Frozen Sick (2) BE7

The common room is crowded with fishermen shaking snow from their coats and stamping their boots on the worn wooden floor. Thick nets hang from the rafters beside old oars, cracked buoys, and the skull of a massive sea creature mounted proudly over the hearth. The fire itself roars in a broad stone fireplace large enough to roast an entire seal, its heat filling the room with the comforting scent of burning pine.

Long wooden tables are packed with villagers drinking dark ale and bowls of steaming fish chowder. Dice clatter across one table while a group of sailors argue loudly about whose boat nearly tipped while breaking through harbor ice earlier that day.

Behind the bar stands the innkeeper—a once fiery red-bearded dwarf, now a dwarf with a rusty, gray streaked beard that would touch the ground were it not tucked into his wide belt behind a well worn apron, with laugh lines deep enough to show he earned the inn’s name honestly. He pours drinks with quick practiced movements, occasionally booming out a laugh that cuts through the room like a drumbeat.

In a corner near the fire, standing atop a small barrel that serves as a stage, a female elf bard plays a lute. Her cloak of deep blue wool is dusted with melted snowflakes, and a thin silver circlet rests in her pale hair. Her music dances lightly through the tavern—bright and playful, with hints of sea shanties that the fishermen recognize.

A few patrons hum along between drinks. One old sailor taps the rhythm on the table with a pipe stem. Even the innkeeper occasionally glances her way with a grin when she slips a clever verse about dwarves and strong ale into the melody.

Outside, the harbor groans under shifting winter ice and the wind bites hard enough to freeze a man’s beard solid. But inside The Jolly Dwarf, the fire burns hot, the ale flows freely, and the elf’s music carries laughter through the long winter night.

As you enter, the bard steps down to join three others at a nearby table; a human in armor, a road worn elf, and an older wood elf.  A large tabby sits under their table.