Connects to: 05.05, 07.04, 13.03, 24.18 and 37.06.
Overview
Abutting the flat stone plains that the Glass River runs through is an unusual winery whose proprietor, Abdul Zassiz, is well-known locally for being a rather shady character. Although Abdul masquerades as a normal human vintner, he is actually a tiefling in disguise.
Abdul treats his customers fairly, but they always feel as though they have been swindled or tricked somehow. The few individuals who have visited the winery after dark always report that the place is full to the brim with scurrilous characters, yet nobody ever sees those same characters during the day or elsewhere. Despite all of this, his customers tend to come back for more, as his wine seems to be of exceptional quality.
Abdul does indeed treat his customers fairly, from his own point of view. Humans require two things from their food and drink: pleasure and nutrition and Abdul makes sure to provide both of them. It just so happens that the pleasure comes from subtle illusion magic and the nutrition comes from a wide range of food sources that, for reasons Abdul fails to understand, humans have some reservations about. The larvae of many insects are incredibly high in protein and long-term storage of meat in vats of yogurt is an excellent way to preserve it. As for what the “wine” is actually made of, it is best not to know.
Despite Abdul’s honest intentions, some of his customers sense that something is amiss, but lack the means of piercing his enchantments in order to discern what it is. Some of Abdul’s night-time regulars are able to tell what the other customers are actually eating, which is a great source of humor among them.
Although there are no vineyards in the area, Abdul is able to purchase supplies from a nearby source, the Castle of the Poor Brothers (07.04). This castle was built by an order of monks on a rocky tor that towers over the surrounding countryside but it has since fallen into the hands of the Delasar family. Travelers who pass by the castle note its extensive and fertile gardens, which produce far more large coarse vegetables than are needed to feed Lord Delasar’s small retinue of servants and men-at-arms, even when his sales to Abdul are taken into account.
Connections
- The winery draws its water from the Glass Rapids (05.05).
- It could be possible to make a profit by selling wine from the Glass River Winery to the elves of the Timberlode (13.03).
- Abdul has somehow managed to get his hands on a bottle of wine brewed out of the nectar of a ribbon lotus within the trunk of a living oak, a rare brew indeed (37.06). -Abdul’s attempts to brew contraband Ossory Fire (24.18) have resulted in a delicious wine that causes spontaneous internal combustion.
Hooks
- Who are Abdul’s after-dark customers? Where do they come from and where do they go?
- Why does Abdul maintain the fiction that he is human rather than tiefling?
