The drunk owl

Machirai, Markiri ne Psikai an sen domi oú te repetai. Anerioi che arínach ne lithíach sen domin estó popina phacti man teron.
Oitelith gwey Wskiraum gwey oinül thian nuta am tügol . Aneriowynn tha prosa raynn gwei mai tha se tügol u chur ithyon much se Thiosta.

Weapons, bullying and spells aren't allowed inside the building. People who disturb the peace and happiness of this building will be inmediately send flying outside this tavern .
Inscription in oronai and elvish outside the gate of the Drunk Owl

A mythical place...

The tavern is said to be located at the entrance of an underground dwarf house. The local elves said that during the Time of the Heroes when the dwarfs where driven out of the region, the elves found a golden chest that they later melted in order to forge a crown that was given to the Sky Father. Later on, during historical times, the place was occupied first by a School of Wisdom, related to the sanctuary of the Cave of the Goddess Tyr, where laws and holy texts were studied, and later by stables. When the Oronai came to the region the place was in ruins with its walls barely standing. According to their myths the place where the tavern stands was the cave of the Naiarids, fairies that were the maids of the goddess Tyr and that took care of her when the Goddess was a child.

The current tavern was built in 590 AP by Astakias, an Oronai colonist originary from town of Uspa in Lower Oronia, near the frontier with the The Blatian Empire . Astakias had married a local elf woman called Lenatil. In 617 AP during the First Siege of Banias the place became an improvised fortress where the people of the nearby neighbourhood took refuge and helped the remaining defender forces drive out the barbarians that besieged the city. Despite being heavely damaged, the authorities of the city gave a substancial amount of money for its repair.

A place to forget your problems...

Located near the Adventurers guild, the place is frenquently visited by the adventurers after or before going into a mission. As the Adventurers guild doesn't have a proper tavern or bar, The Drunken Owl acts as the tavern of the guild. Usually there is a friendly ambience but things might go a bit "wild" , specially if there is an special festival or celebration.
Astakias and his wife are picky about behaviour inside the tavern. Fights inside the building are not allowed and the owners and their "assistants" might use force to either made the costumer change his/her behaviour or to send them flying through the door. And, once you get expelled that way from the tavern, you are not allowed to come back again. Of course every race or ethnicity is allowed inside the building, but the main customers are half-elves, elves and humans, the three main races that live in the city and that work at the Adventurers Guild.
The Drunken Owl is also renown for their exquisit food, specially a dish called Uspa duck with grape souce and chesnuts. Wine is also excelent. It comes from the Parana Valley and from vineyards near Bazira. The Drunken Owl is one of the few places in Brire where you can drink beer. Not because the Elvish-Oronai don't know about it, but they consider drinking beer as something "uncivilized" proper of savages like the Nords or the Wesdalandians, but due to the contact and trade with the latter, beer is beginning to be widely consumed, specially during summer. Mead and tea, which are the national beverage of the elves, are also widely consumed at the tavern by the three races. It is said that Lenatil makes the best of the kingdom, but you must go there and taste it by yourself!.

There is plenty of entertainment (bards, music, games...)

Entertainment is vital in order to have a comfy atmosphere. Usually local bards or bards from abroad are invited to come to the tavern to recite or sing their poems or epic tales. The inhabitants of Banias certainly love a good story or legend. There is a wooden platform in front of the bar for performances. Also if you want to spend your time playing there are plenty of games. One famous game is the Pelita ( a traditional game among Blatians and Oronai, where you have an square table with holes and little balls and the objective is to move them "eating the other balls" until one single ball remains. Cards and specially dices are extremely popular and many people like to bet while playing at them. A traditional Oronai saying says "After war and athletics, dices are the Oronai's national sport".

Also another famous "show" at the tavern are Crysanthos and Nellerlë drinking contests. You might expect one of them every time they return successfully from a quest. And believe me, most of the time you will see Yuuya carrying a very drunk Nellerlë out of the place. Attalos and Lenatil might disaprove it, but Astakias says that he allows them to do that because its funny to watch and because many adventurers come to see who wins, so it is good for the bussiness.

Nellerlë and Crysanthos drinking contest at the Drunk Owl. art made by me

The staff of the Drunken Owl

• Astakias: The owner of the tavern. Astakias is also the cook, and a very renown one. He is the one who invented the recipe of the Uspa duck. Due to his connections with the native elves and oronai colonist he is a very respected and loved member of the community.
• Lenatil: The wife of Astakias and the bartender. Don't get yourself deceived by that smiling face, if you anger her, she knows a couple of tricks than can turn your peaceful night at the bar into a nightmare.
• Ariston: Well, Ariston's role is unclear, he is the guy that usually throws away people that doesn't behave. He also works as a bartender sometimes. He is very strong, it is said that he was a wrestler in Evergetia before arriving in Banias . The only one that can equal him in strengh is Crysanthos .
• Attalos: Also known as Peptatiryn by the elves (that can be translated as the man with a silver tongue), because of his talent as a bard. He hasn't been officially hired by Astakias or Lenatil, but we can say that he is the main bard of the tavern. He likes to make singing contest with other bards that sometimes drag a lot of attention.

Description of the Tavern:

The place is not very elegant but is comfy. Its walls are made of stone as well as the floor. The roof is made of roof tiles, following Oronai architecture. Once you enter through the door, you find the bar at your right where the great oven is located and also all the amphorae ,barrels, bottles etc... . You would usually find Lenatil at that place, where you'll order your menu or your drink and she will deliver it to your table.
Then at the left of the bar you pass through a wooden arch. Usually Ariston is at the side of it, keeping an eye on the costumers in the big room that is the main place of the tavern, there you will find the tables distributed around a corridor that leads to the wooden plataform where music is performed. At the left side of the room you find a chimney where you can warm yourself on cold days. At the right side of the wooden ach you find stairs leading to an upper gallery where there are more seats and tables. The bedrooms of the owners are located at the right corner of that gallery.

The Drunk Owl

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Origin of the name

According to Astakias himself he chose the name for two reasons, first, it was funny and catching, and secondly because it has a symbolic meaning. Owls are special birds according to Ikarian-Oronai mythology as these birds are not only messengers of the gods and protectors of nature but also birds that bring luck. Because they are night animals you're lucky if you see one. Every Ikarian/Blatian and Oronai home has at least one little figure of an owl in order to bring good luck to the house and the family that lives in it. Astakias says that because the owl is a bird that brings luck, and due to the fact that his tavern is the unnoficial tavern of the Adventurers Guild it implies that whoever adventurer enters into the bar and after that goes into a quest or mission he or she will have good luck because they have been blessed and protected by the owl.

Secrets and stories

There were rumors that Astakias had a dungeon below the tavern where he kept bandits that have been captured in order to sell them as slaves. Of course this was an unfounded rumor but royal bureaucrats were sent to investigate the matter but found nothing. As you might suppose, this did not sit well with Astakias and Lenatil, that were so angry that literally swore that if they find the guy that iniciated the rumor they would cut his throat.
What is true is that Astakias used a secret underground tunnel below the tavern in order to store weapons for the insurrection against the Steplian King between 608 and 610AP that lead to the independence of the South and the birth of the Kingdom of Brire .

Founding Date

590 AP

Alternative Names

The Pit of Happiness

Type

Pub / Tavern / Restaurant

Parent Location

Banias

Related Ethnicities

• Oronai Peoples