The Split Oar
The Split Oar is the largest and oldest inn in Ostenvik—a wide, squat, three-story structure just off the main square of the Seawall District. Built from shipwreck timber and volcanic stone, the building leans slightly inland as if recoiling from the sea. The name comes from the massive, cracked oar nailed above the hearth, allegedly snapped in two by a sea giant during a legendary storm raid—though no two storytellers agree on the details.
It serves sailors, caravaners, mercenaries, and traders alike, offering warm food, cold beer, and harder liquor. The rooms upstairs are drafty but secure. The bunks downstairs are cheap and loud. Locals come for the fights, dice games, and house-brewed Red Wake Ale—a bitter brew that hits like a forge hammer and stains your tongue.
Purpose / Function
The Split Oar serves as the main hub for travelers, mercenaries, and traders coming in from the Throat Trail or the docks. It’s where deals get struck, fights break out (and end), and rumors grow legs. Blackvein mercs, ore haulers, and caravan bosses all use it as a staging ground—and the coin flow is too good for the guilds to interfere.
History
The Split Oar was first built in 307 HE as a crude bunkhouse for dockhands and inland traders hauling ore down from the Shieldmounts. After the devastating coastal storm of 319 HE destroyed much of Ostenvik’s waterfront, the tavern was rebuilt using salvaged ship timber and reinforced stone. The cracked oar now hanging above its hearth was recovered from a sunken longboat that broke in two during that storm—becoming both its namesake and symbol of endurance. Since then, the Split Oar has stood as a neutral gathering place for mercenaries, sailors, and guildfolk alike, its walls steeped in salt, smoke, and secrets.
“This place doesn't run on kindness or coin. It runs on fear, respect, and the threat of a broken jaw.”
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