Chapter Thirty Two: Enter The Flagon

Zuglah wasn’t much for cities. He even found the Glout much too busy and crowded. But he was curious about Loud. He felt like he had been constantly moving full speed since his arrival, without any opportunity to explore his new surroundings. He could have spent an entire day simply following interesting scents on the wind and trying new foods, or delved into some of the shops selling reagents and equipment.

One such shop, although a fine looking stone and lumber building, had an odd, musty smell that subtly reminded him of the fens. He was positive that a Hag was in that building. He didn’t mention it to the others, but was glad enough when they hurried along. He stopped testing the air after that.

Denton led the way, picking the path with unconscious ease. Zuglah was jealous. Try as he might, he was always getting turned around inside city walls. His friends teased him about how long it took him to find his way back to the tower, considering how it was impossible to miss. The Glout was by far the most massive thing in Loud.

All this was to say that Zuglah hadn’t been to this area of town before. It seemed to be mostly houses and residential businesses; the livery had no rooms to rent, or tavern attached. And the blacksmith boasted no weapons or armor, simply repairing draw knives and kitchen pots with little fanfare. The leather worker made aprons and saddles, leaving the fancy cured bracers to those with more ambitious businesses. Even the butcher’s shop had haunches of meat in the display windows rather than racks full of roasted foul. And the area lacked the electricity, the bustle, of the North side of town where the King’s highway ran right past the gates. There were no inns, only the occasional tavern with no stables and barely a sign. The families in these houses had been here for generations, and tradesmen preferred to drink among their own.

He was surprised when they finally veered towards a large stone tavern that dominated the entire block. Zuglah began to grow excited when they entered. There was an Elf in the kitchens. He was mildly surprised, though, when Denton parked them all at the first available table. “We won’t be staying long.” He didn’t like the sound of that. Perhaps they could get something to take with them?

“Hello. Are you here to see Meegar? There’s a couple of people ahead of you. Oh! Hello, Pliesson. Meegar said that you would probably be coming soon. Is this the Troll from your Bean? I haven’t watched it yet. You would be surprised at how well it’s selling. Novice runs never do well. Anyways, do you guys want something to eat or drink?” A young, pretty Kaeet girl named Velsh, she stood smiling while she waited for them to process the sheer volume of words she had deluged them in.

“Ah, yes. Please bring us a pitcher of beer and one of wine while we wait.” Denton said.

“And I’ll take a plate of whatever that Elf is cooking.” Zuglah looked around. “Did anyone else skip supper?” Nobody else had been in the Dream.

Chayah asked him for details about the Bean, hoping for some insight as to why it was even made in the first place. While they sat and drank, he told them about how little regard Randall had for him. He seemed a little contemptuous of all of them, honestly, but for whatever reason he resented Zuglah the most. Probably shouldn’t have punched him.

She must have talked to various people around the tower about their perfect run, because she had insight into details that Zuglah himself wasn’t even aware of, even after having experienced the run not once but twice. She said that people were hunting high and low for any information or recipies for Iron Blossoms. “It seems that people had zero clue that Bearded Grapes even existed, much less what they’re used for. Now everyone is scrambling to be the first to discover the secondary effects. They’re upset that they’ve missed their chance.”

“Meegar might be able to tell us. His knowledge is vast and he loves gleaning. At the very least he will know where more can be found. I think that the two of you have a lot in common, Zuglah.” Pliesson sounded eager, confident even. Zuglah liked seeing this side of his friend. Too many people seemed to overlook or dismiss the Driole because of his unassuming nature, but he had a sharp wit and insight that Zuglah relied on. And his education was almost as comprehensive as Chayah’s had been; the Driole had access to the High Elven school system.

They ate goose and boar and stew made with eels. The humans drank with as much zeal as Zuglah ate, and it became a festive occasion. Zuglah saw most of the tavern’s patrons exit one table at a time and all head around the left side of the building.

Velsh came back and sat with them, because they were the only table left on that side of the room. All of the locals sat together at a pair of long tables near the hearth, talking and playing a dice game they called flatrock. The stakes seemed to be more alcohol.

Velsh said, “Meegar’s just tidying up. He should be ready for you guys in no time.” She smiled as she picked up the small stack of gold coins they had gathered, and tucked them into her apron. “I told him that you brought your friends with you, and he seemed very excited. I see him rush customers a lot, but it’s always funny when he does, because he’s normally so shy. Hey, he’s here!”

The Kaeet standing in the door was tall and lean, his tortoise-shell coloured fur brushed neatly, where it stuck out from beneath his green and orange cardigan. He had grey in his muzzle and in the long hairs of his whiskers and the tufts in his ears.

As soon as he was noticed, he came forward. “Hello Pliesson, thank you for coming today. Hello Zuglah, Hello Denton, Hello Warwick. Hello, what is your name?” He had a dolorous cadence to his speech, a repetitive manner that he employed with his eyes closed, as though struggling with the recall. He had turned towards Chayah for his question, but hadn’t yet opened his eyes.

“Chayah Runsfaster. It’s nice to meet you, Meegar. I’ve heard nothing but good things about your potions, from Pliesson.”

He opened one eye just a crack and peered at her for a second. Then he closed it again as he resumed. “He is an audacious student. Very quick to the inevitable conclusion. I used to think Alchemy was so easy, until I tried teaching it. It’s still easy, but there’s something about people that makes it difficult. I had always assumed that everyone saw it as simple as it really is. Pliesson is the only one I’ve met this year that even grasps the fundamentals.”

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Chayah fetched the older Kaeet a chair, and went to the bar and got him a clean mug. He smelled deeply of both the beer and wine pitchers before he held out his mug and happily requested a cup of the spiced wine. “Thank you. You kids are very kind. The food here is also quite good. I see that you had the eel.” He cracked his eye a slit and peeked towards Zuglah.

Zuglah turned to where Velsh sat with her chin resting on her crossed arms, watching the exchange. “Can we have two more bowls, Velsh? And more wine, please?” She smiled, nodded, and scampered lightly into the kitchens. Zuglah opened the secondary compartment on his sling, the larger section, and withdrew his last carefully folded piece of drycloth, revealing a small, brittle wafer of dead lichen. The Kaeet made an eager grunting noise as he leaned forward and sniffed it without making any motion to touch it.

“This is quite rare. You did not get this inside Spellman’s Caverns.” Zuglah realized that Meegar’s eyes were opened just a tiny amount, making him appear exhausted, or hard of hearing.

“No.” Zuglah agreed. “I recently gave two of these to a party of Orcs, as part of a quest that they are working on. What can this tell us about their quest? Anything?”

“It’s old. Lichen grows very slowly, and this would have begun growing only after the Fateweaver’s Finger had been drawn. And you found two more this size? I would say that this enchantment you are facing is over four hundred years old.” Zuglah nodded, thinking. There was almost no way to know what they were going to use it for. It was most likely a single use potion, or some other kind of spell reagent.

“And the Bearded Grapes? What’s behind Stone’s Throw?” He withdrew some of the porous bulbs, placing them on the table. He passed the small pile of herbs over to Pliesson, then quickly folded up the lichen and tucked it back into his pouch. He cleared his place just as Velsh arrived with two pungent bowls of stew. Denton, apparently made hungry by the delicious smells, ordered a board of the smoked boar with breads and cheeses. Warwick ordered more beer.

“To get the double effect, you’ll need a high class of suspension. And some of the other ingredients are not rare, but expensive. Not as expensive as the emulsifier, but still.”

When Zuglah took out a jar of fully rendered chicken pistules, the odor of the plant could be smelled even over the pungent stew. When Velsh arrived with the beer, she made a stern face and went away quickly. She did not care for the smell at all. Zuglah quite liked it.

Meegar picked up the jar from where it sat between them on the table. He looked askance towards Zuglah, who smiled and nodded encouragement. He flexed his index finger until a small, razor-sharp claw extended itself, then he dipped it into the tincture. When he placed his claw onto his tongue, his eyebrows shot up and his eyes went wide. “Delicious. It’s so sour. Where did you get this, if I may ask?”

Zuglah shrugged into his stew. “It’s the last of the batch that Caldwell and I made. We used most of it making Regeneration.”

“You can already make Reliquaries? Pliesson, what manner of Troll have you brought me?” He picked up the jar again, inhaling deeply. He kept looking sharply at Zuglah. “Do you have a crystal spinner? What about a lightning box? You won’t need it for this, but if you were making Regeneration, you must have access to one.”

“Caldwell sent to his Guild when we needed one. I have a small traveling set, but it’s no rolling laboratory like some I’ve seen. Are we going to need other hardware? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t just assume that you’ll help me. I don’t want to have to join one of those gangs of potion thugs that roam the school, just to get my hands on a recipe.”

Meegar placed the jar down carefully and said, “I will be very happy to make potions with you, Zuglah Glun. It is what I love.”

Zuglah nodded slowly. “Thank you. That is a very great help. I came here to ask you something. Do you know who it was that cast the Black Trance on Randal? Can you put me in touch with them?”

Meegar touched one ear to his shoulder, an odd gesture that Zuglah guessed to be a sort of shrug. “Of course. The content of the Beans are highly regulated by The Jounce, as you know, but I do happen to know the Lifestealer that made this. But why should you ask me, when you can simply ask her sister?” The Kaeet, eyes firmly shut, wobbled his head around until he was ostensibly looking towards Chayah. His tiny smile never wavered.

The beautiful, tawny-haired Elf sat up, startled. “Who, me? I have a sister who’s a Necromancer? Are you sure?”

Meegar gave a deep-throated purr, laughing in his belly. “Oh yes. Very sure. Fenne is the reason why I am not selling this particular Bean. Subchanting for a brute is not my idea of a good time.”

Chayah made a vexed sound. “Fenne is awful. She has this Sharp Owl Ranger named Vonca Baugh who is just pure evil. The things she’s done to Krane. Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind if she was torn apart by a couple of ghost jackals. But they would probably choke on her. Sorry, Zuglah. You don’t want to talk to her. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Besides,” Warwick said. “She’s already weaved the Dream, so you can’t stop it now. Any Enchanter with the training can spell the frogs. Who even knows how many they’ve already made.”

Zuglah was so deep into his own thoughts that he was actually taken aback by the direction of their concerns. “What? I don’t want to stop it, I want to sponsor it. That Bean might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’ve seen it.” Meegar spoke slowly, even for him. “You don’t come across in the best light, young man. Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. The more incompetent I can make myself seem, the safer I’ll be.” He proceeded to tell them what he had learned. How Slorric had told him that people didn’t tolerate Trolls learning Wizardry, about how brutal the grind was, and how hard it had been to climb to the third tier. He told them that he heard of a Troll who had been responsible for the second Horde Invasion. The entire table nodded, including the waitress. Was he the only one who had been raised in the woods outside of a village proper?

“Yes, that would be Dorsa.” Meegar said dolorously. “He caused a lot of misery for everyone, Kaeets included. We lost our Islands.”

Zuglah felt terrible for the crimes of his people. The more he learned about Trolls, the more they sounded like the villains of history. “I’m sorry, Meegar. But I have absolutely no intention of entering the Doomsha Kute I promise. I’m going to open a potion shop in Taida Mar and sell only the rarest potions and ingredients. I’m not a threat to anyone.”

He must have said something wrong, because nobody said anything after that. It was awkward, and Zuglah was the only one not staring into his cup. Finally, Meegar broke the silence. “Zuglah Glun, where do you think that all the Trolls have gone? They have entered Heaven’s Gyre. Every man, woman and child of them. The Enclave on Chayah Runsfaster’s Island may be the last Trolls left on Malgros.”

Zuglah Glun had been left behind.