Trollskull Manor
Trollskull Manor was until recently a stately but abandoned manor house in Waterdeep's North Ward. It looks rather run down, has a reputation for being haunted, and its last owner, a half-elf known as Lif, converted the ground floor into a tavern.
Purpose / Function
The interior layout of Trollskull Manor's upper levels reflects its original construction as a manor house, with a number of bedrooms, storage spaces, and even interior bathrooms constructed for the comfort of the minor aristocracy that once lived here.
Alterations
The main floor's conversion into a tavern represents a radical alteration in design, with the removal of non-load bearing walls, opening up the space. Interior stairs to the second floor were torn out as well, with a new outdoor street level staircase leading to the second and higher floors added, separating the tavern entirely from the living spaces.
A recent earthquake that struck the city of Waterdeep revealed to our heroes that the cellar had undergone renovations as well, possibly much older renovations. False walls had been constructed, shrinking the cellars considerably and concealing a magical apparatus that serves as a dual-function means of magical transportation. As of yet, our heroes can transport themselves to the village of Phandalin by means of the portal, and can also somehow cause the manor itself to swap places with a near-duplicate version of Trollskull Manor located in Phandalin's outskirts.
History
Trollskull Manor was built an unknown period of time ago, and originally served as the manor house of a minor lord or member of the aristocracy of Waterdeep. Since that time the manor's holdings have been sold off until only the manor house itself and the land it rests on remain part of the property. It has changed hands many times over the centuries, and at some point in the relatively recent past (no more than perhaps 100 to 150 years or so,) the manor house underwent extensive renovations to transform the ground level into a tavern.
The tavern enjoyed some success for a while, but eventually closed its doors and the building was left abandoned, still occasionally changing hands. During this time it acquired a reputation for being haunted.
Trollskull Manor was most recently purchased by Volothamp "Volo" Geddarm who intended to investigate the rumors of the hauntings in hopes that the property might aid in his research for his upcoming book Volo's Guide to Spirits and Spectres. Unfortunately for Volo, no such apparitions ever appeared to him, and he gave the property to our heroes as a reward for their assistance in the matter of the kidnapping of Floon Blagmaar and Renaer Neverember.
Shortly after acquiring the property, our heroes discovered the cellar of the building contains far more than abandoned barrels of whiskey.
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