Once part of the Ardin family crypt, this room and the hallway beside it were partitioned off when the tower was built, and the Dead relocated. The Ardins don't really like the space, it feels like it dishonours the Dead to them, and so it is sparse, holding mostly empty crates, a few rolled up rugs, and a tall harp that belonged to one of Gerald's great aunts.
The Ardin crypt once was much larger. The addition of the Tower Dungeon necessitated cutting it's size into less than half. The statue and sarcophaguses of Ector the Ardent stands front and center, while his eldest sons and grandsons remain in their sarcophagi. Most of the family's older remains were disposed of and their skulls placed in Ossuaries. Newer corpses were cremated and placed in urns instead.
While this was done at great expense by the Baron and attended by Confessors to ensure that the dignity of the Dead was respected (without needless 'superstition' or 'sentiment'), it was highly offensive to Gerald's family, and has led to a very cool relationship with the Baron and his House,
The dead inside are ill at ease, and a Confessor or faithful of Laren who steps in the tomb may find themselves cursed for their trouble. If the Baron's men were to attack the Inn, ghostly undead members of the house will surge out to attack any men under his banner.
The door to the Crypt is heavy, ironbound, and has a complex mechanical loch that must be opened by entering the correct combinations on three tumblers. Every member of the Ardin family memorizes these combinations.
The basement area serves as a workshop for the household. An apothecary's station that is good enough to serve as a laboratory since along the South wall. Thee are 24 unguents in various trays and drawers here. Seven bottles of Alchemist's Kiss (a cure for hangovers and fatigue) are kept here and sold to patrons who overindulged. A chafing dish in this lab diffuses an oil that repels rodents, which is lit for a few hours every week.
There is a carpentry table and a loom along the west wall, with sufficient tools to repair damaged furniture and prepare new linen and woolen cloth for curtains and blankets.
Cupboards with old, worn towels and cookware kept for emergencies, and a place for fresh bread to cool are kept along the West wall.
The brewery cellar of The Lazy Cockatrice contains enough beer stores to last them a little over a year of average custom. They have created a raised platform and left several gaffes and 10' poles for rolling casks into position under the hoist to raise the casks to the first floor.
The room at the north end of the cellar is heavy, barred, and has an excellent lock.
The South end of the cellar ramp up to the surface. That area has been boarded up and the hatch to the surface buried to prevent thieves and raiders from entering the Inn from below. Support beams have been added to ensure there are no cave-ins..
There is an abandoned gremlin nest in the debris from the collapsing ramp. It contains 37cu (sp), a tortoise shell hairpin (worth 17sil), a dagger, and a bag of jacks.
Although not illicit, worship of the gods is frowned on, and considered backward. Being an overtly religious person can get one barred from polite society in Tassia. This room was once meant to be a hidden chamber for the storage of valuables, but it's purpose has changed from generation to generation. At present it hides a shrine to Serra, the goddess of hearth and family, that is maintained by Iris Ardin. The shrine contains a ritual golden chalice (worth 350gp) sitting in the middle of an altar, along with an alabaster bowl (25gp) and golden candle sticks (50gp total) along with a shelf of not only holy books, but banned books of all sorts in Tassia.
The door can be opened by working a switch hidden in a candelabra in room 33, but locking the door from the inside disables the switch.
In Mondas, humanity nearly wiped itself out four generations ago in a series of holy wars. As Mankind charged closer and closer to the precipice, one God, Laren made an incredible confession: The Gods of Mondas were false.
Millennia ago, powerful sorcerers found their way to a level of consciousness where they could meet the true living consciousness of the Universe: the Demiurge. They learned how to steal the Power of Creation and wield it to reshape Mondas in their image,
Their theft is tenuous. In order to sustain the connection to the Demiurge requires tremendous psychic power, more than one mortal can manage. The adoration, fear, desire, or hatred of hundreds or thousands of mortals.
Prayer snd go,u is a means for God's to keep the bond to the Demiurge strong. Without it, they are not much more than a scattering of powerful and selfish sorcerers.
Laren's confession killed the faith of millions, and left tohe gods increasingly powerless..
Iris' worship of Serra would be considered backwards and misled at best; in some neighboring countries it might even be a crime. Mourners as the still-religious are called, are seen as ignorant and dangerous.
Thus, Iris hides her shrine behind a secret door, and rarely speaks of it. Religion has become a deeply private affair.
This is where cheeses, spare flatware, cutlery, wine, and curing foods are kept. It also has a parish pump that draws water from the well into a small basin. A candelabra near the bottom of the stairs opens a secret door to area 34. The wine rack has a number of fine vintages, 7 bottles in it are worth 60 sil each.
