On a quiet street just outside the Plank District lies Vant’s Restful Repose, the mortuary shop of Mortimer Vant—a gray-haired Shadar-kai undertaker who looks every bit the part of a solemn caretaker of the dead. The shop’s windows are draped in black velvet, and polished coffins are displayed in neat rows inside, their brass fittings gleaming under dim lanternlight. The air is heavy with incense and the faint tang of embalming fluid.
Step through the door, however, and any expectation of hushed reverence vanishes. Mortimer himself greets customers with a booming voice, a broad smile, and the practiced enthusiasm of a street hawker. He strides from casket to casket, extolling their virtues as though they were fine horses or jewels: “Solid oak with a satin lining—comfort that lasts for eternity!” or “Buy now and I’ll throw in the silver handles at no extra cost!” He is known to upsell with alarming gusto, and more than one customer has left his shop dizzy after being talked into matching coffins for the entire family.
Behind the bluster, Mortimer takes his craft seriously. His coffins are of fine make, his embalming meticulous, and his funerary services thorough. To him, death is an inevitable part of life—and an opportunity for tasteful business. While many in Lygos roll their eyes at his salesmanship, none can deny that he has become the most recognizable undertaker in the city, and his shop the go-to destination for those planning ahead… or grieving in the moment.