigured folk. All were welcome at Walking Out to Meet the Dragon, earning the tavern keeper many friends. Eventually, Kardeera Alaekynjack, Flindarl's mountainous daughter, took over the tavern, just as beloved by the guests as her father was. Kardeera was a hulking and muscled woman who could hurl the tavern's tables with ease and intimidate unruly guests. Proficient swordswoman and brawler, she never hesitated to turn her own glassware in the faces of troublemakers, but just like her father, Kardeera preferred to make friends with the guests.[1]
Rumors & Legends[]
One story, popularized by Volothamp Geddarm, claimed that Azoun Obarskyr IV in his youth once stopped at Walking Out to Meet the Dragon. Incognito and guarded by four War Wizards, the young prince found a long-discontinued vintage in the cellars of the tavern. He and his companions happily imbibed the entire cask of the alcohol, knowing that the king's castle long ran out of the drink.[1]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Ed Greenwood (July 2000). Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II. Edited by Duane Maxwell, David Noonan. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-7869-1626-5.