Roadside
Seedy
Poor prices
The Three-Crow Hitch
the coaching inn at the fork of the Blackford Road
The inn squats against the crossroads like a stub of a building: low beams blackened with smoke, a lean-to for wagons, and a half-dozen hobbled horses stamping in the yard. Inside, the common room smells of boiled barley, damp cloaks, and stale ale; a single guttering lantern hangs over the bar and throws everyone into half-shadow. Conversation is gravelly and guarded — drovers and pensioned soldiers keep close to their coins and closer to the door. You notice a rack of maps and weathered route-staves behind the bar, and a serviceable stable with freshly tarred tack; fingers brush pockets when the ostler walks past, and the clink of coin sounds louder than necessary.
A weathered iron ring from which three crooked iron crows cling, paint flaking and one crow missing a wing; soot-streaked and swinging on a frayed leather strap, no words on the board beneath.
Hendric Mote
human
Manner
Quirk
Stats
Hendric's Waybread Ale
4 cpA smoky, bitter ale brewed with a pinch of rosemary and a dash of black pepper; it dulls the edge of anxiety and steadies hands for a short while (roleplay effect: +1 to Wisdom (Perception) checks for 10 minutes, no mechanical bonuses otherwise).
Poor (5e lifestyle: about 2 sp a day)
Marta Quell · barmaid
A quick-tongued ex-porter who watches faces, slips notes under tankards, and whistles a half-remembered children’s lullaby when danger nears.
Gib the Stablehand · stablehand
A squat halfling who fusses over horses and quietly rearranges saddlebags so the right ones are 'misplaced' at the right time.
Old Jorren
A retired caravan guard who mutters about a missed ambush and keeps a battered iron toothpick that belonged to a long-dead captain; he wants a chance at revenge.
Nessa Reed
A cartographer selling cheap route sketches; she suspects someone is supplying bandits accurate times and wants help tracing the leak.
Tobin the Patcher
A scarred road-repairer who knows every pothole and hidey-hole between the fork and the river and can point to a likely ambush site for the right coin.
1
Varun Drel ambushed the merchant caravan bound for Calver's Hold three nights ago and left a single crow feather as his mark.
2
A covered wagon carrying the Lakedale silver ledgers will pass the fork at dawn Friday if the weather holds.
3
A pair of strangers bought every copy of Nessa Reed's latest route sketches and asked which drivers were easy marks.
Made with the free LoreKeeper Tavern Generator · Free to use at your table · Licence
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