The Black Gull

The Docks are full of taverns and pubs, but given their rough clientele, most honest folk look a bit further into the city for a drink and a meal. The Docks are no place for the mild, and nowhere is this truer than the Black Gull. Squeezed between two warehouses in the eastern part of the Docks near the border to Scurvytown , The Black Gull is a dangerous place that caters to the nastier sorts that visit the city.

Description

The Black Gull is a narrow building with only two walls of its own. The sides are formed by the brick warehouses that rise to either side. Mackey built the back and the front when he claimed the place. The interior is dirty and the floor covered in suspicious stains. A bar runs along one side with wooden stools in front for patrons, and some benches and tables line the opposite side. A few other tables fill up the empty spaces, placed just far enough apart to squeeze between them. The décor is decidedly spartan—a mariner’s wheel hangs from the ceiling along with a few nets and other junk.
Fights happen like clockwork in the Black Gull. Mackey tolerates them mostly, but whenever anyone comes over the bar or threatens him or any of his staff (which includes three waitresses and a busboy) he lets loose his bouncer, Buster, on them. The Black Gull has prices that range from reasonable to downright cheap—about half normal. The quality of the booze is rather low but priced right for the thirsty. Mackey doesn’t serve any food in the place—”Gets in the way of the ale,” he complains—but people are welcome to bring it in from elsewhere. They’d better have enough to share, though. A lack of such manners has sparked more than one fight in the place.

History

The Black Gull is a fixture in Freeport. It takes its name from a huge raven that flew in the door when the bar first opened and refused to leave. The owner, Dill Mackey, started feeding the bird. One night, a sailor who was three sheets to the wind looked up and said, “That’s the blackest gull I’ve ever seen.”
Within days, Mackey renamed the bar and replaced the sign out front with a painting of his favorite pet. Of course, that was years ago, and the sign now shows some wear, but the bird is still there. When it’s not perched on Mackey’s broad shoulder, the raven rests in a wrought-iron cage up behind the bar, relatively safe from the raucous crowd.

Founding Date

852

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Parent Location

Freeport Docks

Owner

Vic Mackey

Characters in Location

• Buster
• Lariya Syrtis
• M.F.
• Vic Mackey