The Bluest Skies
In this damned city of ghosts, the only sun I know for sure is real, is at the bottom of my pint of hooch and the best hooch is here at the Bluest Skies.
Murdoch the Eye, worthy of the City Docks
History
In the underworld City of the One Prince, there is no skies or clouds to be seen.
The Bluest Skies tavern is owned by a long-time resident of the City, a long-lived Elvenon by the name of Fengolor Evensun.
By all accounts, it is said that Fengolor, himself, cannot remember how long ago he fell into the Well of Oblivion from the green vales of Frencalia and landed in this forsaken metropolis.
After years of toils at the City Fisheries, Fengolor amassed enough precious metal and stones to refurbish and open up the Bluest Skies on the shore of the Grey Lake.
He named the tavern after what he hankered most to see again: the skies above the Silver Isles, home of his happy and spoiled childhood.
Popularity and Specialities
The tavern opened forty years ago and became an instant success on the docks due to Fengolor's contacts in the City breweries, legal or otherwise.
The place never runs out of hooch, which is more that could be said about the other taverns in this poorer area of the City.
Not only the vats of hooch are never empty at the Bluest Skies but there is always some form of entertainment to be heard.
Fengolor, as any self-respecting Elvenon, is a keen musician and amateur of the arts: anyone with a passing talents for singing or playing is welcome to regal the clientele and is offered free drinks to boot!
The Bluest Skies is the favourite haunt of the few fallen elves residing in the city. By Nightend, when everyone but the elves are asleep, Fengolor and his friends sings the old Elvish ballads and remember what they were forced to leave behind.
Being so near the lakeshore, food is never a problem. Fish and seafood from the Grey Lake are always on the menu accompanied by the City's traditional vegetal fare: algae, seaweed and mushroom.
Fengolor and his staff even grow their own cavern mushroom in the deep cellars below the tavern.
Accommodation
The Bluest Skies only has a few rooms and takes in lodgers from time to time, mostly newcomers to the City, the recently fallen, looking for a place to stay and find their feet in town.
Taking in newcomers has another benefit. Sometimes, newcomers have precious objects or silver coins they bring with them from the surface world. Fengolor barters his goods and rent for such items if possible.
Unbeknown to his lodgers, due to their rarity, such goods go for triple their value in the City of the One Prince.
Despite his less than honest dealings, Fengolor is for the most part an affable and pleasant host, keen to please his clients and safeguard the reputation of his establishment.
However, it is well known that he does possess some magical ability of his own, and is quite able to defend himself, his staff and his establishment (Warlock).
Architecture
The Bluest Skies was built from a ruined townhouse at the eastern edge of the Docks, but still within safe distance from the Unlit District and the potential horrors that lurk there.
The townhouse follows the beautiful, clean lines of the Bardes' architecture. The people of the One Prince have colonised the ancient Bardes ruins and rebuilt most of its districts stone by stone over centuries.
There is very little vegetation and wood in the City of the One Prince, all fixtures are made out of metal and stone. The only other material available is a soft linen thread spun from a seaweed-like plant found on the shore of the city lakes called Seaveil.
The city stones are gleaming white and are beautiful in their own right. Many carved stones can be found in the mass of ruined buildings strewn across the city. Some carved stones sport bas-reliefs of the most intricate motifs.
First Floor
The tavern has been rebuilt on two floors. However, it is clear that the original building had at least another floor on top as the ruined tower still attached to the righthand side attests.
The front door is a traditional portico stone door that slides magically to the side when you press a certain rune engraved on its ornate front.
As you enter the tavern, you step into a high-ceilinged room supported by two rows of gleaming white colonnades. High windows, typically without glass, near the top of the ceiling, let in a copious amount of the city artificial sunlight.
Fengolor is a keen proponent of a minimalist approach to home decor - something that his staff, and in particular Chrysalia, has much deplored over the years.
However, that is the way Fengolor likes it. There is no bold colourful swathes of Seaveil hanging from the stone pillars or the ceiling here, only gleaming white stone and a few ink-coloured seaweeed cushions for contrast and comfort.
A huge ornate stone altar serves as a decent bar at the far end of the room. On the wall behind the bar, you can see Fengolor's personal bottle collection - many beautiful coloured glass flagons rescued from the ruined dwellings of the city.
These are plentiful throughout the City of the One Prince, and can be had for a few barters. They also serve well as hooch bottles for storing and serving.
In front of the altar-bar, are ten generous size stone slab tables and benches. Come the Eventide, these will be filled with a motley crowd of regulars: mainly dockers, fishers and artisans, all races and creeds eking a living by the Grey Lake.
Unlike traditional taverns, there is not need for a fire place or a pit in the Bluest Skies. The temperature is always balmy and never changing in the City of the One Prince. Living underground, there is not need to worry about the weather.
To the left and right of the altar-bar are another two sliding stone doors. The one to the left leads directly to a functional kitchen, where food is heated up by means of magical fires.
However, very often, food is eaten raw and fresh in the City of the One Prince, fish in particular as you need to possess magical abilities or know someone who does to produce light and flame in this place.
It is often one of the main reasons why people like to eat out in the district - to take advantage of some tasty cooked food.
The door to the right leads upstairs and Fengolor's private appartment. That door has special runes that only Fengolor can recognise and trace. For safety, some of the runes are also offensive runes and will harm the person who touches them.
The lodgers have a separate entrance to their upstairs rooms from the street.
Second Floor
Not many people have had the privilege to enter Fengolor's private apartment. This is where he keeps his most precious possessions: his family sword and his wooden flute. In the City of the One Prince, these objects are priceless and he guards them jealously.
Sometimes, he brings down his flute and plays the old songs for his Elven friends, but he always put it safe back in its case whenever he goes up for his morning rest.
His flat consists of: a kitchen (hardly used), a bedroom, a basic bathroom, a large living room and a study.
There are also two simple rooms for the lodgers, each with two single beds and a tiny bath alcove.
Staff
The Bluest Skies has three members of staff at the present:
Divine Bounty
Divine is a middle aged, fiery Djevel (Tiefling) who is Fengolor's oldest friend. She worked with him in the Fisheries all those years ago and accepted the job as manager of the tavern when he opened the Bluest Skies.
Divine is in charge of the day to day running of the tavern and has the last word on most things concerning the business. She does not suffer fools gladly, has a sharp tongue but a heart of gold.
As a tiefling, she is very striking, sporting a huge pair of Ivory yack-like horns on top of her elegant, classical face.
Welcey Stillwood
Welcey is a relative newcomer to the Bluest Skies, a ghostwise halfling, Welcey is very quiet and shy, but a talented cook.
Welcey arrived in the City of the One Prince only 5 years ago, and was for a month one of the rent-paying lodgers of the tavern.
However, when the old cook retired, Welcey stepped in, and with some success. He now works in the tavern's kitchens.
Welcey is a trained artist and has been sculpting the white stone of the Bardes with his own design. Reluctantly, Fengolor has accepted to showcase some of Welcey's best pieces in the tavern.
Physically, Welcey is a short version of a romantic Byronic poet. He falls in love regularly, and has now a tendre for Mary Bell.
Mary Bell
Mary is a young human girl who was born in the City. Her mother, Carlota, was also a friend of Fengolor. When Mary reached the age of 16, Carlota asked Fengolor if he could find a job for Mary in the tavern. Carlota did not want her only daughter to work in the harsh environment of the Fisheries. Fengolor accepted ... and has regretted his decision ever since.
Mary is now 19 and still a handful. However, she is a popular waitress and, in Fengolor's eyes, her redeeming feature, she has a voice of gold.
She can be heard singing the songs of the old countries that her mother taught her, most nights for a few coins or barters.
Physically, Mary is a comely girl, with blond, bouncy, curly golden hair and big blue eyes.
I like how you've considered the lack of wood in this space, and then translated that to the decor and furnishings of the place. Lovely descriptions of the staff members too, gives a good feel to the kind of people they are. Nice article!
Thank you for reading! I had fun writing this. :D