Herm & Stone

Continuing our series of more in-depth descriptions of the so-called Great Taverns of the cities of Cothon-Gadeed, the third of the four to be our focus is the venerable Herm & Stone tavern. Home of the "rival" (non-player-character) adventuring group, the Heroic Companions of Hrrl-ra, the Tavern is also well-renowned as a drinking-house for those Kzin Heroes friendly enough to "Man" to enjoy that vice in the cities. It is also the Tavern associated with the Guild of Miners and Prospectors, which guild is responsible for overseeing the cities' mines of Jalena, as well as for prospecting in other underground or underworld areas for potential lodes to be exploited in future; as well as an undying interest in the so-called weirdstones to be found in certain underworld areas.

The Tavern

Located near the center of Cothon, where the upper city looks out over the harbor below, the Herm & Stone is a tavern popular with those for whom risk, personal danger, and the exploration of the unknown are the spices of life. This, not only because it is the headquarters of the Guild of Miners and Prospectors--those "prospectors" who spelunk into deep and forgotten places in seek of weirdstones or ancient treasure-hoards--but also because it is the only tavern in town that caters to the ferocious Heroes of the leonine Kzinti, so that even to enter its premises is to invite the possibility of an encounter with that violent race.

Easily marked from the outside by the prominent herm that stands proudly and erect on the public street, the tavern is of architecture more typical to Hanseatic lands to the north, though its clientele are almost entirely Ten Cities-types and Kzinti. The herm outside is, of course, half the tavern's name; the "Stone" of the second half stands inside, a strange pillar of alien stone, imposingly placed beside the great hearth in the common room, looming over all who carouse there.

Given the proclivities of the Kzinti, the common room is divided into two moieties, one side reserved exclusively for the Heroes, while the other half remains more properly a "common" room, where any of the other races are welcome--though in practice, few but humans intermingle there. The Kzin moiety is set a step lower than the rest of the room, and cordoned off with light curtains that move restlessly when the sea breezes blow up from the harbor; there, great cushions are laid out, and the Kzinti sprawl where they will, eating raw flesh procured from the tavern's own butchery (and securing a kind of informal alliance between the Guild of Miners and the Guild of Butchers and Meatsellers).

The Dueling Fraternities

Many are the fighting-societies in Cothon, where men (and women) train in a variety of gladiatorial styles for use in the Coreguyi Arena during the various Games that take place there; and alone among the Four Taverns, the Herm & Stone sports its own such society, loosely organized in smaller "fraternities", in which are learned the effective use of the single sword in a duel, as well as stoic endurance of the wounds that can result.

A small arena in back of the tavern serves both as the training ground for the initiates and fighting-brothers, as well as a smaller arena for small private games, often including duels and displays of swordsmanship nonpareil. And naturally, in such an establishment, much gold changes hands in the winning and losing of wagers on the outcomes of the contests!

The dueling tradition reaches into the past, said to have begun when two great enemies who vehemently hated each other finally came to blows in view of the herm that watches over the street out front. The duel lasted from early in the morning until the great red sun finally dipped below the horizon, at which point, exhausted and sweating, the two enemies cast aside their weapons and drank deeply of the wine provided them by their squires or seconds. After quenching their thirst, they felt the influence of wine, and--each impressed by the other's ability with his weapon--they fell to exchanging grudging honors, which changed to open admiration, and finally the two embraced, left their swords behind, and entered a tavern to continue drinking in their new sense of camaraderie.

the initiation duel

But as to the modern day, the current weapon master of all the fraternities is one Hajji al Ittiyqi, a lithe man as slender as the sword he wields with sure hand and keen eyes. Tavern members who wish to join a fraternity and to learn from Hajji must first take part in an initiation duel, to prove their fearlessness, and their stoicism in the face of pain: the two duelists stand just past arms' length from each other, each armed with a sword, and must trade blows to the head and face without flinching. The facial scars that result from such duels are the mark that one has been properly initiated, and being thus marked, may then learn advanced fencing techniques from Hajji and the brothers of the society.

the aftermath

The Library
(thanks to Jacob for writing a first draft of this, as well as imagining-up the spellbooks)

Cut out of the ruins of Medina al Taht ("the Undercity") directly beneath the tavern is a series of vaults containing the summed knowledge of many of the Prospectors of the Guild, both modern and ancient. Reached only through locked doors in the center of the tavern, and thence down a narrow stair said to be guarded by sleepless ru'un--or worse!--the undercity vaults contain both the tavern's extensive library, and the secret lockboxes of the Prospectors and of dues-paying tavern-members.

Though some Prospectors are happy to share their discoveries openly with their Guild, the better to collaborate, for the benefit of all, many are those who are jealous of their secrets, and it was for them that the lockboxes in the vaults were established. They are variously said to be locked by magical spells, or shrouded under enchantments of invisibility, or other ingenious protections, such that only the person to whom the lockbox is keyed can open it--and so many a legend tells of a Prospector who died in the Weirding Caverns, or elsewhere, and left behind a fortune, secreted away in a box, never to be seen by mortal eyes again!

But other than the lockboxes, the Herm & Stone boasts a library about the wonders of the underworld of the Tel al Safina (and other underworlds) that the other taverns could only dream of. These stacks are open for study for Guildmembers and dues-paying patrons, of course, but can also be perused--under strict watch!--for a nominal fee. The topics covered are:

• Maps and rumors of the environment, riches, and wonders of the underworld, especially of the Tel al Safina
• Bestiaries detailing the various strange creatures that can be encountered in the deeps (including, for instance the kobold-like Zok-Fot-Piq)
• Treatises on all manner of minerals, ores, weirdstone, &c., as well as information on more legendary alloys like zortrium, xentronium, or even the wondrous scrith
• Fechtbuchs (fighting-books) from some of the old masters of the dueling fraternities
• Kzinti (and to a lesser extent, Mrrshani) language books, poems, legends, histories, including various annals and histories of the many Man-Kzin Wars of history

And for those skilled in the arcane arts (a no doubt useful talent for Prospectors), there is of course a collection of tomes, manuals, &c. holding instruction on the development and mastery of certain spells pertaining to the Prospector's profession:

These two volumes together describe the beginnings of the career of the sorceress Seska al Serudla, also sometimes called "the Pale Murderess".  A shield-sorceress of the north, she grew famous as a slayer of beasts and monsters, most especially the dread Erodian serudla that dwelt in the canyons near Jalena. After she had slain it, she claimed its treasure, but the legends suggest that the treasure was cursed, as she later turned to the darker arts of wizardry.

Dragonslayer (literally "serudla-slayer", but that doesn't have the same oomph in our tongue)
The account of Seska's tracking and slaying of the Erodian serudla in the canyons. It details her preparations, scouting the area from the cold skies above, and selecting the proper place for battle; and then luring the serpent out from its lair and battling it with her advantage of sorceress flight.
I. resist cold
III. fly

The Pale Murderer
Not actually the saga of her later crimes, rather this is an accounting of how Seska skinned and portioned out the corpse of the Erodian serudla, making careful note of its armored skin, the organs of acid-generation, &c.; as well as her claiming of its treasure hoard, which included a noble weirdstone shining with an inner light. The tale ends with detailed formulae said to have been derived from Seska's research into the body and nature of the serudla, to imitate its abilities through sorcery.
II. snake charm, resist acid (like resist fire)
III. acid breath (as fireball or lightning bolt, except as cone originating from the caster)

Lights and Illumination, Volume 1
This first of a two-volume folio is a treatise on the nature of light and its behavior in interacting with bodies to create shadows and darkness. What seems at first a simple thesis quickly grows to compass how different sources of light provide different kinds of illumination--and how candles and torches, as merely material sources, are inferior to the kind of light that can shine forth from one who knows what light is--or that which can be hidden in shadow by the same understanding. 
I. darkness
II. continual light

Lights and Illumination, Volume 2
The second folio expands on the idea merely of light, to explain the metaphysics of illumination--that is not merely the shining of physical light on an object, but the shedding of the light from the mind to "fully illuminate", such that one can "illuminate" an object one is seeking, even if it is not immediately present. The discussion continues with a coda about the metaphysical nature of light as the giver of life, and how the application of the right kind of light can help living beings heal and grow.
I. cure light wounds
III. locate object

Prospector's Guide to Digging Deep
A workaday guide to the procedures, trials, and pit-falls inherent to the life of Prospecting in the caverns and passages of the underworld--and especially of the Tel al Safina. It includes primers on oft-encountered languages, handy phrases with which to defuse tense situations, discusses the necessity of knowing one's line of exit, and how to block the approach of incurably hostile enemies, and a discussion of certain signs by which to understand the auras of the strange things one might encounter.
I. hold portal, read languages, charm person, detect magic

Peace Upon His Followers, and Discord Sown Among His Foes
An illuminated manuscript devoted to the tenets and rituals of devotion to the earth-demon Mu'taz. Its cult has long since been suppressed or fallen away--mostly--and yet the rituals of blessing one's friends, cursing one's enemies, and divining the intentions of others are all still efficacious. Perhaps Mu'taz really does wait in the womb of the world, waiting to be born in fire, and to lift up his elected few, while laying waste the rest of the world?
I. cause or remove fear, detect evil
II. bless or bane/blight

Daw' al Naar
This "book" is actually a crystal, formed by powerful magic to show forth images from inside when a ray of directed light is shone through it. It was owned by the infamous explorer-prospector Sahl al Rad, who is sometimes said to be the first to have learned to listen to the Weird in the caverns, and to talk to the stonefolk; he was also well-known for trading with the Zoq-Fot-Pik, and driving bargains just as shrewdly as they. Just where he came by the crystal is unknown; but he left it to the Guild, and so it was found that by shining light from say, an "eyed" lantern, through its face, images would appear projected on the far surface, and that turning the crystal slightly would bring forth another such vision. By careful study, one may discern through the crystal both the means of creating such illusions oneself, and of receiving the same into one's own eye when light is shone thus through any crystal.
III. clairvoyance (requires a crystal focus if learned from this book)
IV. hallucinatory terrain

the Book of Passage
A poetic descent ever deeper into the pits and cracks of the world, even unto its very center. The lines and verses seem to bend back on themselves, like the twisting passages of deep caverns, and when read aloud seem to echo with the unimaginable depths of the vertical cliffs at the edge of the Pit of the World. The poem never reaches the center, instead wending off into the darkness of deep caverns, leaving the reader with the dark labyrinth of its verse impressed into his mind, forever turning this way and that, climbing and rappelling, and forcing passages when necessary.
Some suspect that the Book of Passage is a thinly veiled metaphor for the passage from life into death.
II. levitate
V. passwall