The Laughing Fox

An inn that caters to the needs of almost any and all. There is a large public hall for patrons, several rooms for the guests to stay in, and a stable for horses to be stabled in. Is owned by Willy Hall.

Type

An inn/tavern (medieval nightclub ;D)

Clientele

-dogs
-commoners
-sailors
-citymen
-rogues
-merchants
-travelers
-nobles (occasionally)

Goods and Services

Keeps rooms for folks; provides dinner, breakfast, and lunch; can stable a horse for a fee; sells a good number of hard beverages, as well as water and some juices;

Owner

William "Willy" Hall

Appearance

First Floor

Situated at the corner of Old Burrow Row and Kickerback Street, the Laughing Fox Inn towers over the streets an astounding three stories up. From the outside, it's a nice-enough place, being the product of a man handy with trades and with connections to those even handier. The actual inn opens up on Old Burrow Row, though it is possible to enter from the stable that's located on the back end of the building down Kickerback Street.

If one were to enter the stable, to their left they would see a short hallway with a door at the end. To their right, they would see a hitching post on which they could tie their horses up for a time. Most would have a moment of fear, fear for the possibility of their horses being stolen whilst only tied up and near the entrance of the stable that doubled for an exit to the streets, but never fear - there are two young men that work in the stable, looking after the horses and keeping an eye on folks.

If one were to keep going down the hall, they would encounter a stall on the right that was all by itself - surrounded by grooming spaces/ hitching posts on either end. This is usually where the more temperamental and aggressive animals are stabled. Across from this stall is another stall, which is then followed down the aisleway by two other stalls - the third one down on the left is the home of Checkers the Pony, the resident live-in equine and a permanent fixture in the stable.

On the right, after the second hitching post/ grooming area, there are three stalls down the row, making for a total of six stalls available for stalling guest horses in. Across from the stalls on the right is space that doubles as a tack room and a feed room, and it is kept locked when not in use. Saddles, bridles, pads, girths, the whole lot is kept in there to prevent theft and leather rot. On the far right of the room, directly across from the stable door, there is another door that leads into the pantry; this door is kept locked, and the only people with keys for that are are Willy himself and Mistress Tanner.

On the other end, back to short hallway that most see upon first entering the stable, if one were to open the door and step through, they would then enter a somewhat lengthy hallway that's only function is to by-pass the kitchen, connect the stable and main-inn, and provide a public pathway for patrons coming and going. The walls are essentially empty, with only two windows providing any light. At night, candles are lit and hung in the halls. The doors are both equipped with bolt locks, the stable door with one on the hallway-side, the inn door with one on the inn-side.

When one enters through the second hallway door and steps into the actual inn portion of the building, first things first, straight ahead of them are the bulk of the tables; no sneaking in, no this way. To the right of the person is a solid wall that gives way to the semi-solidness of stair railing. The railing itself is a bit grand, having been lovingly carved and polished by Willy himself. The stairs leads to the second floor of the inn.

As one ventures further out, they encounter a smattering of tables. The location of tables is rearranged every once in a while, and sometimes tables are moved to make way for dances and performances and such. Generally, they remain as is.

As is can be described as thus from entering the main entrance on Old Burrow Row: upon first stepping foot through the threshold, one encounters a large space that is generally filled with folks dancing or some such. To the left is a fireplace, where sometimes a round table is placed, and to the right is a long table, the length of it facing you. Behind that long table, up near the walls, are two smaller square tables. Beyond these three tables are two long tables resting perpendicular to the first long table. Behind the third long table and up near the wall is another square table, and beyond that is a gap that leads to a door. Beside the gap is a stairway that leads to the second floor. Directly across from the main entrance of the inn, there's a couple of round tables, and then there's the bar counter, where the ale and such is served and a number of stools rest, sometimes occupied by patrons, other times invitingly empty and waiting for a nice cozy bum to come over and warm it. On the far wall on the left side of the main entrance, there's an elevated platform that serves as the stage. Sometimes it's empty, and other times it's occupied by performers, more often than not accompanied by a table and a chair or two or three. When the dance floor is not in use, a couple of spare tables are brought in and the layout is rearranged to allow for more table privacy. As Willy tries to keep entertainment in the inn, however, this is rarely done.

Over at the barkeep, the walls are lined with all sorts of beverages, from plain old barley water to the hotter Marenite wines. Willy usually works behind the bar himself and keeps an eye on things, though, should he need to take care of business for room renting for go down to fetch a keg of some sort of beverage from the cellar, he'll leave Rory in charge to man the counter.

Speaking of which, when going to the cellar, one must first head through the doorway behind the counter and into the kitchen. The kitchen is large and spacious, really more-so than it really needs to be (but the room had already existed with a stove, and Willy hadn't been sure about what he was doing as he worked to get the inn put together. Upon entering, to the right was a wall with a doorway that opened up into a closet, where much of the cleaning supplies was stored, including buckets, rags, brooms, and a couple of mops. To the left is a long wall of shelving with numerous cooking utensils and cooking supplies stored on the rows. Next to the shelving on the same wall is a doorway that leads to the pantry, and to the other side of the doorway is a compost bucket, where all of the unusable bits of food were tossed to be dumped at a later date.

Directly in front of the doorway that opened up into the barkeep area was a long prep table, where food was prepared and made ready to serve. It also served as a dining table for those of the inn that didn't feel like eating outside on one of the tables, or, more likely, couldn't eat on one of the tables. Across from the prep table and next to the pantry was a big black woodstove that served as the source of all cooked food that came from the inn. It was large enough that a number of different things could be cooked at the same time, and even includes a compartment for the purpose of baking bread.

If one steps through the doorway near the compost pile, they enter the pantry, which is full of food and other various items of import that require storing. On the wall to the right, in the corner, there is a doorway that is kept locked - the very same doorway that is found in the tack room of the stable. Across from this door is a stairway that descends down under the first floor of the inn and into the cellar.

The Cellar Floor

The cellar is a small, single-room floor that rests partially under the pantry, partially under the kitchen, partially under the barkeep, and partially under the dance floor. Lining all of the walls are shelvings that reach all the way up to the ceiling; on the shelves are goods that require storage in cool places (for the cellar is very cool indeed) and other goods that are in the way elsewheres. Stacked in the middle of the rooms in rows are kegs and barrels of various beverages. Beyond the kegs are two rows of shelving. the far wall is left empty to hang things up on and lean things up against. Underneath the stairs is a water-well.

The Second Floor

If one where to backtrack from the cellar, going back up the stairs and into the pantry, stepping through the door and into the kitchen, and then through the kitchen door into the barkeep and then into the dining hall, they could turn around and find the stairs that leads to the second floor, where rooms may be rented. Even better, they could walk up those stairs, hand on the railing, and see the second floor for themselves.

The first thing they see upon entering the second floor is a door facing right across from them. Stepping out a bit, they see that the are in a hallway; to the right is a short space that leads to a dead-end. A large window is found on the wall. If one were to walk all the way down to that end of the hallway, they would find a door to the right of them. Stepping through that door is a small rectangular room with wooden floors, one window, and a table and chair set. There is a bed in the far corner up against the wall, but it is not made unless someone signs for the room.

If one were to remain where they had stood upon entering the second story, they would face a doorway. Stepping through that doorway, they would notice a chest and a desk lined up against the wall, accompanied by a chair. Across the room from the desk and chest is a bed which is, surprisingly enough, not made. Again, the bed doesn't get made until the room is rented. Opposite to the end of the bed is dresser, one of the few dressers in the inn.

If one were to stroll down the hall a ways instead of entering the room directly in front of the stairwell, they would quite quickly come across yet another door on the right side of the inn (relative to their direction of travel...). The door is right next to the first door on that particular side. Upon entering, one sees a desk and chair. On the other side of the room is a bed and a chest... The floor is wooden. In fact, all of the floors are wooden. And most of the rooms have the same things.

There are four other guest rooms, and if one goes down the hallway, they can eventually reach the doors that lead to Willy and the Tanner family bedrooms. Down at the very end of the hallway, there is a door that, though usually locked, opens up into a stairway that leads to the third and final floor.

The Third Floor (Attic)

The final and highest floor of the Laughing Fox, this is a single-room floor that functions more like an attic in that it's the storage room for surplus desks, chairs, chests, and beds. In a pinch, it can also double as a make-shift bed-room or meeting room.

History

Built several centuries ago, it's amazing the the building is still standing. As it was, it saw numerous owners, and it went from a guild hall to a barracks to a brothel to an orphanage (and not necessarily in that order) before coming into the hands of William Hall. When Willy got the building, it was a sad, sorry excuse for an establishment, all worn out and run down. Willy, however, had a vision to fulfill, and the building would be reformed if he had anything to say about it.

For years, Willy worked towards purchasing and repairing the building, intending to turn it into an inn/pub at some point. It wasn't easy, and it required some smooth talking with the Rogue to get financing, but he managed to get the inn up and running. At some point in the process, he decided to name the building the Laughing Fox. Other names that he considered were "The Blue Goose," "Bloody Shoulders," "Bill's Bar," "The Headless Hare," "The Gray Mare," and "The Broken Lute."

The Laughing Fox has been open for over five years now, and it's established quite a clientele. Rogues and Dogs alike venture in the establishment, and business has been good. Willy is constantly renovating and improving upon the building, and it's not uncommon to leave one night and return the next, only to find that things weren't as you left it.

Employees and Guests

--Willy Hall (taken) as owner/bartender
--Rosa Tanner, (open) cook, laundress, seamstress, maid, etc...
--Rory Tanner, (open) Willy's right-hand man
--Muna Tanner, (open) Rosa's assistant
--Renny Tanner, (open) stable boy/helper
--________________ , (open) stablehand
--Maya Manderly (reserved) Evening shift serving maid
--________________ , (open) Evening shift serving maid
--________________ , (open) Night shift serving maid
--________________, (open) Night shift serving maid

Other

The stable also has a permanent resident by the name of Checkers, an old, brown and white pony that Willy saw one day as he was walking home from a visit to his family in Flash. The pony had been in line for the slaughter, and in a spur of the moment decision, Willy rescued the pony on the basis of that the pony was so small and he felt so bad for it. It's original name had been something like John or Bill, but Willy had (lovingly?) renamed him to be Checkers.