District Type: Inn district
Buildings: Temples (Olladra, the Traveler), average lodging (35), poor lodging (100), average food (5), poor food (40), upscale trades (2), average trades (35), poor trades (70), upscale services (2), average services (30), poor services (70)
First Impression: The inns and taverns in this district are dark and grimy. Vermin run like water through the streets on a stormy day, including rats that scurry into shadows and foul men and women who study you with avaricious eyes.
Social Class: Lower class
Location: Sharn, Lower Dura
When Sharn first rose from the ruins of Shaarat, Callestan was the center for trade and commerce. Today, it serves as a center for illegal trade and activity. The people who come to stay in the inns of Callestan sacrifice comfort to avoid the watchful eyes of the law, and many crooked deals are arranged in these dark taverns.
Until recently, Callestan was a stronghold of the Boromar Clan. The Tyrants and House Tarkanan both conducted business in the district, but the Boromars collected tribute from the merchants, and the fences, dreamlily dens, and gambling halls all owed allegiance to the halfling crime lords. Over the last two years, however, Daask has been posing a significant threat to the Boromar position in Callestan. Daask soldiers have beaten and killed Boromar operatives. Businesses with ties to the Boromars have been threatened, robbed, or even destroyed. Tarkanan and the Tyrants have taken advantage of this conflict to strengthen their own positions, expanding their businesses and contacts in the region.
Most of the average services and trades, and all of the upscale services and trades, offered in this district are criminal in nature. Callestan is the best place to go to find a fence, arrange for a burglary, or acquire forged papers. All of these things can be found elsewhere in the city, but in Callestan you don’t have to worry about the Watch taking an interest. At this point, the district has become a crossroads for the four major criminal powers of Sharn, and one must deal with different groups for different services. House Tarkanan usually handles assassination and theft; forgery, deception, and prostitution are typically tied to the Tyrants; and smuggling, gambling, petty theft, and illegal goods are the realm of the Boromar Clan. Daask takes the role of a wild card that could intrude on any of these areas, but usually deal in violent crime.
The Broken Anvil Inn: This small tavern with a handful of rooms to rent is carved into a bend in the wall of Mason’s Tower. House Ghallanda operates the inn, and the host is a matronly halfling named Eranna.
The Cracked Mirror: The Cracked Mirror is a quiet, unremarkable inn, notable for the number of changelings and shifters among its clientele. In fact, the inn serves as a front for the Tyrants, and anyone who wants to do business with the Tyrants can find someone to talk to here. Any changeling receives a +1 circumstance bonus on all Gather Information or Knowledge (local) checks made in the Cracked Mirror.
A shrine dedicated to the Keeper is hidden in the basement of the Cracked Mirror, and many of the regular customers participate in secret ceremonies to this deity. The doppelganger Zaz (CN female doppelganger cleric 5) maintains the shrine. While Zaz gets along well with the Tyrants, her true loyalty lies with the Cabinet of Faces, the mysterious cult of the Traveler hidden in the shadows of Khorvaire. She generally helps the Tyrants, but she often sets her own bizarre schemes in motion.
The owners and staff of the Cracked Mirror appear to change on a weekly basis—one week the innkeeper is a cheerful male dwarf named Mrogab, the next week she’s a surly female half-orc named Traaka. In fact, the staff consists of two doppelgangers (not counting Zaz) and six changelings. These eight take turns playing various roles at the inn and performing work for the Tyrants; they enjoy creating elaborate dramas with these roles, and each trip to the Cracked Mirror should involve colorful new personalities. While the on-duty staff generally assumes the forms of other races, most of the doppelganger or changeling clientele maintain their natural forms while at the inn.
Silvermist: Officially, Silvermist is a dream parlor secretly owned by the Boromar Clan—a place where illusions and glamers are used for the entertainment of guests. The regular entertainers include Jix (CN female changeling expert 3), a changeling who uses her natural powers to perform unusual one-woman ballets and operas, and Salleon (CN male gnome illusionist 3), an illusionist who fascinates audiences with bizarre and compelling hypnotic patterns. In addition, Silvermist is a dreamlily den—a place where people can buy and use dreamlily without fear of the law.
Source: Sharn: City of Towers