Chapter 14 I Get Drunk

The square had even more people than at the temple, but of course more people could fit in the open square rather than in a temple sanctuary. I sincerely hoped they were here more for a glimpse at a god rather than actually wanting to see an execution. They surrounded a raised platform that was placed in an area where the vendor's carts usually were stationed. I looked around and sure enough, lining the side streets were the vendors doing brisk business. I couldn't understand how anyone would want to eat at this point.

Though, I had just been handing out chocolate as a comfort food. Perhaps what was being sold was a comfort to the people buying it. Sometimes junk food was good for the soul, if not the body. The cafe at the bakery was filled and a line of people were purchasing baked snacks and drinks. A young woman with a tray was handing out wooden cups and distributing tea.

People were talking to the people beside them. People who had been in the temple during the trial recounted the events to other people who were unable to get in. There were pockets of storytellers all over, each one having their own rapt audience. All of it led to the atmosphere being more festive than somber.

The people quieted down a bit when Amoris and Edomael entered the square. After a few seconds of ohhh, and ahhhs, and shushing the crowd turned their focus on the two. The crowd once again parted like magic. Edomael led the odd procession, Crue followed behind him with Amoris. The rest of us just sort of formed a line behind her.

Dickson was already standing off to one side of the platform and the group met up with him. Amoris left Crue and the rest of us standing on the sidelines once again. Edomael waited a bit then linked arms with her and they both climbed the platform to stand with the prisoners and a few guards. The platform was, in reality, a decent size, but with all the people on it, the platform seemed really crowded.

Sturgis stood towering on the far back corner of the stage. His hands were behind his back in sort of a formal parade rest. Beside him were the teenager and the woman. So they were going to make them watch after all. I had thought they were going to spare them. The teen was probably the youngest person in the crowd. The gods had said no children were to be allowed, and with a quick scan, I couldn't spot anyone who looked childlike.

There was another large imposing man standing on the nearer back corner, opposite of Sturgis. He looked like he might be the same rank as Sturgis. He had flaming red hair that, unlike any other redhead I had ever met, fell straight down his back in long silky waves. He had a large hooked hawk nose and a tiny pursed mouth. His cheekbones were very stark and his eyes were a little pinched.

He showed signs of sunburn and his ears were already red and pealing. Unlike Sturgis, his skin wasn't tan at all, but was very fair, at least where it wasn't burnt by the sun. He was probably one of those guys who never tanned and always burned no matter what he did. Was sunscreen not something they had here? While I knew that most sunscreens on earth were made by mixing chemicals I did recall something about there being natural alternatives. However, I couldn't at all recall what those were.

The Commander stood behind the prisoners and greeted the gods with a bow. Beside him were two lower ranked guards. They moved to make room for the gods. The prisoners were kneeling towards the front of the platform. The Gods were in front of them near the edge. Everyone was cramped up near the front.

Near the center of the platform was a gallows. There was only room for one person. How were they going to manage five people? It was a simple upside down L beam with a single cross board for support. There was a trap door under it. I couldn't figure out just by looking at it how the door was triggered since there wasn't any obvious lever.

"People of Yellow Springs," Edomael addressed the crowd, "by now you probably have heard about the triumvirate and the crimes these five men have committed in your town. The sentence for these crimes is death."

The crowd made a collected ohhhhh. Edomael held up his hand for quiet then continued.

"As you can see, one of the criminals in this situation is Lord Horace Holjior. As one of his guards noted, normally only the king may render judgment on a noble. However, there is one circumstance which can bypass this rule, a Godly Triumvirate. Still, to alleviate Sir Marl's concerns, Aequitas has gone to King Luden to formally inform him of our decision. We are currently waiting for her return.

"While we are waiting, I would like to thank you for coming to witness justice being rendered. While the deaths of these five individuals will never alleviate the pain they have caused this community, we hope that justice served will at least help soothe the suffering. Know that by passing through the Abyss they will be punished. They will remain in the Abyss' Hellscape unable to reincarnate until all of their victims have first passed through. However, their spiritual punishment won't last forever and like with all men, their souls will be cleansed and they will be sent back to Elrich to try and attain passage to the Sumorland."

Sumorland, I had heard that somewhere before. Did Amoris mention it? I couldn't recall. With everything that had been happening you couldn't blame me for forgetting something. I looked up Sumorland.

*Sumorland, the habitable part of the Abyss. Sumorland is a peaceful paradise for the souls ruled over by the gods. Reincarnation is the cornerstone of the religion of Elrich. Once a soul has either completed several positive cycles of reincarnation or has done some great meritorious deed in their life, they may choose to enter Sumorland. By following a life of piety, charity, and morality one can work to achieve the goal of Sumorland.

Living a life opposite to the three main creeds will result in a negative cycle of reincarnation leaving the soul further away from Sumorland. Do not rape, steal, or murder. These are rules that every man of every race can agree on. Live a life bringing misery and hardships to others, your soul will collect negativity.

Hellscape, and area of the Abyss where a soul that has lived a life of negativity gather. The soul will go through cycles living through their worst nightmares. They are shown the error of their ways in hopes that they will retain some of the lessons learned after reincarnation. Once their soul is cleansed they can enter the cycle of rebirth and once again strive for Sumorland.

If you live a life that strives for positivity, being a decent person, then your soul will collect positivity. You can gain more positivity by following the god's will, helping your fellow man, and by living a life free of sins.

Sumorland can be achieved by anyone of any race since the soul is race-less. A soul is a soul, it has no social standings, race affiliations, or prominence. All are equal upon death and Edomael is the judge of your soul. He alone determines if you are worthy of Sumorland, The God's Paradise.~

Sumorland was like heaven and the gods lived there. So it was like a retirement home for souls who've accumulated enough positivity in their soul cycles. So this must have been what Amoris was talking about when she said that souls were refusing to reincarnate. After what was most likely several reincarnation cycles a soul could finally get some peace. If given a choice between reincarnating again and living in paradise, the choice seemed obvious. Why would you want to give that up once you've finally achieved your spiritual goal?

With a flash of light, Aequitas appeared to the side of the platform. She had Sir Marl by the elbow. The poor man seemed a bit dazed. He looked pale and a bit shaky as if his nerves were dancing on knife edges. She left him standing there running his hand through his sparse hair over and over again. Every few seconds he'd shake his head as if he had water in his ears. I wondered for a second if the poofing godly travel didn't agree with him or if it was just the way he reacted after meeting a king.

Aequitas held up a piece of paper. It had some sort of red blob on it. I could only guess it was a wax seal since I had seen similar things in the movies. I didn't actually know anyone who used them in real life. Some people in the crowd began to murmur. Apparently, they saw more to it than I did.

"This is a document officially stating that the gods have a higher authority in judicial matters over the king. Copies will be circulated through all my temples so that the people know and understand. We realize that intervention like this is uncommon and we take no offense at your lack of knowledge regarding the hierarchy in these matters.

"In any case, the point is that a Godly Triumvirate is the highest form of judicial law in Elrich. This means that the execution of Ex-Lord Horace Holjior can commence."

There was a resounding applause following this, even one cheer. It seemed like Ex-Lord Holjior was not well liked. Considering his crimes, I guess it made sense that he had probably wronged other people in lesser ways.

Amoris and Aequitas moved to either side of the platform leaving Edomael. He stood in front of the prisoners and waved his hand.

"You're wrong..."

"You insufferable..."

"I don't want to die..."

All the prisoners started talking over each other at once. The only silent one was the magistrate. Edomael must have canceled whatever magic he had been using to keep them still and quiet. One of the young men tried to fling himself off the platform only to find that his feet were stuck in place as if glued. He tried to drag himself, digging into the wood with his nails desperately trying to get away. He was screaming and crying and beating his head against the wood in frustration.

The other young man decided to just collapse in a heap of sobbing. He had curled up in on himself like an armadillo. Looking at the stains forming on his pants he had wet himself again.

Edomael approached the elder John first. He just stood there swearing at Edomael. Edomael leaned in and said something inaudible. Then he touched the man's forehead with his index finger.

It was as quick as that. There wasn't anything showy, no flashes of light. Edomael touched his finger to the elder John's head and then the man was falling down dead.

At first, I didn't really understand what had happened. I honestly was expecting an ax or for them to use the noose. I didn't for one second think that Edomael would just touch the man to death. It was more than a bit disconcerting. I tried to count in my head how many times he had touched me. I obviously wasn't dead so it had to be something Edomael had to will happen. It left me feeling a bit queasy.

Edomael moved on to the young man who had curled up and was crying. He bent down and brushed the hair from the man's face. The man gave a high pitched squeal and jerked away. Once again he said something then touched the man's forehead. The crying stopped and the body that had been all tensed up relaxed. He was dead.

Next was the other young man. His fingers were bleeding at this point and he had snot running down his face. He was screaming non-stop, not stopping to take enough air and was having periodic coughing fits. He jerked his head down and away violently when Edomael bent down. Edomael didn't waste any time on him. He said whatever it was he was telling each man and touched the back of the young man's head. The screaming stopped.

Magistrate Givens was next. He had chosen not to berate the gods and instead spat at Edomael when he approached. A glob of spit stopped about an inch from Edomael's chest and fell to the ground without touching him. Shaking his head, Edomael spoke then touched Magistrate Givens. The Magistrate fell into a heap like the elder John.

Ex-Lord Holjior wasn't stopping. He seemed determined to tell off everyone.

"I demand to see the king's orders. I don't believe for a moment he would allow this.

"You," he screamed at Sir Marl as Edomael killed the Magistrate and moved in front of him, "why aren't you stopping them. It's your duty to keep me alive. You stop him immediately! That is an order! Stop him, DAMN YOU!" Edomael muttered something and reached up to touch his forehead on the last words. Holjior jerked back and Edomael had to chase his head around as he bounced about in place. Finally, Edomael shrugged and grasped his arm. The body which had been off balance because of all the jerking away fell to the side with a loud crash.

Slowly, after waiting a few minutes the crowd began to murmur. Were the gods going to make any more speeches? Was this the end of it?

Amoris finally walked up to Edomael who had been standing in place looking down at the Ex-Lord. She wrapped her arm around his waist and they both poofed away. Aequitas gave a few orders to the commander then came down from the platform and stood before Conner.

"We are going to the Temple, I still haven't addressed the issues leading up to this mess. The guard members will follow along once this is cleaned up." She waved at the platform with the mother and the teenager. The woman had fainted, the boy had gotten sick on himself. Once again, I wondered why they had changed their minds on forcing them to watch.

Aequitas gripped Conner's elbow and they too poofed away.

No one seemed to want to stand around and talk. The other priests slowly walked away and the crowd began to disperse. Crue had started to wander off as well, but I stopped him with a grip on his sleeve. He turned and looked at me with a question written on his face.

"I've been given my own orders. I'm not supposed to leave you alone," I told him.

"I'll be fine, Eri. You don't need to worry about me," he tried to shake me off gently.

"Nope, they were very specific about this. Come with me," I tugged on Crue's sleeve. He meekly followed along.

The crowd flowed around us as more people went in opposite directions to get to their destinations. Some people stood around to watch the bodies being taken to the Temple of Edomael. Others gathered in groups to gossip about the day's events. My destination was just across the square, so we just had to skirt around the crowd.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Marge was standing outside with the rest of the girls. They had trays as well and were serving what looked like little doughnut holes. The crowd in front of the inn was pressing as people stood in line for the cafe and to purchase Marge's balls. So I took Crue around to the side entrance.

To my surprise, Brawn Hilda from the Guild was standing behind the counter. She didn't have on her conical breastplate but still had the braids. She wore a simple brown dress with a thick leather belt around her ample waist. Over it all, she wore a blue pinafore and a matching blue kerchief over her hair.

She smiled at us and signaled us to sit at the bar. We made it to our seats before a couple who had just walked in took them. The tavern was very busy and it looked like only one of the girls was doing the serving for the entire room.

"Hello ducks, bit of a crowd today," said Brawn Hilda.

"It certainly is," I reached over the counter to shake her hand giving a halfhearted prayer that the huge woman wouldn't crush mine. "I'm Eri, I just rented a room."

"Oh yes, Marge did say something about letting the room out. You're planning to stay a bit. It's a nice change from the tourists. I'm Daisy, Marge's wife." Her grip was firm and dwarfed my own palm considerably.

"I believe I've seen you at the Guild Daisy."

"Why yes you most likely have," she laughed. "I well know that there aren't many ladies my size wondering around the Guildhall. Me and Marge we stand out a wee bit."

"Well, it's nice getting to know you without having that ax by your side," I joked with her.

"Now boy I wouldn't be using my ax on you," she gave me a wink, "you're just not my type."

She beamed at me then glanced at Crue. He had been silent during this exchange and being a good proprietress she understood when someone wanted to be left alone. She looked at Crue in his priestly attire and nodded knowingly.

"The table in the corner will be open in about ten minutes if you want to order now, Netty can have it finished by the time the table is cleared. Caryl won't mind letting you have the table for as long as you like if you make sure to give her a decent tip beforehand." Daisy said nodding at the tall, slim, blonde girl with a very prominent Adam's apple waiting tables.

"Today, Netty has made her signature mochi balls. They are a sweet made with pounded rice flour. They are sticky and can be served with honey to make them even stickier. There are four balls per serving. She's made pumpkin, apple, and sweet potato flavors today. I would suggest trying all three."

"Are those the doughnut hole looking things the girls are selling outside?" I asked.

"Yes, but they aren't fried. She doesn't make them often, she started them yesterday and just happened to finish her first batches today. When she makes them, we usually have to hire local children to help with the work. They love that they can get paid and they get to take as many rejects home as they like." Daisy leaned in, "I suspect that she messes up a batch or two on purpose just for the little ones." She laughed as if she shared a big secret.

"We'll start with one of each flavor. What is for dinner tonight?"

"Lamb stew with potatoes, carrots, peas, seasonal squash, and onion. That comes with fresh bread. We have some breaded then fried lamb nuggets with sweet and sour sauce served with rice. Finally, we have sliced lamb served over flatbread with cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumber sauce. We also have sweet potatoes that can be ordered today separate from the main meal. It comes with a butter and brown sugar sauce. You can also have your choice of the house ale, water, tea, or cider."

"I think I will have the lamb nuggets, and I'd like a sweet potato," I glanced at Crue. When it looked like he'd just sit there I nudged him with my elbow.

"I'm not hungry," he said.

"He'll take the stew and another potato," I said firmly.

"I'm not hungry," he said again.

"You will be when the food comes out. You need to eat. Not eating isn't going to fix anything, so you might as well enjoy a good meal. Besides drinking on an empty stomach is a bad idea."

"Drinking?" he asked.

"I'm sure you ladies have something stronger than your house ale that will still taste wonderful with our meals?" I asked Daisy and gave her my best impression of a charming smile.

She smiled back, "To tell you the truth our house ale is watered down for public consumption. Marge actually brews it to be strong enough to drop a dwarf. Since your room is right upstairs it won't be any big inconvenience to toss you both in bed when you hit the floor."

Crue winced at her choice of words. Realizing what she had said she reached over the counter and patted his arm.

"Sorry, duck. I wasn't thinking. It's a bad state of affairs that happened today, I'll pour you some of Marge's finest and you just sit there and forget about it tonight, alright." She patted his arm again and waved to Caryl that she was going to the back.

"Did you know that where I'm from you aren't allowed to drink until you are twenty-one." I glanced over at Crue to see if he was paying attention. He didn't react so I kept talking. "People are considered adults at age eighteen. We can join the army at eighteen and die for our country. We can vote for our elected government officials at eighteen. Heck, at sixteen we are allowed to drive giant speeding metal death machines, but we are not allowed to drink alcohol." Partway through my talk Crue began to glance in my direction. I think it was the part about driving a car that got his interest.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I'm not really certain why it was put in place like that. However, they've done studies that show that a person's brain isn't fully formed until they are in their twenties. Drinking causes loss of brain cells. On a developing brain, this isn't a good thing. I think that's why it's generally accepted that you aren't allowed to drink until you are twenty-one. So, what we are about to do will literally make us dumber. You still up for it?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes," he said with a very slight crook of his mouth.

"Good answer, generally the teenagers back home wouldn't wait until they were old enough either. It's considered a social thing to drink with a group of friends illegally."

"We drink socially with friends and work acquaintances." He nodded at a group of four older men near the center of the room who were sharing a plate of the mochi balls and drinking the house ale. "I would bet that those men aren't really friends, but work together. They all have that hammer hung off their belts." For a brief moment, I wondered if they were the one who erected the platform in such a short amount of time. I wasn't going to ask with Crue in the mood he was in.

"You mean you can go out drinking with your boss and it's considered acceptable? Wouldn't it be bad if you got drunk and told your boss off for being a dick?"

"Well, that would be unfortunate, but generally it's fine to go drinking with your co-workers. It's supposed to support camaraderie in the workplace."

"Sounds like a recipe for getting fired to me," I commented.

Crue nodded at the wisdom of this, as Daisy approached with two mugs and a plate of the mochi. Her timing was perfect as she came around the counter the people who had been sitting at the table she had mentioned paid Caryl and stood up to leave. The couple who had been standing in the doorway got angry when they saw Daisy taking us to 'their' table. Caryl had to go talk to them and offered them our seats at the counter. They took those, but the woman was complaining the entire time.

Daisy snorted, overhearing the woman bitching and demanding to speak to the owner. She knew people, it wasn't right to be treated like a second-class citizen. Did Caryl know who her father was? He could have this entire tavern shut down, he was on the council.

"So Duck, do you think your papa is going to have time to deal with a little girl who is angry because she had to wait her turn? After all, the council is now three members short," Daisy called the girl as she placed the mugs and mochi on the table for us.

The girl got red in the face and demanded to speak to the owner. She would have them all fired. She was a regular customer how dare they treat her like that.

"You're lying," Daisy told the girl bluntly as she took her spot behind the counter again. "I own this place and I have not once seen you here before."

"You are not the owner, everyone knows the owner is a man," the girl scoffed as the man beside her tried to get her to be quiet. Several customers who probably were regulars gasped or began shifting their chairs to get a view of the ruckus.

Daisy looked up in the doorway, two more people were standing in line waiting for a table.

"Looks like two more spots have just opened up at the bar, would you like to sit here or wait for a table?" Daisy asked them from across the room. She was able to do so because the tavern had gotten quieter. It was definitely louder outside than it was in the room. I thought I could actually hear Florence trying to attract customers outside.

"I don't see any other seats," the girl turned her nose up at Daisy acting as if she were daft.

"Of course there are because you are leaving. Get out. You are not welcome here," Daisy pointed to the door.

"My father," the girl began, but Daisy interrupted.

"Is not you. You can be sure I will address your behavior with Fromer at the next council meeting." Daisy looked at the girls face. "Oh honey, didn't you know. My wife and I have a shared seat on the city council representing the innkeepers. I do know your father, and he would be appalled that you are using his position to try and get your way." The girls face had been going this odd shade of puce as Daisy talked.

"Furthermore, I know that you are supposed to be apprenticing to Ginny. Does your father know you've been skipping out on your work to meet with a guy in a tavern?"

The girl stood up and stormed out. The poor guy apologizing in her wake.

The couple who had been waiting did decide to take the two vacant spots.

"How many council seats are there?" I asked Crue.

"It depends. They try to have a representative of each of the merchant sectors. There is usually one person representing House Holjior, someone to oversee the finances, someone who represents the judicial system, the Guild, a healer from one of the temples, someone they hire to promote tourism, then the various groups of merchants. Nearly every location that has a hot spring has a representative too. Dickson is a representative for our hot spring."

"That girl is in here every other week with a new guy," Caryl placed a bowl of stew in front of Crue along with a basket of fresh bread. She also placed a sweet potato that was covered in a buttery glaze to the side. "I'll be right back." She left and returned with my lamb nuggets that were served with a pineapple sweet and sour sauce over a bed of rice. She gave me a sweet potato as well.

"So, she is sort of a regular. She likes to treat us as lower than servants though. Daisy knew about this and called her out on her manners." Caryl smiled and placed a hand on her hip. Her beak of a nose twitched in mirth and her Adam's apple bobbed as she spoke. "I hope she gets told off well and good by her papa.

"If you boys need anything just wave and I'll be right over." With that, she took off to clear another table that had been left vacant.

I bit into a nugget as Crue stirred his stew. The sauce was sweet and tangy with hints of pineapple and carrots. The meat inside the nuggets were perfection. It was very like Chinese takeout on Earth, but no Chinese takeout place I'd ever been to had lamb. It made for a fuller bodied flavor. I wondered if the lamb had been marinated in something prior to being breaded and fried.

The sweet potato didn't really go with my meal, but on its own was really good. I peeled back the skin and the smell of cinnamon sugar hit me. I took a bite and it was super sweet. My meal tonight consisted of a lot of sweet foods.

Crue was steadily working his way through his potato as well. He had taken a bite of the stew, determined it was still too hot for consumption and began to work on the sweet potato while it cooled. He took a drink of the ale Daisy placed on the table and made a very peculiar face.

"Have you tried this yet?" he asked lifting the mug.

"Not yet," I raised mine and took a cautious sip. Daisy had said it would floor us so I didn't want to go into it with a gulp.

I was more than half expecting paint thinner. What I got was a dark full-bodied taste with hints of citrus, but it had a heat to it that made it seem spicy. It burned a bit like a shot of straight liquor, which was something I'd never had happen with any sort of beer variety.

"It's good, but I've never had anything like it," I commented sipping again, contemplating the taste. It had the lingering flavor of oranges.

"I think it might be Dwarven Rue," Crue said under his breath, "or maybe Marge's own take on it. I've never actually had Dwarven Rue so I can't be certain."

"What's Dwarven Rue?" I asked in a normal tone.

"Shhhh," Crue made the hand gesture for me to lower my voice, "not something you want to advertise that Marge has. It's highly sought after by the right people because...

"Oh," he placed a hand to his temple, "wait for it."

Not even a few seconds later I was placing my own hand to my head. The buzzy feeling hit me all at once. I could literally feel all my muscles forcing themselves to relax. A warm feeling began at my core and spread to the rest of my body in waves. It felt less like getting drunk and more like a shot of painkiller in the emergency room.

"It's only made by dwarves. Dwarven Rue while not as addicting as other substances does have its own addicts. It's not regulated that strongly because it's not often that you find it outside of dwarven territories.

The dwarves have naturally high alcohol tolerances. For them to get drunk they've come up with some rather surprising brews. One of them is Dwarven Rue.

It's not addicting to them, but they recognize the problem other races have with their strong brews. There are people who specifically go into dwarven territories to purchase the brews in order to sell them, but with transport, the cost of it skyrockets so that it's unaffordable to the masses. The dwarves themselves keep the brewing methods a secret so that they can maintain a monopoly of the trade."

"I can see how someone could become addicted to this," I held my hand to my head just to make sure it was still stable. With the other hand, I took a bite of my food. Perhaps food would lessen the effects of the drink. I had intended for Crue to get drunk and forget his guilt for a little while, but I hadn't anticipated this.

"If it is Dwarven Rue, I'm honestly surprised Marge can make it. It's not every dwarf that has that sort of skill and the ones who do don't normally leave the dwarven territory. I wonder why she left." Crue was tearing up bits of bread and mixing them with his stew.

"Well, probably the obvious I would think." I had finished off my super sweet potato and began working on my lamb nuggets.

"What do you mean?" Crue was digging into his stew and taking small sips from his mug every third bite. I drank mine at a much slower pace. With each sip, you got a renewal of the warm heat sensation a few seconds later.

"While I don't know much about dwarves, I know that many people would be judgmental of Marge's lifestyle. She probably left so she could be Marge."

"I see your point. Truthfully, I'm not very knowledgeable about dwarven society. I've always assumed that it was similar to human. People in this town love Marge, they love her business savvy and what she's done to bring money into the town. However, other areas of the kingdom aren't so tolerant. Most of the girls that work here are actually from those other areas. Not one of them is a native to Yellow Springs."

We ate in silence for a while contemplating the injustices placed upon innocent people just trying to be who they were meant to be. Caryl cleared our dishes when we were finished and Crue and I being more than a little drunk only half way through our mug, split up the mochi. Both of us got two of each flavor. There was a small pot of honey that Daisy had left with us if we decided we wanted to sweeten them.

I bit into an apple mochi. It was chewy! Chewy, and doughy, and sticky all at the same time. The apple tasted more like fresh cider than apples, but it was still very good. I tried the second one with a bit of honey and found that the honey complimented the cider flavor.

The sweet potato mochi actually tasted sort of like the baked sweet potatoes we had just had for dinner. The flavors were all there. While this mochi was still chewy and doughy it was less sticky and a bit drier than the apple. The honey made the sweet potato mochi almost too sweet. I cleansed my pallet with a sip of Marge's mysterious ale.

The pumpkin flavor was more subtle. Like the apple mochi, it had a wetter consistency but tasted more like roasted pumpkin than the pumpkin pie flavor I was looking forward too. It was still very tasty, but it wasn't my favorite flavor among the three. When honey was added, the honey tended to overwhelm the pumpkin flavor altogether.

We still ended up ordering more of them though. Caryl brought over another plateful of the mochi. I didn't count, but I think Crue and I ended up eating a total of twelve servings each. Oddly enough, the mochi really complimented the flavor of the ale.

Crue and I sat and talked for what seemed like hours. Unfortunately, I don't think we were actually talking to each other. We were both pretty shot by the time we finished our sweets and drink.

Several times a notification appeared in front of me. I had to ignore them because I couldn't read them. If it was that important then maybe they should make themselves readable. It was quite rude of them to be written in gibberish. I soundly told them off. Crue was laughing so hard he had hiccups.

Daisy came over at one point and made certain I left a decent tip for Caryl before 'assisting' us up the stairs to my room. Neither of us could walk at this point and I know I had problems figuring out exactly how my legs were supposed to work.

Daisy was a duck, she took off our shoes and made sure we were nicely tucked into my bed. She made sure we both drank some water, and she left two paper packets of something on the table. She said we'd need it in the morning. I think I may have tried to sing opera too her. If I did she was kind enough to ignore it.

Shortly after she left we both passed out. I fell asleep to the sound of Crue's light snoring.

*Skill Gain Alcohol Tolerance ~

*Skill Gain Party Tricks~

*Skill Gain Singing~