The Copper Cup
The Copper Cup is one of the busiest and most famous places in Dock Ward, a must-see spot for many visitors. A large, roaring, many-leveled barn of a place, the Cup is a tavern, inn, and festhall, all in one. It opens off the Southyard, just inside the city's South Gate, and is easily reached by the High Road or the Way of the Dragon, and easily fled from down Smugglers' Run alleyway. Travelers overwhelmed by the size and bustle of the City of Splendors can easily find the Cup, get much Waterdeep offers without ever leaving it, and boast when they get home of having stayed at one of the wildest places in the notorious Dock Ward!
The Place
The Cup goes several cellars deep as well as four - in some places five - floors up. It is actually three linked old, converted warehouses built tall and massive of dressed stone with outside catwalks and back alley ladders.
The cellars are prone to flooding, and reek of mildew. Except for dumping carrion and garbage, they are little used. All of the floors above, though, are used the day and night round - so much that the old floorboards often shake from all the bustling.
The Prospect
As an inn, the Cup is pretty poor. A patrons' stay is ruled by constant noise. The Cup is always busy with festhall traffic in the halls and vacant rooms at all hours. It's a lousy place to try to get some sleep.
The Cup is rescued by its services. Everything is available for a price, from having boots mended to mating riding stallions. If the staff people personally dont provide it, they have standing arrangements with someone who will.
As a tavern, the Cup has an ever-changing clientele, and no quiet places for intimate talk, haggling, or involved planning unless you rent a room. It does have cheap, plentiful, and fairly bad (watered down) ale, as well as good (but expensive!) wine, sold by the bottle.
As a festhall, the Cup is one long, ongoing party. It's not a place to visit and remain unseen or to relax and stretch - it's where one goes to romp. The dancers are acrobatic and expert contortionists. Their common costume is little more than a sheen of sweat!
The Provender
Most food at the Cup is order in. It is brought up to your room from other places in the city at their prices plus 1 cp per dish for the runners of the Cup to bring it to you, hot, through the streets.
Ale costs 1 cp/tankard. Dark ale (the good stuff) is double that. Wine goes for 2 tp to 3 sp/bottle, depending on quality and scarcity. Good vintages are about 1 sp/bottle.
The Cup's kitchens are famous for two things: hot fish chowder, that tastes mainly of pepper and old beer (2 tp for a large wooden bowl), and cinnamon butter toast (1 cp/plate of six hot, dripping slices). The cinnamon butter toast is much favored by everyone who samples it for after the fest light dining.
The company of the Cup's beauteous and well-trained companions (of either gender) costs 10 sp per evening or any part of it. These escorts know the City well, can play most games ably and know how to have a
good time.
The People
Few know that the Cup is owned and run by six of its dancers: Vivaelia Sunder, Evethe Untusk, Yululee Lantannar, and Jhandril Neth (the females), and Ilintar Belereth and Tiirlon Windstar (the males).
They take turns dancing, renting out as escorts, and tending bar with their large staff, and seem to love the life they've built.
The Prices
Rooms can be had for 1 sp to 7 sp per night (larger rooms and lower floors are dearer) or 10 sp to 40 sp per tenday. Most are 2 sp per night or 15 sp per tenday.
Linen is changed daily and the fee buys a single scented-water bath per night, if one desires, unlimited drinking water, and stabling for one or two animals in a covered and constantly attended stable. Additional beasts are 1 sp/night each.
