The Twisted Horn Inn is currently run by Rodney Tapkins and his family, whose predecessors built up this family business from little more than a crude shack to the well known and highly praised operation it is today, spending five generations of work and toil to do so.

The first inn the Tapkins family built was named simply "The Tavern," and was set just outside of the crude stockade originally built by the first Imperial Army Garrison to secure the valley in which Crimsonvale would later be founded. This inn was soon destroyed during a raid by goblins, after having stood for barely a year.

But the Tapkins family escaped with their lives and what meager profits they had managed to squirrel away, to rebuild a year later when the first buildings of the fledging town of Crimsonvale were being raised under the direction of Imperial Engineers. This inn, one of the largest buildings in the town for the next 20 years, was called "The Emperor" and grew in size as additions were made to house an ever increasing volume of clientele. This lop-sided, rather ugly structure was eventually destroyed by a late night fire started as a result of an all-out bar room brawl.

But by then the Tapkins family had amassed enough wealth to rebuild right away, making an even larger and more prestigious inn, the one which in fact stands today and is renown for its courtesy, fine food, and quality of its rooms. The new inn was set up in a part of the town that was already proving to be a favorite of the merchant and middle class alike, being close to the Market Square, and also had a strong clientele from the upper class who lived in the nearby Golden Ridge section of town.

It wasn't until the current owner, Rodney Tapkins, assumed ownership of the inn from his invalid father that the name "The Twisted Horn" was adopted. Rodney was a young child when the current inn was originally completed by his father, Roger. Roger was a diligent, quiet man who loved working as an innkeeper and infused his children with this same desire. Yet this love of running an inn was lost on Roger's brother, Eservan, who was of diametrically opposite disposition, being a free spirit who preferred to adventure in the untamed lands around Crimsonvale rather than be a bored innkeeper, and soon became a local hero of sorts. On one of his adventures Eservan encountered a huge gorgon and managed to slay it singlehandedly. As a trophy, he cut off its two long, twisted horns from its head and eventually returned to his family with these prizes. Roger was not at all pleased with his brother's adventuring, and turned his nose up at the horns when Eservan showed them off; but young Rodney was in awe, and his uncle gave one to him as a souvenir.

Later that year Eservan died, ironically not during some glorious, heroic adventure, but from food poisoning as a result of eating at a competitor's tavern.

In later years, when Rodney was of age, had married, and his father was too arthritic to continue the business, he took over. In memory of his uncle, whose exploits and way of life he had always wanted to emulate, but could not since he was expected to assume the running of the family business, he re-named the inn "The Twisted Horn," and placed his souvenir horn outside on the inn's placard. He made arrangements with the famous wizardess and resident of Crimsonvale, Myrion Crystalstream, to place magical protections upon it so that the horn would not be damaged by weather and to protect it from being stolen. This was in partial of payment for the extended stay she and her companions [see Chain-Mail #9 and #11] had at the inn while there current residence, Crystalstrearn Tower, was being constructed.

Though Rodney had a desire in his heart to be like his uncle, and even took training to become a warrior, he just didn't have the nerve to disappoint his father and go his own way; rather, he went along with what was expected of him, becoming an innkeeper and following in his father's footsteps. But he did so with dedication, since his personality was such that he always did the best he could with diligence, and was not satisfied with the merely mediocre. He has honed his tavern skills of cooking, serving, and customer relations so that all guests find themselves treated well, correctly and politely. He still recalls the times of his early youth when, assisting his parents who built the current inn, he was taught, often with a reminding slap to the head, on the proper way to conduct serving, cooking, and public relations. They are lessons well learned and applied in his adult life.

Should a problem arise, Rodney will see to its correction swiftly as possible if it is within his means, in a tradition established by his great-grand father; if it is outside his means, he is a quick thinker and is usually able to come up with at least one alternative to appease his client. He and his wife Dorothy are assisted by his three daughters and the oldest of his two sons: his youngest son was successfully appointed to the Bright Watch, thanks in part to the aid of Sir Bryan D'Nar, a famous adventurer and personage residing in the town. Like Myrion Crystalstream, he and his friends, Lycidis, Overseer Damorn, and Iseran [see Chain-Mail #14 and #16] made the inn their temporary home while their own new residence was being constructed, and still frequent it today as a home away from home where they can socialize and relax over fine wine, food, and sinfully delectable deserts.

The inn's basement and foundation were constructed of fine granite quarried from the nearby Crimsonvale Quarry [see this issue], with heavy oak timbers and planks used to make the building stout and sturdy, and wide gray shale roof tiles to thwart rain, wind, and snow alike. The original windows of leaded glass, obtained from a local merchant, were not well made, but since Rodney's ownership he's replaced them with fine, rolled glass from the nearby Dwarven Glass Consortium mills. These windows of yellow-, blue-, and rose-colored glass brighten the somber gray tones of the smooth granite and shale shingles. Dorothy maintains three gardens around the grounds: two in the front of the inn which have at least one or two of its many varieties of flowers and bushes in bloom at any given time; and another, larger garden of similar planning, set in back of the inn around a patio which is used for outdoor dining in the warmer months of the year. A large barn and small corral adjoin the inn, so that the clientele may have their beasts of burden conveniently cared for.

The inn's designer, Rodney's father, had foresight unusual in his day and age. When he laid out the plans for his inn, attending to every detail, he made provisions to serve a Crimsonvale ten times as large as the one in which he originally built his business. His family and neighbors thought he was crazy to build such a huge structure and spend nearly all his assets to do so, but Roger had insight: he suspected that the area would continue to expand as it had to date. Thus today "The Twisted Horn" has been able to meet its volume of business with relative ease, while competitors, limited to their original land, have tried to build upward on their existing foundations. A tiny minority have done so successfully, but most have contracted poorly or planned inadequately, to end up being cited and forced to stay at their original size by inspectors from the Office of Engineering.

The inn also is renown for hosting some of the best entertainment to make its way west to this farthest outpost of the Kingdom. It has had the Great Zerrin, an illusionist whose magical constructs have fascinated Kings and commoners alike; the Bard Larn Willowglen, whose tenor voice and musical abilities have been said to be able to still storms, insight men to great feat at arms, and certainly entertain audiences with skill (and who has sung on occasion while Zerrin has created fantastic accompanying illusions - sort of medieval music videos); and many others of famous reputation.

The rates charged for room, food, drink, and services (such as stabling horses, laundry, and secretarial) are slightly higher than the simple taverns and inns in the area; but then the Twisted Horn is an above average inn with a good name and better reputation, and offers more services and entertainment than most others in town. To pay for this the rates for services are somewhat higher than those listed in the PHB.

Fine Dinner (6 course) 3 gp
Common Dinner (3 course) 5 sp
1 Liter (L) of Fine Wine 4 sp
1 L of Good AIe 2 sp
1 Mug (0.5L) Dwarven Beer 2 sp
1 L House Wine 2sp
1 Mug Crimsonvale Beer 6 cp
1 Mug Crimsonvale Mead 6 cp
Lodging, per person, one night, common room 6 sp
Lodging, per person, one night, private room 3 gp
Lodging, per person, one night, suite* 6 gp
Lodging, per person, per week, common room 4 gp
Lodging, per person, per week, private room* 16 gp
Lodging, per person, one week, suite* 40 gp
Stabling, per beast per day** 6 sp
Laundry, per person, per request 1 sp
Secretarial/ Scribe services, per hour 6 sp
Runner/ Messenger services, per delivery in Crimsonvale 2 sp
Renting a meeting room, per hour or fraction thereof 4 sp
Storing valuables, per chest full, per week in Area #7 10 gp
Storing goods, per chest full or item, per week, Area #26A or B 1 gp
Bathing tub and services, per person 1 sp

*includes two uses of laundry services per week, housekeeping daily, and free storage of one chest's worth of goods in Area #26

**includes grooming, feeding, watering, and daily exercise

Family

Rodney's children and his wife help him run his business. In addition to the family members, Rodney has taken in a number boys and girls, who had been left as orphans, and provided them with a home and work to make not only make the inn work, but to give them a future. These children and adolescents are considered part of his family and help out with the mundane work, which is always needed in such an establishment, being stable hands, waiters, waitresses, or maids.

Rodney's wife Dorothy manages the kitchen, planning each day's menus and selecting what is to be purchased for each of these meals, keeps the large wine cellar stocked with diverse vintages and sees that the assistant cooks performs their duties to the expected excellence for which the inn is renown. She also has the green thumb of the family, though her time for this, her favorite pass-time, has been limited in recent years by the inn's success and need for her in the kitchen. Now she simply oversees their condition, permitting her gardener, an elderly gnome woman named Sasha (0level gnome female, Age 175), to manage them. Sasha lives in a small room built for her at the rear of the stable, content with her duties and being part of the extended Tapkins family.

The eldest daughter, Cynina, manages the restaurant section of the inn, seeing that all the waiters and waitresses perform their duties properly, and is the first person of the management to respond should a client complain about the service, food or drink. The middle daughter, Zelianna, manages the administration of the inn (ledgers, accounting and the like). The youngest daughter, Marsha, manages the rooming section of the inn's operation, overseeing laundry and cleaning of the rooms.

The oldest son, Dominik, manages the adjoining stables and the grooming and boarding of the clients' animals. He has four young stablehands to assist him. Dom and his "staff' can sometimes be observed in such brotherly activities as water fights, hay loft jumping, and mud flinging when they have free time.

The younger son, Erinn, was recently indoctrinated into the Bright Watch. At the start Rodney was not happy over his son's desire to be a soldier rather than help with the inn. But recalling his own youthful desires for adventure and the lust in his blood to swing a sword in defense of honor and skill, he understood. Feeling as if a part of him were finally seeing a dream come true, Rodney permitted his son to follow the dream they both shared. Though the Watch is known for its honor and propriety, having a son on the town's police force certainly doesn't hurt when troubles threaten the family business.

All family members are 0-level humans except for Rodney and his youngest son. His wife Dorothy is 47 years old. Like her husband, she is in good health and a touch of elven blood (not enough to consider her a half-elf) in her family's ancestry enables her to look about 15 years younger than she actually is. Her son Dominik is 28; Cynina is 27; Zelianna is 26; and Marsha is 23. Erinn is a 1st-level human fighter, 22 years old: S 15; 19; W 10; Cn 13; D 15; Ch 14; hp 9; AC 7 (leather armor). This young man is taller than his father and elder brother by several inches, being 6' 2", 210 pounds, and has a fair complexion, dark auburn hair, and boyish good looks which favor his mother's side of the family.

Rodney did adventure for a short time and received formal training as a warrior in his youth, but it has been more than 20 years since he wore his full gear and practiced aggressively in this profession. He has only on two occasions had to produce his shortsword +1, +2 vs. magic-using or enchanted creatures to defend the lives and property of his patrons: once when a thief tried to gain access to his security room (Area #7) and when caught tried to fight his way out; and the other time when an elderly merchant who was dining at the inn was confronted by an assassin. In the former case Rodney held the opponent at bay until the Bright Watch arrived, while in the latter, he was one of a half-dozen men who rose to perform the common good and their civic duty, slaying the evil man (though, unfortunately, only after he had performed his duty and the merchant lay dead).

Because he hasn't kept practicing and is a bit soft now, he fights at -3 (base) on his attack dice. Rodney is 46 years old, a 2nd-level fighter: S 13; 114; W 12; Cn 11; D 12; C 14; hp 15; AC 10. He is stouter than his sons, being 5' 9" and 195 pounds, some of which is still muscle.

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