[Information] Places in Sandpoint

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30. Vernah’s Fine Clothing
Rynshinn Povalli has owned and operated this clothing shop for the last five years. The only daughter of a kindly woman named Vernah, Rynshinn never knew her father, Iremiel, only that he was killed by goblins less than a week after she was born. At the time, Vernah’s tempestuous affair with the mysterious elven bard was the talk of the town. Every year on the anniversary of Rynshinn’s birth, a small package of elven coins, medicine, and toys mysteriously appeared somewhere in the upper floors of this building. Vernah always claimed the gifts were placed by Iremiel’s ghost, but locals generally believe the gifts were granted by one of his living relatives. Rynshinn, for her part, holds out against hope that her father somehow survived and that it’s not his ghost but him who leaves these mysterious birthday presents.

Since her mother’s death five years ago during Chopper’s murder spree, Rynshinn has used much of the money from those gifts to expand her mother’s tailoring business, and even founded a guild that brings together dozens of quilters, crafters, sewers, and tailors so they can sell their wares here. She’s looking into opening a shop in Magnimar as well, but has yet to find a partner there whom she trusts. A number of Sandpoint’s young men idly court Rynshinn, who many hold to be the town’s most beautiful citizen, but to date, the lonely woman has politely eschewed all possible suitors for reasons she has not shared.

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31. Wheen’s Wagons
A lanky man named Bilivar Wheen owns this workshop. Bilivar is a down-on-his-luck wheelwright who’s lately been spending more time at various taverns (especially the Hagfish — area 33) than here working — ever since his daughter Tanethia drowned in the Mill Pond last year, his wife Vorah has grown more and more shrill and paranoid that her remaining two children’s days are numbered as well. Bilivar’s been heard to mutter about packing up and skipping town to some of his drinking buddies at the Hagfish, but no one thinks he’ll really follow through on this plan.

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32. Scarnetti Mill
As with the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, this building is owned by the Scarnettis. All of the flower and grain produced here is supplied by local farmers. Mysterious fires have claimed the Soggy River Mill, the Biston Pond Mill, and most recently the Cougar Creek Mill, leaving this mill the only functioning grain mill in the region. Accusations of Scarnetti-sponsered arson have been flying high, but the manager of this mill, constantly worried and sneezing Courrin Whesterwill, has gracefully lowered the prices for its use to record lows until the outlying mills can be rebuilt, a gracious move that has alleviated, to some extent, extensive public outcry.

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33. The Hagfish
One of Sandpoint’s most popular taverns, especially among fishermen and gamblers, the Hagfish is also Sandpoint’s best bet for a good old-fashioned seafood meal. Owned by a gregarious one-legged man named Jargie Quinn, the Hagfish gets its name from the large glass aquarium that sits behind the bar, the home of a repellent hagfish that Jargie affectionately calls Norah (despite the fact that he’s had “Norah” replaced dozens of times—hagfish don’t live all that long in Quinn’s aquarium). Hanging from a nail next to Norah’s tank is a leather pouch bulging with coins: prize money for anyone who can drink down a single tankard of “water” scooped from Norah’s tank. It’s a single silver coin to try, but the trick is that, since she’s a hagfish, the water in Norah’s tank is thick and horrifically slimy and foul-tasting. Few can stomach the stuff, but those who do get to keep however many coins have accumulated in the pouch, and then get to carve their names in the ceiling beam above the bar. To date, there are only 28 names carved there, and the Hagfish has been in business for nearly 10 years.

But there’s certainly more to this tavern than Norah. Jargie’s game tables are always well-attended, with games ranging from cards to checkers to dice to darts. Tall tales are a favorite pastime here, with one popular game called “yarning” involving seeing how long a local can string along an impromptu fable without contradicting himself. The most popular subject of these tales is traditionally Old Murdermaw, the legendary giant red snapper who might or might not dwell in the depths of the Varisian Gulf. Jargie himself is quite an accomplished yarner, with the everchanging story of how he lost his leg being his favorite starting point for his tales.

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34. Valdemar Fishmarket
Like the Grocer’s Guild across the market, the facade of this long building is open to the air. Here, locals can shop among the day’s catch, picking out cod, salmon, tuna, shellfish, and even the odd octopus for the evening’s meal. Turch Sterglus, a retired fisherman with a lazy eye and a wild white beard, runs the fishmarket in a lovably crochety manner, constantly complaining about the weather or the day’s catch or the antics of local youth, but always packaging his customers’ purchases with a smile and a wink. The fishmarket itself is owned by the Valdemar family, but most locals act as if the building and business were Turch’s, often tipping the loveable old man a few extra coins. Turch’s five sons, each smarter than the next, have made a career working for their father as fish cleaners, haulers, and even cooks.

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35. Sandpoint Market
On most days, Sandpoint’s marketplace is empty save for the odd group of children who enjoy using the wide-open area to play whistleball or other games. Twice a week, the market fills with vendors. At the start of each week, the farmer’s market radically increases the daily selection of goods available at the Grocer’s Hall, while all day at the end of the week merchants from Magnimar, Galduria, Nybor, Wartle, and beyond take part in the Town Market. Goods purchased at the Town Market are generally 75% of the regular asking price.

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36. Sandpoint Meat Market
Local butcher Chod Bevuk runs the Sandpoint Meat Market. Half of this building doubles as a slaughterhouse, with the meat itself put on display for sale in the front half of the market. Most of the meat processed here is from livestock or animals caught by hunters. Chod still claims to this day that he encountered Chopper several days before he was ultimately caught and that the two of them fought, leaving Chod with one less finger, but most locals believe that the wound was self-inflicted in an attempt to get attention. Chod’s penchant for lies and exaggeration in all matters not relating to his business don’t help lend credence to his version of how he lost the little finger of his left hand.

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37. The Rusty Dragon
This large structure is Sandpoint’s oldest inn, notable for the impressive (and quite rusty) iron dragon that looms on the building’s roof, doubling as a lightning rod and decoration. Owned and operated for the past six years by the lovely and popular Ameiko Kaijitsu, the Rusty Dragon is not only one of the town’s most popular eateries made so, in large part, by the spicy and exotic food served here), but also a great place to meet visitors from out of town, since most newcomers to Sandpoint come upon this inn first, the north Lost Coast Road being less traveled. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ameiko’s exotic beauty is more than matched by her skill at music, and few are the evenings that pass without at least two or three songs by the talented woman. Some bad blood exists between Ameiko and Cyrdak, and one never seems to miss a chance to badmouth the other, but no one in town really understands the reason behind their rivalry. Of greater concern to Ameiko is the long-running feud with her family — leaving town to become an adventurer scandalized her family enough, but when she returned, rich and successful (and with a seemingly endless supply of eccentric hairstyles), with a desire to purchase and renovate Sandpoint’s oldest tavern, her family officially took to shunning her. Ameiko claims not to care, but becomes evasive when anyone asks her why she returned to Sandpoint when she was obviously doing well as an adventurer. Some believe she has a secret lover in town, while others theorize that something happened on her last adventure that took the bravery out of her. In any event, the Rusty Dragon is probably the most adventurer-friendly establishment in town, with its ubiquitous “Help Wanted” board near the bar and Ameiko’s “discount rooms for anyone who tells an exciting adventure story” policy.

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38. Goblin Squash Stables
The sign above this door perpetuates one of the greatest fears of the lowly goblin — being trampled underfoot by a horse. Tended by a retired hunter named Daviren Hosk,
Daviren’s hatred of goblins is nearly legendary in Sandpoint. In a somewhat grisly display, over the entrance to the stable’s covered barn is his collection of goblin ears: preserved and nailed to three different rafters, each bearing the goblin’s name burned into the leathery flesh—mostly because Daviren knows that writing down a goblin’s name is one of the worst things you can do to desecrate his memory. The bitter ranger’s pride and joy is a large glass bottle filled with brine in which he’s preserved the body of Chief Whartus of the now extinct (due in large part to Daviren) Bonegrinder Tribe.

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39. Two Knight Brewery
While Sandpoint’s taverns serve a wide variety of spirits, they all proudly serve the mead, ale, and rum brewed here at the Two Knight Brewery. Established almost 40 years ago by two brothers (both worshipers of Abadar and cousins of Mayor Deverin) only a few years after Sandpoint was founded, their expertise at brewing has only increased over the years. Tragically, Wade Deverin was one of the first of Chopper’s victims, a murder that has shaken his brother Gaven’s faith. Locals whisper that since Wade’s death, the brew from here simply hasn’t tasted as good, but they would never say something to this effect to Gaven’s face.

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40. Sandpoint Mercantile League
This large building serves many purposes. One can book passage on a ship bound for other ports, arrange for caravans or carriages for overland travel, or send messages to folk in town or as far away as Korvosa or even Riddleport. Inquiries into land ownership, building construction, and founding new businesses, both in Sandpoint proper and in the surrounding hinterlands, must begin their processes of official foundation here. Although ownership of the league remains split evenly between Sandpoint’s four noble families, few of them take part anymore in the actual day-to-day business, leaving such matters in the capable hands of Sir Jasper Korvaski. In his younger years, Jasper was a paladin of Abadar, and although he’s long since given up the more dangerous lifestyle of a crusader, he remains loyal and devout. Despite his best efforts, his romance with Cyrdak Drokkus (area 23) has become one of Sandpoint’s worst-kept secrets. The Scarnettis, easily Sandpoint’s most conservative family, find the rumors of this relationship scandalous and offensive, but it’s unclear if they’re more offended by the relationship itself or the fact that the majority of Sandpoint is so accepting of it. In any event, the Scarnettis have been doing their best to make things difficult for Jasper in an attempt to not-so-subtly convince him to move back to Magnimar, but the support of the other three families has, so far, kept the Scarnettis from becoming too obnoxious.

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41. Sandpoint Boutique
This large boutique and shop sells all manner of clothing, weapons, toys, artwork, books, and tools imported from throughout the world, although most of the wares here are Varisian in nature. The place is owned by Hayliss Korvaski, who is, like her brother Jasper, a devout worshiper of Abadar. Yet unlike her brother, her temper isn’t braced by a desire to keep everyone happy. Hayliss isn’t afraid of making enemies and wears her disdain for the Scarnettis on her sleeve. She’s even gone as far as sometimes upcharging her goods for members of the Scarnetti family, in spite of Mayor Deverin’s repeated requests to keep the peace.

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42. Fatman’s Feedbag
If the Hagfish is Sandpoint’s most popular tavern, Fatman’s Feedbag is its most notorious. Bar fights are common, and Sheriff Hemlock typically has to come down here two or three times a week to sort them out when they grow particularly violent or loud. The majority of the clientele here are Varisian scoundrels or less-reputable sailors.

Most believe this tavern is owned and operated by an enormous man named Gressel Tenniwar, but in fact the owner is a lanky thug named Jubrayl Vhiski, one of the Feedbag’s regulars. Jubrayl is also the leader of the local gang of Sczarni, an extended network of Varisian thieves, highwaymen, con artists, graverobbers, smugglers, and murderers. Nearly two dozen of the Varisians in Sandpoint are members of the Sczarni, all cruel and self-serving men and women who take care to maintain respectable jobs as laborers, fishermen, and hunters, but who draw their true income taking part in various illegal Sczarni scams and stunts. Sheriff Hemlock suspects that Jubrayl is the local leader, and would like nothing more than to bring him in, but the Sczarni are experts at walking the line between legalities and taking the blame for their direct superiors. So while Sheriff Hemlock’s sent many of Jubrayl’s boys to jail over the last several years, he’s never come close to the ringleader himself, much to Jubrayl’s continued amusement.

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43. The Pixie’s Kitten
Many of Sandpoint’s crasser locals have a much more colorful name for this establishment, but Kaye Tesarani runs the town brothel with class and distinguished grace. She pays her girls and boys quite well, and the three Shoanti bouncers she employs are more than enough to handle troublemakers. Although prostitution isn’t illegal in Sandpoint, the Scarnettis have long lobbied for it being outlawed, viewing the Kitten as a place where vice and criminal activity can take root. Certainly, Jubrayl has tried for the last five years to get in on the brothel business, but Kaye’s not-so-secret friendship (and romance) with the town’s sheriff make this a delicate, long-term goal for the Sczarni at best.

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44. The Feathered Serpent
This cramped and cluttered shop smells of a strange mixture of incense, spice, and dust. Its sole proprietor, Vorvashali Voon, an exotic-looking character with bright blue eyes, long red hair, and almost bronze-colored skin, is gregarious and excited about every customer. Not everything in his shop is for sale, rendering it part museum in its eclectic collection of strange relics, statues, and monument fragments. Vorvashali’s stock changes constantly, as his dozens of contacts from Magnimar come in weekly to buy and trade stock. Adventurers seeking magic items and other tools of the trade can find what they’re looking for here more often than not.