The Devil's Gate

The Devil's Gate acts as a typical back-alley tavern, a common meeting place for the shifty and the shady. It serves one mean Straw Whisker, but that is far from the main attraction. The reason one truly comes to the Devil's Gate is to find one of the largest and most popular fighting rings in South Side. Built into the base of a residential building, one would not expect the large hall, where the lower floor serves as the arena and viewing area, while a circular balcony on the second floor overlooks the area.

To allow for the fighting pit and general layout of the tavern, a large number of alterations had to be made. The main hall may once have been the boiler room for the upper stories, which was left vacant after magical heating became more affordable and efficient than a circulation of water. Even with the large size an old boiler room would afford, it is theorised that the innards of the building had to be modified heavily to provide the space required for the large interior of the tavern.

The outside, like most Sorenellian buildings is an unhealthy looking mix of soot-blackened brick which may once have been whitewashed, and plates of metal and pipes snaking up through the building. The entrance is hidden away in a back alley, an inconspicuous sliding metal door with horns scratched into it allow entry into the Tavern.
The entry gives way to a fore-room, little more than a short corridor which leads into the lower area of the main hall. Immediately upon entering one sees the slightly raised, fenced off fighting pit with the reasonably iconic braziers of coloured light adorning it. Around the fighting pit there are four rows of benches, the front row at ground level, while the back is several feet above the floor. At the north side of the room is the manager's booth, an extension of the main hall where a couple of counters are set up to broker bets and occasionally tickets.
To the right of the entry, one can take the stairs to the upper balcony where the bar and several standard tables are set up. One can also find accommodations which take up several of the frese lodgings of the lower building. There is a common hall and numerous private rooms of varying sizes and levels of luxury. Should one wish to conduct "Business", there are meeting rooms available for rent as well.