Sign of the Black Heart

Zelatar boasts a great number of inns, taverns, brothels, and other places of amusement. The Sign of the Black Heart is different from most because it caters to visitors from other layers of the Abyss, and to night hags, yugoloths, and even the occasional non-evil guest. It has a prime location along the Viper Boulevard, not too far from the Gate of Hands in the Darkflame district.

However, it is difficult to reach the inn from the Viper Gate; attempts to get there without a guide are arduous.  Getting there by asking directions requires three DC 28 Gather Information checks, since lesser demons don’t know the Black Heart or the Darkflame district well, and greater demons don’t waste their time talking to mortals. If any of the checks fails, the characters spend 1d6 hours heading in the wrong direction and should meet an encounter from the city table (page 90). Getting there by buying a city map isn’t possible; for military reasons, Graz’zt forbids anyone to make or sell such maps.

The prices are elevated, with rooms costing at least 50 gp a night, but that money buys a certain amount of silence and security. It’s no wonder that Dawnat Sanp, a bone naga ambassador of Orcus in the city ostensibly to discuss matters of mutual advantage with Graz’zt or his advisors, chooses to stay here rather than at the Golden Opportunity boarding house, for example (or risk constant surveillance within the Argent Palace itself). The location is safer than the docks, and it oozes status. The belief that spies and assassins are among its best customers only drives up the price of a room.

The architecture of the place is simple: The inn is built in a square around a central courtyard, making access from the ground easy to control. The doors leading into the common rooms and public areas are all built within the courtyard; no place leads directly onto the street. Succubus concubines fly in and out discreetly through the private chamber windows, so they never need to strut through the halls.

In addition to the Shadow Demon owners and the Alkilith, a Vrock duo patrols the skies as paid guards. The rooms of the Sign of the Black Heart are secured by alarm spells and by Graz’zt’s seal of protection for merchants and travelers. The alarm spells are triggered when anyone other than a succubus opens one of the windows or shutters that secure the upper floors.