Three Pearls Nightclub

The Three Pearls is now one huge room (plus jakes, opening off a cloak hall down one side). It has a low ceiling and is usually hot and smoky. Stout low-backed wooden benches radiate outwards from the raised central stage, which is lit from above and has a ramp entrance up into its center via trapdoor from below. The central stage has a conical raised ceiling above it, complete with a retractable circular staircase and drop ropes for dramatic entrances.

On the stage of the Pearl, men have raised armies, women have raised eyebrows, and everything from yeti through trolls have made jaws drop, bellies shake with helpless laughter, and hands itch to hurl things. On a typical night, comics alternate with dancers, musicians, and acting troupes— - often presenting satirical ballads or sketches related to recent city events. More than once Piergeiron or Khelben has been portrayed as a buffoon, to the audience’s great amusement.

The Three Pearls offers finger food (hot sausages inside crisp-fried buns, pickles, and cream-coated fruit, all at 2 cp/serving), and drink - lots and lots of drink. Drinks are served in light clay cups that can't be thrown too far or do much damage.

A special, advertised attraction shouted out by boys at the door and on nearby streets, when available, is monster fare, such as baked stirge on toast, roast manticore, or wyvern steaks. These rarities command high prices, sometimes going for up to 7 sp/serving. Folk buy them mainly so that they can casually claim for the rest of their lives, as a conversation-crusher, to have eaten such and such.

Too many performers of note nave trod the stage at Pearls to list them here, from the fabled bard Mintiper to the orator Phaeros “Forktongue” of Baldur’s Gate.

The owner of the Pearls seldom visits her gold mine these days, but meets daily with the manager to book acts and plan publicity.

The manager, Xandos Waeverym, is known as "“the Dandy”" around Waterdeep: a dapper, strutting little popinjay of a man, pompous and comical— - but deeply committed to entertaining, and with a keen sense of humor and a reading for what the public will go for. He oversees a staff of 14 bouncers, 16 run-and-shout street boys, 12 dancers, and a house bard (currently Zalanthess-daughter-of-Zalanthar, an accomplished singer and harpist from Neverwinter).

There is a 3 cp cover charge at the door (4 to 5 cp on some special nights), and everything inside costs extra. In addition to the food, beer goes for 1 cp/cup, house wine (very bad) for 2 cp/cup, good wine for 1 tp/tallglass, and zzar for 4 tp/tallglass.

Patrons can also buy peering glasses, which are curved glass lenses that magnify things for those far from the action, for 2 sp each. Hurl birds are also for sale for 2 cp/each to throw at the stage to register disapproval or pleasure. These small hollow clay spheres are weighted with dried beans for good throwing and are covered with glued-on feather scraps gathered from nearby fowl-pluckers. They are too light to damage more than the dignity of performers.

Patrons also tend to spend coins by throwing them at the stage. There are no rooms for rent, and cloak storage is free. Outer garb is watchfully guarded while stored against thieves and pranksters, though patrons can pay - —usually 1 tp/message— - the guards to slip a message parchment into a particular garment in order to pass notes.

There are three private boxes. These look down through windows in the ceiling at its edge where the conical central roof peak begins to rise. These small rooms can each hold up to 10 people crammed together, and can be rented for 10 sp/evening. These have long waiting lists.

A fourth private box is reserved by the nightclub for its own use, and is often offered for free to Piergeiron or Khelben if they show up to take in an evening’s fare. These two personages usually donate 25 sp or more to the club’s coffers, but other dignitaries may give nothing.

Some say the Pearls is haunted by the phantoms of a running, weeping woman pursued by a man with a drawn sword— - but I couldn’'t find anyone who could recall any details of this rumor, or that the haunting had been seen recently.