Cloak & Dagger

Blackbourne's most famous tavern

Introduction

"Lemme tell you something: if you wanna good place to kick down and relax, drink with your friends and, most importantly, don't have the Guard on your tail, then the Cloak & Dagger is the TITS!"

— Street Fox, Thief of Legend

An unlikely establishment in an unlikely spot, the Cloak & Dagger is a hit among locals and visitors alike. Located in the busy city of Blackbourne, inside a cave at the mouth of the Black River known as Devin's Retreat, it is hidden from the people's eyes at the same time that it embraces those who come from the sea. If there is a place someone ought to visit when coming to Blackbourne, that place sure is the Cloak & Dagger.

Details

Alterations

There have been several reforms to the Cloak & Dagger, most of them for maintenance purposes. And there were a few expansions too, one which had the main hall with the bedrooms built, leaving the old rooms as just a house for the owners.

Architecture

The entirety of the building is made of wood. There was a time they had structural problems due to the sea air and the salt, but a few techniques taught by the owners of the Blackbourne's Boats & Ships made the place safe again, which received a sizable expansion.

The tavern part of the building is a great hall with 2 floors, the upper one being an inside balcony to the lower one. A door in the backside of the hall leads to the kitchen and the house of the owners. The only accesses to the establishment is either through boat/ship, though there isn't much space for maneuvering the larger ones, or through a walkway leading around the cave up to the harbor.

History

With the Artalgnian Empire controlling Arcanopia, the city of Blackbourne was pretty much left to dust. The international commerce was prohibited for the local folk and the place was far from what it used to be. Krenjor sought to conquer the land for themselves too, and came in their ships from the sea, aiming at Blackbourne. While the enemy was ultimately repelled by the Artalgnian navy, the city suffered heavy blows. Trying to flee from the attack, some locals sought refuge in the caves below the city, where the Black River courses through.

There they sat and waited, and stayed, even after the battle was over. It became a safe haven, where not even the Artalgnian troops suspected to search, where they could live away from the constant oppression. They called it "Devin's Retreat".

Decades later, word of the place got to Amice's ears, the leader of the Resistance against the Empire. The locals wanted to help Amice's cause by offering the caves as a hiding place, to where she relocated the Silent Blades.

With the Archani free and the Kingdom of Archana now independent, the community below Blackbourne went back to the city, but a few remained behind with the intent of building a tavern hoping to attract customers thanks to the historical importance of the place. The tavern was named "Cloak & Dagger", as a small nudge to the fact they backed up the Silent Blades.

With a rough start, the Cloak & Dagger's exotic location happened to be indeed a selling point in their favor, and it would grow to be the most successful tavern of Blackbourne. In time, due to the lack of records and the secrecy of the events, the fact that they guarded the entrance to the Blades' hideout was forgotten by the people, except by the owners of the establishment who for a while still had to deal with the passage of messengers.

Nowadays their role as gatekeepers is but a distant tale among the family.

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Parent Location

Devin's Retreat

Owner

Nancy Awvrey

Characters in Location

• Nancy Awvrey