The Gilded Ledger Tavern

Old Macridi Locations

Social Hub, Frontier Rumors, and Mercenary Contracting

A roaring stone hearth casts a warm, amber glow across crowded trestle tables made of thick darkwood planks. The heavy air smells of spiced river cider, roasting venison, and wet wool. Off-duty loggers, river barge pilots, and traveling merchants huddle in noisy groups, their laughter occasionally drowned out by the thrum of a bard's lute. Hanging above the bar is a massive, gilded slate ledger where town guards and independent merchants chalk up bounty notices, lost cargo warnings, and river escort contracts.

Located near Old Macridi's southern gate road, The Gilded Ledger Tavern is the primary social center for the working class and visiting adventurers. It is owned and operated by Garrick "Gold-Sieve" Vance (LN male human ex-Blackjacket), a retired mercenary whose sharp eyes miss little that happens in town. While New Macridi's elites gather in private parlors, the real news of the Palakar Forest flows freely across Garrick's bar top.

Patrons here are nervous. Rumors of silent logging camps downriver and strange blackened timber have made workers jumpy. Garrick keeps a pair of heavy iron bludgeons beneath the bar to maintain order, but he welcomes anyone who looks capable of handling frontier trouble.

Establishment Offerings

Spiced Palakar Cider — 2 cp per mug
Roasted River Trout & Rye — 1 sp
Private Bunkroom (Per Night) — 5 sp
Bounty Board Posting Fee — 1 gp

Tavern Challenges

Challenge 1: Gathering River Rumors

Primary CheckDiplomacy or Society DC 17

The party spends time buying drinks, engaging off-duty timber crews, and listening in on conversations to gather intelligence regarding Reiver's Right and the downriver conditions.

Critical Success The party connects with a river barge pilot who recently passed the bluffs of Reiver's Right. He reveals that no smoke has risen from the camp for three days, and mentions seeing strange, glowing crimson lights near the river's edge at night. He marks an unmapped river landing on the party's map.

Success The party confirms that all river traffic from Reiver's Right stopped four days ago, and learns that Blackjacket patrols have been strictly instructed to ignore downriver sites in favor of guarding New Macridi's intake bays.

Failure The loggers are tight-lipped and suspicious of outsiders, yielding only vague, contradictory stories about woodland ghosts.

Critical Failure The party accidentally offends a group of stressed timber workers, starting a drunken brawl that results in the party being tossed out of the tavern for the evening.

Challenge 2: Securing River Transport

Primary CheckAthletics, Deception, or Intimidation DC 18

Traveling downriver to Reiver's Right on foot along the bluffs takes significant time. The party attempts to negotiate or arm-wrestle a stubborn river captain into providing passage on his flatbottom barge.

Critical Success The captain is thoroughly impressed by the party's confidence. He agrees to carry them downriver immediately for free, and offers to wait at a safe distance downriver for two hours to serve as their getaway transport if needed.

Success The captain agrees to drop the party off near Reiver's Right for a reasonable fee of 5 sp per person.

Failure The captain refuses to navigate downriver after dark due to rumors of blighted logs, forcing the party to make the journey on foot along the rough bluff trails.

Critical Failure The negotiation breaks down completely. The captain warns other river crews that the party is looking for trouble downriver, doubling the cost of any future river passage.

Sidequest

Garrick Vance pulls the party aside. He secretly dispatched a trusted young mercenary scout, Joran, downriver two days ago to investigate rumors near Reiver's Right, but Joran has failed to report back.

Objective: Locate scout Joran or recover his Blackjacket signet ring from the vicinity of Reiver's Right.
Reward: Garrick awards the party 25 gp, a voucher for a week of free lodging at the tavern, and a custom *Striking Rune* salvage from his old blackjacket gear.

The Gilded Ledger Tavern