The pair of us walked into a tavern. At least, I was going to call it a tavern. It was mostly just a few chairs and tables under a tarp. It was truly the poorest dive I could imagine. The man behind the bar was a hairy beast of a guy who was missing half his teeth. He even spat into the cup he was washing to clean it. We weren’t the only ones in here, even though it was not quite evening yet and the sun was still out. I didn’t want to be in this area of town in the dark, so I was hoping we finished our business quickly. I’d even open a Portal rather than walking home in the dark.
“So, what are we doing here?” I whispered to Salicia.
“Hey! Barkeep! I’ll take a bottle of your best!” Salicia cried out as she approached the bar with her hand up. “I’ll also take any trade route maps or money rumors.”
“Just like that!” I let out a noise.
“Relax, Master, this place is a craphole. You think anyone here cares about codewords or caution?” She snorted. “Everyone’s a stranger!”
The man glared at both of us for a solid minute, and I was beginning to think that Salicia was completely wrong. Then, he reached under the counter and slammed a bottle on the table.
“10 gold, take it, or leave it.” He said in a deep, husky voice.
Salicia looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I sighed and pulled a pouch from my inventory, sliding it over to him. He didn’t even look as he cut it and then slid it under the counter. He reached and pulled out two glasses. He then popped off the bottle and started pouring. As he did so, he leaned toward the pair of us.
“I don’t have a map, but I know a guy who used to work with the Merchant’s Guild. He might be able to help. As for rumors, the money in Alerith runs deep. Even the local thieves and bandits are afraid to go after it. If you try to steal anything from this city, you’re as good as making a personal enemy of Lord Reign.”
When he said he didn’t have a map, I had felt gypped, but after his advice, I suddenly started to see the guy in a new light. He was warning us away from doing something stupid we might not be prepared for. It was admirable.
“Making an enemy out of the Lord might just be our bread and butter,” Salicia responded coyly, grabbing one of the glasses pushed in her direction.
Both eyes ended up on me.
“The drink, Master…” She looked down at the other glass. “You got to drink it?”
It looked like brown and water. I was not interested in it. However, the man’s look started to darken, so I equipped Poison Immunity and hoped for the best. We clicked our glasses together and slammed the drink down. I will give it one thing. It tastes exactly like it looks.