Hammerspark Hold
Hammer's Hearth Inn & Tavern - By Brad Kellestine and S. Robles v.1 2018
A testament to Kaal`Kor life and craftsmanship, the Inn, owned by Belra Hammerheart, is beautiful in its simplicity and homey design. The height of dwarven stone working prowess is evident here, with the slabs of rust-brown travertine seamless in their setting and arrangement. Booths are settled between internal granite buttresses, which formulate the primary support for the relatively high (at least by Kaal`Kor standards) ceiling alongside the row of doric columns that run the center of the structure.
The Inn and Tavern is strategically placed within the Craftsman's Atelier of Hammerspark Hold, near enough to the Foreign Quarters that Hammer's Hearth has become the go-to establishment for Kaal`Kor tradesmen and visiting outlander alike. Given its proximity to the Foreign Quarters, the Inn is frequented by visiting Northlanders and Voraath, and to a lesser extent other races, and as such is built with higher ceilings to accommodate taller people.
The marble-topped bar sits at the east wall, lined with both stout stools for the taller folk, and higher ones to seat the Kaal`Kor patrons, so they might sit at eye level with the taller races. Rows of brass taps peek over the countertop, marked with the particular stout, lager, pilsner, or ale. A wide variety of spirits are on the display shelves that line the wall around the storeroom door, both of Kaal`kor make and imported from the surface.
Tables are topped with the same heavy marble supported by boromandite-reinforced legs, and not easily moved, though not fixed to the floor so they might be rearranged for feast days and festivals. Instead, elliptical rugs sit under the tables and seating, making it much easier to drag them than to tip, as well as serving to keep the chill of the stone off of patrons feet, for those not accustomed to such things.
On the north wall of the Inn is the stone hearth and fireplace that is its namesake, with a more rustic aesthetic of rough granite topped in a smooth, polished mantle. Mounted on the wall above that are a hammer and battleaxe, both which have seen plenty of use in their time. These once belonged to Kaal`Kor folk hero Bavarin "Molepuncher" Hammerspark, and sit to either side of a Korian Mole-head atop a plaque. The story of these items is one that nearly defies belief. While on an expedition for deep cave mushrooms, Bavarin stumbled across the largest recorded example of a Korian mole - underground rodents nearly the size of black bears. Having left his axe and hammer back at the hold, he was forced to wrestle with the beast for dear life and wound up killing it with his bare hands. After gathering the motherlode of mushrooms, he drug those and the mole corpse back to to Belra at the hold. Deciding that he no longer needed his weapons, Bavarin left those too with the matron, who had them mounted alongside the stuffed mole-head.
A variety of sizes of wingback leather chairs are settled about the hearth, on top of a rug made of the Korian mole's pelt. The sturdiest of these is suitable for even Voraath use, capable of seating as much as five-hundred pounds. Beside each chair is a gilded pipe-stand, with boromandite ashtrays sitting atop them.