r
ELFSONG T AVER N
The characters can either visit Elfsong Tavern in ac-
cordance with Captain Zodge's wishes or do whateverelse they please. Their goals at the tavern are to make
contact with a spy named Tarina and find out what she
knows about the Dead Three.
Zodge has spies who keep him informed on the char-
acters' progress. If the characters don't visit ElfsongTavern within forty-eight hours of receiving their orders.
Zodge sends a squad of six Flaming Fist veterans and
one ftameskull to escort the characters to the tavern,
kill anyone who refuses to go. and report back to him. If
the characters destroy or escape this squad, Zodge mo-
bilizes two more squads to hunt them down.
ABOUT THE TAVERN
Elfsong Tavern's location is marked on map 1.1 (seepage 13), while map 1.2 shows its inte rior.
From time to time, the disembodied voice of a female
e lf fills the tavern with a melancholy song, giving theestablishment its name. The ballad isn't loud enough to
disrupt conversation, but most patrons stop speaking
when the e lfsong begins, then resume only after it ends.
Many customers frequent the tavern in the hopes ofhearing it. Those who speak Elvish can understand the
lyrics, which lament an unnamed lover lost at sea. No
one is sure how the spirit came to haunt the tavern, just
as no one can predict when it will sing again.
TAVERNS IN BALDUR'S GATE
No wise person walks the streets of Baldur's Gate or
enters one of its taverns without a weapon or an armed
escort. Anyone who has lived in the city for more than a
tenday knows this from experience. Taverns might appear
safe at a glance, but they are among the most dangerous
places in Baldur's Gate-full of alcohol, tempting coin,
and unscrupulous people. Volothamp Geddarm, a notori-
ous raconteur known for his tavern reviews, encapsulates
his Baldur's Gate experience as "hard on the stomach, es-
pecially when someone sticks a knife in there." Customers
are expected to look after themselves when fights break
out, and one shouldn't expect any help or sympathy from
the Flaming Fist. Tavern murders are common, and usually
end with the poor victim being dragged away and either
left in an alley (to be picked clean by urchins, then eaten by
rats) or tossed in the harbor.
Ba/dur's Bones. Baidu r's Bones is a popular dice game in
the taverns of Baldur's Gate. Each player requires several
six-sided dice. The rules are as follows:- Each player puts the agreed ante in the pot.
- Each player rolls three dice. Play then proceeds clockwise
around the table, with the host of the game going last. - On their turn, a player can choose to "stand .. or "roll."
If the player stands, the next player can take a turn. A
player who rolls takes an additional die and rolls it. If the
total of their dice exceeds 21, they "bust" and are out
of the game. Otherwise they can keep rolling additional
dice until they either stand or break. - After everyone has had a turn, the highest point total
(excluding players who busted) wins the game and
takes the pot.
CHAPTER l I A TALE OF TWO CITIESAlan Alyth, the tavern's current owner and proprietor.
is a neutral half-elf commoner with darkvision out to a
range of 60 feet. Alan recently turned seventy-five years
old and has run the establishment for decades. His e lven
blood through his half-elf mother has kept him alive
this long, and keeps him looking better than most fuU-
blooded humans his age. He runs a moneylending busi-
ness on the side, offering loans to customers he trusts.
He rarely gives loans to adventurers, knowing howAighty they can be, but he might offer them a free glass
of elverquisst wine if he thinks it'll keep their swords
sheathed (see the "Taverns in Baldur's Gate" sidebar).TAVERN PATRONS
If the characters come to Elfsong Tavern in search of
Captain Zodge's contact, Tarina, they find her playingcards upstairs in area E7. Among the dozens of other
patrons, they notice a few rats scurrying around as well
as the following noteworthy NPCs, who play no part
in the adventure but can be brought into the story as
you see fit:
Skrawldar Fane (neutral human commoner), a punch-
drunk shipwright with no eyebrows
Lala Stout (neutral evil lightfoot halfting spy), a scar-
faced burglar flipping a coinOloric Witmirth (neutral good human commoner),
an impoverished playwright who scribbles his private
thoughts and observations in a small book• Whaul Nightley (neutral half-ore thug with darkvision
out to a range of 60 feet), a jovial, strong-jawed rat-
catcher with a bellowing laughRahima Sajiressa (lawful neutral human acolyte of
Savras, god of divination and fate), a gregarious astrol-
oger who loves to gamble- Willow Brown bug (neutral good strongheart halfling
druid), a snooty apothecary wearing a colorful cape
If the characters need help finding Tarioa, a tavern
regular, they are directed to the second floor (see "Deal-
ing with Tarina," page 1 8).TAVERN LOCATIONS
The followin g area descriptions are keyed to map 1.2.
El. TAPROOM
Alan Alyth tends bar while two young men (human com-
moners) named Falten and Yimiur take orders. deliver
drinks and food to tables, and joke with the clientele.Flanking the entrance are two bouncers: a suit of ani-
mated armor called Klank and a gruff female half-ogre
named Skoona. Both are here to protect the other staff
members, not the patrons. and won't break up a fight
unless a staff member is involved.
Well-armed patrons (commoners and thugs mostly)
huddle around tables in the main room and in privatebooths. Three padded chairs are angled toward a fire-
place on the east wall, underneath the creaky wooden
staircase that climbs to the second floor. Some drunk is
usually passed out on the couch against the north wall.