# U Spáleného Jazyka — The Burnt Tongue

## History

The Burnt Tongue has stood on the corner of Žlutá Street and Popelová Alley for over forty years. It started as a safehouse, became a flophouse, and eventually settled into what it is today: neutral ground. The name comes from the unwritten rule — what happens here stays here, or you lose the tongue that spoke of it.

Fifteen years ago, **Orenn** and **Mags** took ownership. Before that, they were *cleaners* — the people the city's underworld called when something crawled out of the sewers, when a summoning went sideways, when a gang war threatened to spill into the merchant quarter. Not heroes. Fixers. They retired here because they were tired of fixing other people's messes, and because running the most dangerous bar in the city was, somehow, the quieter life.

Under Orenn's rule, the Burnt Tongue became sacred ground. Assassins could drink next to their marks. Cultists could study next to inquisitors. The rule was simple: **no killing**. Orenn enforced it not with threats but with the calm certainty of a man who had killed worse things than you, and everyone in the room knew it.

## The Rules of the House

Carved into a wooden plaque above the bar in Common and Thieves' Cant:

1. **No killing.** Brawling is permitted. Death is not.
2. **No magic that harms.** Cantrips for comfort, fine. Anything with intent, take it outside.
3. **Debts are honored.** If you owe the house, you pay the house.
4. **The barkeep's word is final.**

The first rule has just been broken — and the barkeep who enforced it is the victim.

## Atmosphere

The tavern is larger than it looks from outside. The building is old stone and dark wood, sunk slightly below street level so you step *down* into it. The air is thick with pipe smoke, tallow candle smell, and the sweet-sour tang of cheap spirits. Everything is dimly lit — not for ambiance, but because the clientele prefers it that way.

The noise level before the brawl is a low murmur punctuated by occasional harsh laughter from the assassin table and quiet scholarly debate from the cultists. After the murder, it's oppressive silence broken by whispers.

## General Layout

```
                    ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
                    │          UPPER FLOOR              │
                    │     (Orenn & Mags quarters)       │
                    │        [locked, private]          │
                    └──────────────────────────────────┘

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        MAIN HALL                             │
│                                                              │
│  [Assassin     ┌─────────┐              ┌──────────────┐    │
│   Table]       │Fireplace│              │     BAR      │    │
│                └─────────┘   [Bren's    │  (Orenn's    │    │
│                               Corner]   │   domain)    │    │
│  [Cultist                               └──────┬───────┘    │
│   Table]       [Center tables,                  │            │
│                 stools, debris]        ┌────────┴────────┐   │
│  [Tallow's                             │ Door to Kitchen │   │
│   Booth]       [Vetch, near stairs]    └────────┬────────┘   │
│                                                 │            │
│  ┌──────┐                              ┌────────┴────────┐   │
│  │ENTRY │                              │   BACK ROOMS    │   │
│  │(down │                              │ Kitchen/Storage/ │   │
│  │steps)│                              │ Private Room     │   │
│  └──────┘                              └────────┬────────┘   │
│                                                 │            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────┘
                                          ┌───────┴───────┐
                                          │ CELLAR (UPPER)│
                                          │ (trapdoor in  │
                                          │   storage)    │
                                          └───────┬───────┘
                                          concealed door
                                          ┌───────┴───────┐
                                          │  DEEP CELLAR  │
                                          │ (hidden warren:│
                                          │ vault, cells, │
                                          │ lab, the rift)│
                                          └───────────────┘
```

## Read-Aloud: Entering the Tavern

> *Schody vedou dolů. Tři kamenné stupně, vyšlapané generacemi bot, které sem raději nechtěly být viděny vcházet. Těžké dveře se za vámi zavřou s tupým úderem, který zní nepříjemně definitivně.*
>
> *Vzduch uvnitř je hustý — směs tabákového kouře, levné kořalky a starého dřeva nasyceného desítkami let rozlitého piva. Místnost je větší, než jste čekali. Nízký strop podpírají masivní dubové trámy, zčernalé od sazí. Svíčky v železných držácích vrhají neklidné stíny po zdech pokrytých starými výčepními tabulemi, kde některá jména byla záměrně vyškrábnuta.*
>
> *Zvuk se změní, když vstoupíte — ten sotva znatelný pokles hlasitosti, když místnost plná nebezpečných lidí zaregistruje někoho nového. Několik párů očí vás změří. Většina se vrátí ke svému. Jeden pár — ten za barem — ne.*

## Secrets

- The tavern is built on a **natural thin point** between the Material and Ethereal planes. Orenn and Mags knew this. It's one reason they chose this location — they could monitor it. It also means Veil Dust is more potent here, and ethereal entities find it easier to manifest.
- The wooden plaque with the house rules has a **hidden fifth rule** on the back, in Orenn's handwriting: *"If the veil tears, burn the cellar stores and seal the door. We'll handle the rest."* — Mags can reveal this if pressed, but it will shake her.
- The building's stone foundation contains **old ward-sigils** carved by Orenn and Mags when they moved in. These wards kept fiends from crossing the threshold in the Ethereal Plane. Xarrul broke them during the brawl — a character examining the foundation stones (DC 15 Investigation or Arcana) can find the cracked sigils.
- Behind the barrel racks in the cellar, a **[concealed door](cellar.md#the-concealed-door)** leads down to the **[Deep Cellar](deep-cellar.md)** — a hidden warren that is Orenn and Mags's real, ongoing workplace: a vault, a laboratory, two cells (one occupied), a trophy-hold, and a widening rift to the Ethereal Plane. "Retired" was always a story. This lower level is the module's optional exploration track — sneaking, looting, environmental backstory, and a fight or two — for players who'd rather *do* than talk. The fifth rule on the plaque (*"burn the cellar stores and seal the door"*) refers to it.