A Tavern by the Docks: The Hag on the Hill

Kambyra Town is famed for its many taverns, although many are little more than smoke-clogged hovels, where throngs of flies die in the beer vats and blood and bruises tend to be more common than bread and broth.

The Hag on the Hill is different: carved out of the rock of the Claw, it faces north-west across the busy harbour of Noriklo, and its brightly-painted facade is often the first thing new arrivals note as their ship enters the bay. The Hag is also noteworthy for its degree of safety – at least compared to most of its competitors – and the excellence of its beer and its rum. The food is serviceable, the card tables busy and the private booths suitably private. 

But what makes the Hag most unique is its reputation as a neutral ground, where all are welcome – as long as they keep the peace – to drink, dine, scheme and trade. Here, one can find colonial functionaries meeting with smugglers, traders in stolen goods dickering with heavily disguised nobles and mercenary captains hammering out deals with guildmasters. It is also a great, although expensive, place for newcomers to find work, be it guarding a caravan to the Interior, laying a troubled spirit to rest in a docklands doss-house, hunting brigands in the Dustlands or searching out a secret shrine, home to a cache of stolen scrolls, in the forlorn shores to the south-east.

The Hag owes its singular status to the foresight of its owner, Menzoviros Baine, a grizzled old Kanastasi rogue with Giantish heritage. Having achieved considerable success in foreign parts as an adventurer, he and two of his colleagues found themselves in Kambyra three decades ago and decided to settle there. The three set up their first tavern in the shadow of the Claw and, after managing to hold their own against all comers, thanks to judicious use of bribery, threats, blackmail, magic and occasional violence, they established the Hag as Kambyra’s premier den of intrigue. It is now guaranteed immunity from harassment – legal or extralegal – by virtue of the fact that a highly-factionalised and rather lawless city like Kambyra Town needs such a venue. An unwritten, unofficial compact protects both tavern and patrons (at least until they leave the premises!), backed up by the well-documented skill and capability of Menzoviros and his partner, the somewhat flinty monk-sorceress Thalaea Vathekk (the third member of the trio that first came to Kambyra, Royben Zash, left Kambyra Town long ago, with rumours of feuding – and of demonic pacts – in his wake. He has not been seen since).

Menzoviros Baine Juggernaut Scout 8; N; AC 11; hp 32; SV 14; MV 30’; Atk: +5 melee/+5 ranged; Attacks:  +2 disrupting Bastard Sword  (Atk +8, dmg 1d8+2/+3 2-handed), Thrown Dagger (dmg 1d4); STR 15, INT 11, WIS 9, DEX 14, CON 9, CHA 14;  Skills: Climb Walls +9, Find/Remove Traps +9, Hear Noise +8, Hide in Shadows +9, Move Silently +9, Open Locks +9, Riding +9, Survival +8; Special: backstab +2d6, organise caper; Feats: expertise, weapon focus (bastard sword), weapon proficiency (bastard sword).

 

Thalaea Vathekk Human Monk 6/Sorceress 4; LE; AC 15; hp 28; SV 12; MV 45’; Atk: +6 melee/+6 ranged; Attacks: unarmed strike (dmg 2d4+2), Thrown Dagger (dmg 1d4); STR 16, INT 10, WIS 13, DEX 16, CON 13, CHA 12;  Skills: Acrobatics + 8, Alchemy +4, Climb Walls +8, Hear Noise +7, Hide in Shadows +8, Move Silently +8, Open Locks +8, Read Languages +6, Survival +8; Spells Known: 1st level (5/day) - daze, detect magic, enlarge person, precognition, ray of enfeeblement; 2nd level (1/day) - ESP, ghoul touch, hideous laughter; Special: surprised 1 on 1d6, immunity to disease and slow spells, stunning attack, deflect projectiles, breach immunity (silver, +1), reduced fall (20’), feign death, sense magic (60’), hag bloodline (+1 save vs. enchantment/illusion spells); Feats: dodge, expertise, precision, trip.

The two owners of the Hag are aware (a secret known to very few) that Mirkasia, an Annis Hag cursed with a form of Undeath and unable to leave her subterranean prison in daylight, dwells in the depths of the Claw. She is in some way related to Thalaea and has agreed to share the Claw - it was she who first delved the caves where the Hag now sits - in return for their help in lifting the curse.

Mirkasia Phantom Hag; LE; Type: Undead (incorporeal); AC 20 [silver]; hp 20; SV 14; MV 40’ (Fly 60’); Atk: +6 melee/+6 ranged; Attacks: 2 claws (2d6+ rend, 1 level energy drain), 1 bite (1d10 + 1 level energy drain); Special: powerless in natural sunlight, immunity to illusions, fog cloud (3/day); XP/CL: 1800/8.