The Rusty Anchor

The Rusty Anchor

Overview

Type: Working-Class Tavern & Information Hub
Region: The Cerulean Reach (Port Zephyr - Harbor District)
Population: 50-80 patrons nightly, 10+ staff
Government: Independent establishment under Harbor District oversight

Description

The Rusty Anchor serves as both refuge and community center for Port Zephyr’s contaminated workers—dock laborers, sailors, and industrial workers who cannot afford the clean establishments in higher districts. Built from salvaged ship timbers with walls showing the distinctive discoloration of remnant magic exposure, the three-story building embodies working-class resilience in the face of systematic environmental oppression.

One-Eyed Jack operates the tavern with pragmatic understanding that his clientele faces daily choices between starvation and slow poisoning. The establishment serves contaminated food and drink at prices workers can afford, while providing the only social space where those affected by remnant exposure can gather without judgment.

The main common room features mismatched furniture built for durability, walls lined with maritime salvage, and air thick with pipe smoke that helps mask the metallic taste of contaminated atmosphere. Workers share information about contamination levels, employment opportunities, and organize informal support networks for families dealing with exposure-related illness.

Community function extends beyond commerce—the Anchor operates as an information exchange where workers coordinate mutual aid, share safety warnings, and occasionally plan responses to particularly dangerous working conditions. The establishment’s “no questions, no names, no problems” policy makes it a natural hub for discrete communication among those the city’s prosperity depends upon but prefers to ignore.

DM Note: The Anchor serves as an informal resistance meeting point. One-Eyed Jack maintains connections to smuggling networks and may have information about government contamination policies. The hidden back room hosts meetings about worker organization and resistance activities.

Quest Hook: Jack might ask players to investigate why contamination levels in certain districts are increasing, or help organize protection for workers facing retaliation for safety complaints.

Notable Features

  • Common Room: Large gathering space with maritime decor and community bulletin board
  • Worker Housing: Basic sleeping quarters for transient laborers
  • Information Exchange: Informal system for sharing job opportunities and safety warnings
  • Memorial Corner: Names honoring workers lost to contamination exposure
  • Hidden Meeting Space: Back room for discrete discussions

Important NPCs

  • One-Eyed Jack - Proprietor and information broker balancing survival with solidarity
  • Dockworker Jim “The Hammer” - Informal union organizer recruiting workers
  • Mad Dog Morrison - Bouncer protecting establishment from authority interference
  • Granny Saltwind - Elderly healer providing folk remedies for exposure symptoms

Shops & Services

  • Accommodation: 2 cp-2 gp/night (floor space to semi-private quarters)
  • Food & Drink: 1-6 cp (contaminated but affordable meals and locally brewed ale)
  • Community Services: Free-5 cp (information exchange, basic medical assistance, emergency shelter)
  • Underground Economy: Variable rates (contraband goods, discrete communication, document services)

Quests & Hooks

  • Worker Revolution Planning: Supporting organized labor movements demanding safety protections
  • Contamination Data Gathering: Collecting exposure information for resistance documentation
  • Underground Railroad: Helping contamination refugees escape to cleaner areas
  • Resource Liberation: Organizing access to clean food, water, and protective equipment
  • Information Warfare: Gathering intelligence on government contamination policies
  • Community Defense: Protecting the establishment from hostile authorities

    Secrets & Mysteries

  • The Deep Intelligence Network: One-Eyed Jack maintains connections to resistance movements across the continent
  • Hidden Weapons Cache: Concealed arsenal prepared for potential worker uprising or community defense
  • Government Infiltration: One or more regular patrons may be informants providing surveillance data
  • The Clean Water Source: Secret access to uncontaminated water for desperate community members
  • Imperial Resistance Cell: Coordination center for activities opposing Amunrai expansion
  • Medical Experimentation Evidence: Documentation of illegal research using contaminated workers as test subjects

    Party History

Notes

The Rusty Anchor is a three-story working-class tavern in the Harbor District, serving contaminated food and drink at affordable prices. Run by One-Eyed Jack, it functions as both accommodation and community gathering place for dock workers, sailors, and laborers. The establishment operates an informal information exchange and provides basic services to transient workers.

The Rusty Anchor serves Port Zephyr’s working community with affordable food, drink, and lodging while fostering the connections that bind the harbor district together.