It was a rare treat to grab a meal in town, but growing up I was always taken to the Seared Tusk by my grandfather every time we got paid for a big order. The seared tusk itself is well known for a couple things, mainly its cheap food, kegs of good beer, and its rowdy customers. However, it was my grandpa's favorite place to eat when we were in town, both because he was good friends with the guy who owned the tavern, and because he could often make a few golds off of those who are drunk and want to keep going with some herbal drunkenness remedies.
As I opened the door the tavern was bustling with people. In the corner of the room there was a bard playing songs as I saw a pair of elves and a dwarf between them all with their arms around each other's shoulders, though the dwarves feet were a good 2 ft off the ground as he swung, their faces red with alcohol as they slurred the words to the song and danced like nobody could see them. As I walked over to the bar I saw Eustus the elf, and from what grandpa had told me he was in his 400's. His four great grandchildren were born recently, but like all elves he held that youthful luster that made him look like he was only just starting to approach his 40's. As I made my way over to the bar he turned with a grin and said,
"Aiden, good timing, do you have some of that sobering herb thing?"
As I sat down at the bar I nodded and looked up with a grin,
"That depends on what you all have on tonight's menu."
Eustus reached below the counter and grabbed a menu and slid it my way as a cups started floating up around him, getting filled with beer and being moved to various patrons in the room. It's a trick I always loved seeing, especially from the rare psionic class. As I turned to my bag, I started to look through my vials of herbs and potions, Belramba, no that's used to sooth fears, Ironsplit, no that helps see in the dark, here it is, Hangover helper, a powder mix of study leaves for focus, and alleha for higher metabolism. I held up the vial and a small cup of water was slid in front of me where I mixed the correct amount in and called over Misty who was currently flying around with the cups chirping happily. She flew over and started to mix the herbs and water together by swimming trough them and chirping as a small vortex was formed. The cup floated away and made its way to the table of a full blood beastman wolf. He wore a set of loose-fitting clothes and a set of wrappings around their paws that resembled those of a boxer, but had he not been wearing clothes I would have guessed a wolf had wandered into the bar, been offered a drink and gotten wasted. He looked pretty well built and thinking back on my knowledge of the classes I figured he could be a guardian, maybe a warrior, actually no, he is probably a pugilist. However, at the moment they seem rather incapacitated and swaying with the look of someone who had too much to drink. I watched as the swaying and red-faced beastman was lifted and the herb drink poured down his throat as he suddenly started squirming and thrashing, while coughing.
"What in the judged hells was that!?"
He yelped looking around the bar wildly as if looking for a bug that stung him. Eustus waved him over
"Welcome back to the land of the sober Jax, feeling better?"
"Yea, surprisingly so, what was that disgusting drink anyways."
Jax asked as he landed with a thump and jumped up with his front legs on the counter.
"It's of two parts alleha and one part study leaves that helps get rid of hangovers."
I said as I looked to see if there were any changed to the menu.
"Wow, if you fix the taste, you could be rich."
Jax said throwing his head back in a laugh. He looked up at me and held out a paw,
"Nice to meet you, the names Jax, Jax Stormcaller, a traveling pugilist who is trying to start an adventuring party."
I held out my own hand to shake
"Aiden Hallowcreek, an alchemist that supplies a little shop in town."
"So, you make potions, how does that even work? Just like tossing stuff in a pot and stirring?"
Jax asked in a muffled voice as he seemed to lightly nibble at what I assume was a scratch on his forelegs. I chuckled at the simplicity he implied as I heard Eustus set down a plate in front of me with the steak bites and caramel onions, a favorite meal of mine I always get when I am here, and I didn't even have to ask, this is the privilege of being the owner's friend.
"It's a bit more complex than that, but in some simpler recipes that's the case."
I said as I took a bite of steak and tossed it to my mouth and let the savory meat melt for a minute.
"Is there a potion to give me thumbs?"
Jax asked in a coy tone. It was a classic joke fullblood beastman would make, asking production classes if they can make a way for them to have thumbs, but there are always beastman who want them, especially those with a melee class. Jax's stomach growled a bit as he turned to the menu that Eustus sat in front of him as he started to look his choices over. We sat for a moment as the bar behind us continued in its rowdy nature before a question came to mind.
"So, what brings you to Hopestone?"
I asked as I took a bite of the onions.
"Well, I'm here for two reasons, the first is because I'm trying to assemble a team, and I figured a new city would be a place a lot of adventurers come for opportunities, and the second is because I'm here for a quest with a big break that's going to be the start of my adventuring career."
I thought back to the next 7 Stars book that sat in my bag for the cart ride back up the mountain. How it had begun with a big quest that marked the beginning of their journey.
"What kind of quest is it?"
I asked as I finished my dinner. Jax looked back and forth before leaning in and whispering
"I have been tasked with investigating a strange smoke that is supposed to be on the mountaintop and messing with the wildlife."
"Well, if you want to know things about the mountain, Aiden is your guy, he actually lives on the mountain and only comes down to the city every two weeks or so."
Eustus said as he took my plate after clearly eavesdropping. I turned to Eustus with a bit of a confused look as Jax gave me a broad smile as his tail started wagging.
"Thats great, maybe you can help me with the quest then, Potions are practically essential for adventurers."
Jax said with a look of excitement in his eyes. I-I'm not sure, I started to say turning to Eustis for help.
"You keep saying you need help with the firewood, and I'm sure that Jax would be happy to cut firewood for the winter if you help him explore the mountain and stay at your place while he does his quest."
Eustus said with the helpfulness of a bad batch of herbs for a potion with the deadline close.
"That sounds perfect, I'm happy to cut lumber and stuff for you, lead the way."
Jax said as he jumped down from his bar stool and rushed for the door seeming to forget anything about ordering dinner.
"H-Hold on, I still have to pay for dinner."
I called after him still trying to wrap my head around what was happening. As he headed out the door into the slowly dimming street that was bustling with people I turned to Eustis.
"Is this revenge for a prank I did years ago or something?"
I asked, remembering back that Elves often get people back for things years after the fact.
"You say that like this is a punishment, you used to always come in here with your grandfather saying you would become an adventurer, I'm handing you a quest you can try to see if you really want to be one on a fancy, hairy alcoholic platter."
I turned to the doors as I thought about my current life and position. I have a nice thing going, adventuring is something people with big dreams and a hard drive follow, not the little alchemist in the mountains. However, as I stared at the doors a smaller, fainter part of me thought back to a memory with my grandpa. You will never know anything without trying something. I turned to the bar, where I saw lumberers, shop owners, and more eating and drinking, but as I looked, I also saw some adventurers, laughing, talking about something that was drowned out by the commotion in the tavern but seemed to be a story of their adventures. My mind flashed back to my grandfather's saying as I headed for the door.