The Safehaven Inn
This new three-story stone and timber structure is one of the tallest large buildings in this part of the city. Large wooden plank signs swing in the breezes at the inn's second story; their faces are carved with five runes: The elder runes of Lammath (safety and shelter) and Retniw (camping place), a Harper's mark of "Safe Haven", and the elvish and dwarvish runes for "Safe Refuge". Above the heavy ash-wood double doors on Slop Street, golden letters are set in the stones of the arch, proclaiming the inn "The Safehaven." (There is a small service entrance off Kerrigan's Court usable only by the staff.)
Inside, the entryway has two stairways leading up to an open balcony overlooking the taproom. A halfling-sized desk is set by the left stairwell for guests to be checked in and other taproom patrons to be tended. The large building's main floor is surrounded on the north side with a massive oak bar and barstools, the wall behind dominated by three large tuns of beer and smaller casks of wine. The floor contains fifteen round tables (seating for six at each) amply dispersed around the room, and four large support pillars hold up the third floor, smaller booths lining the walls and supporting the balcony. The fireplace hearth in the western wall is huge, and its six-foot depth opens through to the kitchen; food is cooked over the same fire, and inviting flames are rarely obscured by boiling pots or spits (though the delicious odors of the kitchen permeate the taproom constantly!).
The second floor is little more than an encircling balcony over the taproom with 12 spacious rooms for 3 sp per night each; rates are 25 sp for a tenday stay, and no one (unless known and befriended by the owners) is allowed to room for more than two tendays' stretch. The lockable rooms provide a large bed, table, washbasin, mirror, and small chest for storage; room fees also include a free dinner each day. Each room has a window looking out onto the streets, but there are no window ledges, thus making it a little more difficult for thieves to enter. The first door after the right-hand stairwell opens up to a small staircase to the third floor and the converted suites of the inn's owners. Inn patrons are not allowed up to the suites or into the kitchen, and little is known about any cellars in the inn.
The Safehaven is one of the most popular inns in the ward, its tables always filled by early evening with diners and bar patrons and its rooms quickly filled after that. Through the diligence of the headwaiter and the unspoken threat of the bouncers, few troublemakers ever disturb the peace here. Many nobles flock to this inn for the sumptuous meals and easygoing company, as well as the nightly musical entertainment by Arkiem Arren. The inn is built upon the site of a former warehouse of Lhorar Gildeggh, the exiled Guildmaster of Waterdeep; many whisper that the bones of many of his opponents rest beneath the inn still.
