Those seeking a relatively cultured nightspot often congregate at Lazare's House, a cozy gaming parlor situated on the Vein's central square. In contrast to the ostentatious banners and garnish chipped paint on the Emporium across the street, Lazare's exudes a quiet sense of class with a stylish stone and timber construction and distinctive crooked-peaked roof. Inside, Cragmaw's elite match wits over
Dragonchess, a popular game in which two sides of 42 pieces contest over three 96-square boards representing the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Pieces include the griffon, sylph, oliphant, basilisk, hero, thief, and paladin. Scholars claim that the game is a metaphor for the celestial struggles of fundamental law, chaos, good, and evil. In Cragmaw, it's principally another justification for gambling.
A central hearth, constantly stoked to comfortable warmth by the courteous staff, serves as the hub of a roughly circular interior. Along the ring, eight alcoves offer an excellent location for private conversation or even romantic trysts. Each alcove is a half-moon of posh benches encircling a rectangual table bearing a special built-in
Dragonchess board. Visitors are expected to bring their own pieces, but may rent a house set for 2gp. This fee effectively keeps out the riff-raff, making Lazare's a haven for visiting dignitaries and Cragmaw's upper class. Wagers of up to 100 gp can be found on any given night, but most tend to be of the 5-10 gp variety.
Lazare frowns on side bets by non-players, but not so much as to ban the practice. Some more avid players (including all the mine managers and
Lazare himself) politely refuse to accept the challenge of anyone who lacks their own dragonchess pieces, valued at 50 gp or more. The game attracts dilettantes and devotees, but the two groups seldom mix.
Lazare himself was a
Dragonchess champion in
Cloudbreach some 20 years ago, and used ample winnings gained there to purchase a mine the hills northeast of Cragmire. He and his family moved to the village and a new life as mine managers, but failed to anticiate the desperate, appalling politics of the mud-soaked mining town. Within three years,
Lazare was all but bankrupted, forced to sell his mine to
Balabar Smenk (whom the usually serene chessmaster still hates with undisguised passion).
Lazare blames Smenk for the death of his beloved wife, who grew gravely ill at the height of the ownership struggle.
Lazare cherishes his daughter,
Dannath, who reminds him of his lost love and the stakes of Cragmire politics.
| Item | Cost |
|---|
| Entry Fee |
5 gp |
| Dragonchess Set Rental |
2 gp |
| Wine |
1 gp |
| Brandy |
2 gp |
| Fine Meal |
1 gp |
| Feast |
20 gp |
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