The Riverboat
Purpose / Function
The Riverboat is a center for relaxation and entertainment for all fishers and farmers. It offers a range of services from food to live music and a smoking area.
Drink
There's a bar both upstairs and downstairs in the Riverboat, filled with all manner of ale, liquor and refreshments. Due to unknown reasons they did recently stop selling Wicktens Gin on the premise. This was much to the disapproval and dismay of many of the local fishermen and wrights. Still, they make do. The owner, Elert, has ties to the Maw and manages to get his hands on a nice selection of wines from there. Most popular of which is Red Cantarkan Wine.
Their most popular beer is an ale brewed in Marymur. A nearby village. They also sell Ortwin Ale, brewed by a family here in Yeffield.
In terms of the stronger stuff - its hard to beat Wicktens Gin here in Yeffield. They have started importing some stuff from the east. A herbal digestive produced in Marrow. It is really expensive though compared to what you can get in other bars.
In terms on non-alcoholic options sheep's milk is common. So is Crab-juice; essentially a shellfish broth, a core component of which is Giant Crab. Its salty, its fresh, it tastes like the sea and on a warm summer day if you can get this stuff chilled it is some of the best.
Food
The Riverboat serves food every night. There's not really a lot of consistency to it, generally every night you would have a cheap option and a slightly more expensive option. The cheap option is usually some mix of riversnakes, shellfish, broth and bread while the expensive option might contain some more vegetables and meat. Its always something which can be produced in masses with ease.
Examples are as follows -
Milk stew with potatoes and lamb.
Potato and onion soup.
Pork and dumplings.
Snake stew (nobody likes this one but it is dirt cheap).
Wright's soup.
Crab on toast.
The best day is Fodsday. See, every Fodsday Wommelken moves her wagon down out front of the Riverboat and sells sandwiches there all night. Her alligator steak is renowned and adored in these parts.
The Lounge
The top floor of the Riverboat is an area in which the smoking of Pink Orchid is welcome. Pink Orchid is a flower which, when dried and smoked, produces pinkish fumes and a relaxed feeling in the indulger. The lounge is full of people smoking Pink Orchid from their pipes to the point that the ceiling has begun to stain. All the windows are always open and it gets cold, people have started bringing furs up into the lounge so now every bench and chair is lined with some thick wool. You can buy Pink Orchid at a fair yet slightly raised price at the bar upstairs here.
Music
Music is played most nights. There's a small stage setup in the corner of the lower floor where performers of all types are welcome. Currently there's a lutist from Lumeport who performs most of the time. She plays good and is well liked by the locals - so she gets to stay.
The woman is called Anneken. She's short and on the rounder side with thick brown braided hair. She has a beautiful and steady voice which carries well - even in the bustle of the bar. She has people with her, flute players, lute players, and the occasional vocalist. She sings of the old world.
Sensory & Appearance
The Terrace
Surrounding the building is an array of tables and chairs fashioned from whatever was available. They sprawl out into the cobbled streets and the rickety piers. Its busy, there's like a sea of people surrounding the building occupying these tables. Most of them with drinks in hand, some of them smoking and some just enjoying the company. The bubbling sound of conversation carries far in the narrow streets.
The Bar
As soon as you step inside you're assailed by a whole new order of sensations. Its a bit more quiet in here. Less discussion. Instead the room is filled with music. A gentle flute is being played and a woman is singing. The performance takes place on a stage in the far corner of the room. She sings of the old world and the people listen.
You can smell food. Some stew - meaty, creamy, and hearty. Alcohol too, the malty scent of ale fills the room.
The room itself is quite large. Filled with fine tables and chairs, populated with denizens treating themselves. Over to the far side is the bar with Hans working behind it. He seems busy. Caught up in a flurry of pouring drinks and polishing wooden goblets. A door swings open behind him which floods the room with the scents and sounds of a busy kitchen - two bowls of soup are unceremoniously planted onto the bar where two hungry fishermen scoop them up.
There's a a few doors leading out of this room. One goes backstage to where the performers prepare - a shoddy dress room. There's a set of stairs to the far right leading to the upper floor. To the left is a small room which has been sectioned off - Elert's friends drink in here. There's a long table fashioned out of an old boat for them to sit at.
The Lounge
As you climb the rickety stairs to the second floor an odd smell will hit you. Smokey, ashy, slightly floral? Its the Pink Orchid. A flower grown in the Council of Oars. Its petals are dried and smoked to give you a relaxed feeling. As you push open the door a cloud of pinkish smoke billows out. The upstairs is more dimly lit. Mostly by a few candles and a couple of open windows. There's another bar, and more seating - mostly tables and low crates. The room is littered with people indulging in the Pink Orchid. They're lounging on the seating, wrapped up in furs, dragging at their pipe. It is a bit colder in here - the windows are open to let the smoke out. You get a few nodds as you walk in. The music and ruckus from downstairs faintly echoes through the floorboards.
Denizens
There's a mix of customers here in the Riverboat. Fisherman, farmers, wrights and traders. Its one of the two big pubs here in Yeffield and thus is a popular location. Even more so now with the state of Fred's. You can see humans, fey, and harvesters here. Humans in the majority of course but you pick out a couple furred ears and sylvan faces. Most people here are on the older side. Not old by any means but old enough to be established workers.
There's a crew of cooks and barmaids most recognizable of which is Hans, Elert's husband. Hans is a gaunt, jolly man with long greying locks. Busy days he works the bars and is everyone's friend.
Architecture
The Riverboat is near the outskirts of the dock region. Elert wanted someplace calm to open up his pub but that never really worked out. The Riverboat is bustling, so much so that they recently had to expand and build a small terrace for people to drink at. On the best of days people will even drink out on the street. The house itself is two - storied. The lower floor is made out of cobbled stones, the upper one white painted timber and as always, the roof is red shingled bricks.
History
A fisherman named Elert hauled up a small fortune some 30 years ago when the town was still young. A chest from the old world must have been dragged through the silt all the way from one of the ruins along the Iron Banks to end up here. No more does he fish for he is the owner of The Riverboat. The rotting, eponymous vessel, stands in the back as a table for the regulars.
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