The days following the events of the Lom in the rice fields were quiet. Too quiet for Bait’s taste. Alvec and Sarbie sat in the wagon all day, working on secret magic things or playing games after the sunset. Others not much fun either; they make Bait do work. Shoot this, stay on guard duty, sleep outside. Blah, blah, blah. Bait hate it. Arriving in another Jai something or other gave Bait great opportunity. They here to find a ship, ship that will take them to Ack-apizza. Bait will find the stinkiest boat, the garbage barge! They will charter it to take them down to Ack-Apizza. It was a good plan, the best plan.
The others were boring and went off their own ways. Naya and Illaria headed somewhere while Mavec did something, and Alvec and the cleric went to grab a drink or something. Bait didn’t care; Bait need to find Garbage Barge. He quickly surveyed the town. Someone in this river town would surely know where the garbage barge would be. He picked the first plump person he ran into; surely a man of such blessed girth would know where a garbage barge might be. “Hi, Garbage Barge?” He asked the man as he waved wildly at him. The man looked at him, confused for a moment, racking his brain before saying anything at all. Bait waited for his wisdom with a broad smile and sharp goblin teeth.
“Oh yes, well, I do believe it's over there. That gray building over yonder is the one you're looking for,” he said before stepping around Bait and heading on his way. Bait such a good judge of character. Pick right first time and everything. Without wasting time, he charged forward to the building. He burst through the door into what looked an awful lot like a bar.
“Garbage Barge? Where? Need to go to Ack-Apizza, need best ride. Garbage Barge,” Bait proclaimed.
“This is the Garbage Barge,” the man behind the counter said before spitting into a tin can.
“No, GARBAGE BARGE!” Bait shouted back at the man. This was a building, not a Barge. This building couldn’t sail the river, and it wasn’t even half as dirty as it needed to be. Though it was much dirtier than most bars he had been in.
“Ah, I get what you're saying, little dude. It's down that hallway. You’ll be able to add your trash to it for sure,” he said, winking. Bait rushed down the hallway to find himself standing in a bathroom. He leaned over the toilet and shouted down into the stinky dank hole.
“Garbage Barge?” With no answer, he turned around and stomped out of the bathroom, leaving the bar altogether. He glanced up at the name on the side of the building. The Garbage Barge. He spat on the ground. Word-play dumb. This no garbage barge; it just a place named garbage barge. Pale imitation to the true glory of a garbage barge. Its stink only middling compared to the glory of the garbage barge. Bait give up; he would just have to pee on whatever boat they got, goblin blessings and all. Now, just to find the right boat. Maybe Illaria already find boat. Bah. Probably a dumb, clean boat.
Alvec and Sarbie:
Alvec threw an arm around Sarbie’s Shoulder. “We’re leaving transportation up to Illaria. She’ll find us a boat, no problem. We, on the other hand, are going to celebrate. To me, for crafting so many items, and to you for surviving your first combat. To the tavern!” he said, pulling her gently in the direction of the town center. It wasn’t a large town by any measure, but almost every town larger than three buildings had someone selling alcohol. After how hard he’d been working, Alvec deserved to knock back at least one drink. He’d opt for more to celebrate, but it wasn’t worth being caught off guard, and with how many different issues they’d encountered since banning together, it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. After a few steps, he released his arm from around her.
“What do you say? Food and drinks are on me.” Alvec insisted.
“I guess it might be nice. I’ve actually never been to a tavern.”
“When you say you’ve never been to a tavern before, do you mean just that, or do you mean you haven’t had hard drinks before?” Alvec asked.
“Both, actually.” She said.
“We’ll be sure to take it easy then.” Alvec assured her with a nod of his head.
The pair arrived outside a relatively standard tavern. The smell of roasting meats and sauces roiled through the room. It was early afternoon, and only a handful of people actually were at this particular tavern. They’d come at a good time. Alvec led her to a table on the edge of the room and pulled a chair out for her. As soon as she sat down, he took the seat opposite her.
“So what should I even order anyway?” she asked.
“We’ll have to ask what they have available for food and drink. Though, thinking about it. I think we’ll be asking if they have any Sangria on hand. It's a very fruity wine. Seems like a good first drink for you, and a glass of that should be more than enough to celebrate,” Alvec said as he waited for someone to come over and take their orders. “At a place like this, we’re at the mercy of whatever they happen to have available.”
“And that would be rainbow trout, and you can choose between a baked potato, potato soup, or mashed potatoes,” A gruff man in his mid-fifties said as he approached the table. “Red Banner bought out most everything else. All that we’ve been able to restock are potatoes from a local farm, some minor dairy items, and river fish. My apologies.”
“Honestly, good sir, any warm food sounds delightful. We’ve been on the road from Sha-Laial, headed towards Ac-Aziza. I’ll take the fish chowder with the roasted river fish.” Alvec said.
“I’ll do the mashed potatoes with the roasted rainbow trout,” Sarbie said.
“And what can I be getting you to drink?” he asked.
“Would you happen to have any Sangria?” Alvec asked. The barkeep pursed his lips.
“Yes, but it's not a popular choice in these parts. I’m afraid I won’t be able to sell it by the glass. You’d have to commit to the whole bottle.” He said.
“What might that run me?” Alvec asked.
“I’ll sell it to you for five gold. I bought it for four, but it's been sitting on my shelf for far too long. If I don't use it soon, it’ll be vinegar. Normally, I’d sell it for at least six or seven gold.”
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“You have a deal, good sir. Would you like to share a glass of it yourself? It's just the two of us, and while we could take it with us, we wouldn’t mind sharing. Doubly so if you can tell me more about the Red Banner buying you out of stock.”
“Fuck it, we won’t be busy for another few hours, and a single drink won’t spoil my work day, that's for sure. I’ll go fetch it now,” the man said before he walked away from the table.
“Do we always try bribing information out of people?” she asked.
“Hey, when you’ve got ram’s horns and a tail, cutting to bribes is often a fast way to get what you need. It's a lot easier to convince someone you’ll honor a deal than it is to prove your worth trusting. Granted, walking around with you or Illaria does seem to have a different effect. With Illaria, it's like I’m invisible. She says some variant of “my coworker,” and they just nod in agreement and offer up any amount of help they can. With you, though, I notice I get one of two looks.”
“And those are?” She asked.
Alvec leaned forward and spoke so only she could hear him. “The first is, wow, that tieflings walking around with a cleric, he must be important or really trustworthy. The second look is: Should someone pull her out of this situation?”
“Come on, they don’t really.”
“I don’t think it's a concern in Sha-Laial any longer. I gathered enough of a reputation due to the festival that I doubt anyone will do more than a double take. Out here though, I worry a bit more.”
The bartender returned with a bottle, three glasses, and a chair. “Forgive me; it's not as cold as I had hoped.”
“I can fix that; give me but a moment,” Alvec said, grabbing the bottle and tracing a simple glowing rune over the glass. A frost slowly crept over the bottle.
“Ah, a wizard, but you're not with the Arcane Regiment?” He asked.
“No, freelancer. Alvec Snaptail of the Cheese Acolytes. We were the winners of this year's Festival of Blades in Sha-Laial.”
“Cheese Acolytes, that's a strange name,” he said, popping the now cold bottles cork and pouring three glasses.
“Yeah, our goblin friend chose it. Cheese is essential to him, possibly more important than his gun, but I’m not sure which one has a stronger grasp on his heart, black powder or cheese curds.”
The bartender tipped back his glass, draining about a third before setting it down. Alvec unhesitantly did the same. Sarbie hesitated for a moment, smelling it. It indeed smelled fruity as Alvec had promised, but it had this strange scent to it too she couldn’t decide if she liked. Regardless, she, too, took a long sip of the wine before her. As it crossed her tongue, it tasted good, but the sensation that occurred afterward was less than pleasant. She wasn’t sure she liked this. “Give it a moment to kick in,” Alvec said, tilting his head at her.
“So you wanted to know about the Red Banner Army? What exactly were you hoping to learn?”
“We just noticed a lot of Banners as we arrived here; we were curious what exactly was going on with them.”
“Well, they’re being fairly tight-lipped about it, but I can tell you a little. First, whatever's going on has to do with Ac-Aziza. That's where the Blue Banner has been ferrying them.”
“The blue banner, you don’t say... bet Illaria gets us passage on a Blue Banner ship,” Alvec replied.
The man took another large swig of the wine. “Secondly, there are a lot of Red Banners passing through here. They’ve been coming through here for near a week, Blue Banner is transporting them down river to Ac-Aziza.”
“Why would they be heading there anyway?” Sarbie asked as she took another sip from the chilled wine. She was starting to feel a warm sensation in her chest. It was a delightful sensation, and it had only taken a single good sip to achieve. She could already see why Alvec had told her they were having a single glass only.
“It's the Empire's biggest port, and the rumor mill suggests that the Dread Pirate Crowley is on the move. Now, it’s just gossipl, but it's all the same,” the man said.
“Of course, it would be Crowley,” Alvec said. “Bastard slipped out of my reach last we met; I won’t let that happen next time.”
“Wait, You’ve met the Dread Pirate?” the bartender asked.
“He stole something from me. We caught him in the act, but he used magic to escape before we could do much about it,” Alvec replied.
“Well, I wish you the best of luck. May the bastard meet his end soon for the good of the Empire!”
“Here, here!” Alvec said, gently clinking his glass against Sarbie’s.
“I’m starting to see why you said only one drink.”
“Ah, I’ll have your food out soon,” he said, draining the rest of his glass and left, taking it with him.
Alvec reached his hand over to Sarbie as she reached for the glass again. The warm feeling was very nice, and her head felt floaty, just like he’d described.
“Let's slow down a bit. You should get some food in your stomach, maybe drink some water.” His hand felt like fire burning against hers.
“Sorry, it's a nice sensation. It’ll fade if I don’t keep drinking, right?”
“I mean, yes, but you could also make yourself sick if you drink too much too quickly. It's better to let that feeling fade before deciding to have more. Remember, it impairs your judgment a bit.” Alvec said.
“Doesn’t seem as fun,” she said.
“Look, you die of alcohol poisoning; I’m going to have to flee this plane of existence to get away from TaeCol or Hoc.”
“Bah, it's always them,” she said, shifting her hand away from his and grabbing the glass again. She tried to tilt it back, but the liquid lingered at the edge of the glass, flirting with the tip of her tongue. She lowered the glass, glaring at him.
“You know, as much as discovering how you’re like drunk sounds fun and exciting. I want to keep you safe. We’re going on a boat in a few hours. Do you even know how to swim?”
Come to think of it, she didn’t. “That counts as a question. I get to ask one next.”
“Deal,” he said.
“No, never learned. They don’t like people swimming in the river that cuts Sha-Laial in two. It's reserved for boats, really. I don’t think my parents know how to either, now that I think of it.”
“Well, we’ll be on a boat in a few hours. You really want to be even a little bit inebriated where we’re going to be one disaster away from figuring out how to swim?”
“You’ll save me,” she said with a confidence that shook Alvec.
“So long as I draw breath, I’ll try,” he assured her.
“Then I think it's safe to keep sipping this glass if you don’t mind,” he shook his head just a bit.
“If you insist.” He relented and didn’t try tricking her with magic this time. Thankfully, his stall tactics had been sufficient, and the bartender arrived with food. The pair dug into the steaming hot food with abandon. It had only been a few days since they had breakfast in that small Lom, but it felt much longer since they’d had proper food. With the food now in her stomach, the buzz she was feeling was slowly starting to fade. When the food was cleared from their plates, Sarbie hung her head down and to the side.
“I wouldn’t mind if we did this again. Just you and I. The rest of the group is nice, and I’d enjoy some time with them too. But I like how comfortably quiet it can be when it's just us. Honestly, if it weren’t for the things attacking us, I’d say that traveling with you while you enchant objects has been surprisingly nice.”
“I’ve enjoyed your company as well. Enchanting can be lonely work, but the quiet you bring is very peaceful and warm,” she flushed red and looked even further away.
“Shall we get going? Illaria will no doubt have sorted out transport for us by now,” he said, standing up and offering her his hand. She accepted it and found herself gently pulled to her feet. Alvec stopped at the counter and paid the tab before the pair departed.