Review of The Dawdling Donkey

Location: Right by the castle's main gates

Years in Operation: 212

The Sign of the Dawdling Donkey is the city's longest-standing inn.  Though other inns have, technically, been in operation longer, The Dawdling Donkey has the rare distinction of being one of the few inns in the city that has never burned down.  This is due, in part, to one of the inn's best features: its proximity to the castle gates, which are guarded at all times by a few dozen soldiers. Though the city does have a definite arson problem, no hoodlum in their right mind is going to try to torch a place that's a stone's throw from pack of soldiers, no matter how big a grudge the hoodlum in question might hold against the owners of the inn.

I stayed here a while ago, when the evil wizard Farland Phelps brought me along for a meeting with the bar keeper.  Here's what I thought of the place:

The best stuff:
The location's pretty awesome, right by the castle gates.  It's great for people-watching, especially if you have a room facing the main street.  There are always rich, fancy folks going in and out of the castle, and, if you're lucky, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the King or Queen or Prince!  Another nice thing is that the crime is so low; violent crime, anyway.  Also, the place is pretty clean compared to other inns. 

Stuff that's not so great:
It's pretty noisy at night, but I wasn't bothered because I'm a magical pool of raven blood, so it's not like I sleep or anything.  If you're a human, though, you may want to bring some ear plugs, because they are not supplied by the management.  Noise aside, the biggest problem is the shady stuff that's rumored to go on there.  Rumors of smuggling and such.  It's nothing that affects the patrons directly, I don't think, but if you are put off by shady-looking characters slinking around, passing grubby packages to the bar keeper, and slinking out again while eyeing you shiftily, The Dawdling Donkey may not be your place.

Historical Significance:
It is believed that The Dawdling Donkey was a stop on the underground railroad that snuck accused-witches to safety, and the place still is central to the city's simmering women's rights movement (which you may have caught wind of if you are a local).  I, myself, am all for women's rights, but, if you are a sexist pig, then the disproportionate amount of progressive chicks sitting around glaring at you if you try to put the moves on them might annoy you.  You may want to go elsewhere.  There are plenty of seedier places where you'd have an easier time harassing women.  The barkeeper, Galt, would surely be able to point you in the right direction.

Overall Rating:
Four out of five vials of raven blood.

Love and kisses,

The magical pool of raven blood

http://www.jukepop.com/home/read/1504/?chapter=1&p=0&sl=46

How does a pool of raven blood type, you ask? Magic!

OK, so this is a side-project I decided to do in order to give people a little window into the goings-on in The Land of Fritillary.  Reviews of restaurants, interviews with local personalities, stuff like that.  If you want to hear about anything in particular, let me know, but if not I'll just do whatever strikes my fancy.  Expect a review of the Dawdling Donkey, a popular pub/inn, in my next post.

Love and kisses,

The magical pool of raven blood

http://www.jukepop.com/home/read/1504/?chapter=1&sl=188