6. The Sip of Blood Tavern; Lucky Bjorc Balsam

[girdnas]

"This old structure appears to have been rebuilt several times. The bottom third of the outside walls are of stacked fieldstones and apparently remain from the original building. Above that the walls and roof are a mud-splattered wattle and daub construction with numerous chinks through which tiny plumes of smoke escape. The placard above the door depicts a pointy-fanged fellow about to take a drink of some dark, red liquid in a mug."

Menu on the wall: roast pigeon, horsemeat, turtle soup, coyote.

A constant stuffy haze fills the room from dawn until nightfall, when the establishment closes.

Lucky Bjorc is one of the least "lucky" orcs you have ever seen, including some that have met death at your own hands. His head is hairless on the left side with a missing eye and ear and massive scarring. His right arm ends in a stump above the elbow and his left hand has only a thumb and two fingers. His left leg ends in a ragged stump just below the knee, long healed, but with exposed bone at the end. His tongue is missing (oops, missed that part; everything he "told" you was actually translated by a middle-aged human "waitress", his speech being a jumble of moans and chomping noises). Despite his plight, he is obviously a happy orc, limping about spryly and giving you all a wide grin. You didn't speak with him much, as his translator directed you to the Usurers to exchange your coin and you never made it back before closing time.