
Xanadu Weyr - Wanderin' Wherry Tavern
It is often whispered in the crowds that converge here, that a certain Weyrleader was asked what he wanted in the remodeling of the pub that was not so long ago given a refreshing. He muttered back over the rim of his ever-present mug, "I don't care what you do with the place, just so long as there is plenty of ale." With that in mind, cask after cask of ale lines the walls of the tavern, the remodeler's idea of a jest. As they age, the casks bring a real rustic atmosphere to the pub, along with the deeply wooden flavor that seems to be the theme throughout.
The lighting is dim, as it should be in all good pubs, and the tables and chairs are plentiful. A long mahogany bar, intricately carved with runner beasts, stands vigilant duty at the head of the bar, lined with stools for those patrons that seek the bartender's company.
Neferennu is enjoying a warm bowl of stew at a table in the corner. Along with it is a mug of steaming klah. Next to her is her journal, where she writes down her experiences in the survival camp and the hatching of Kilaueth's eggs.
Thea enters the pub still rubbing her arm, which is looking a bit shiny. She sniffs the air as she looks around, then spots Rennu and heads towards her table. "So you decided to come here first, huh? I had the same thought. Mind if I sit?" She motions to the bartender, "Can you bring me a big piece of whatever pie I smell baking?"
Neferennu smiles up to Thea and then shakes her head, motioning towards a seat across from her. "Have a seat. Yeah, I was /so/ hungry for a bowl of stew. There is only so much fish I can eat." A soft chuckle and then her eyes turn back to her journal, writing out about eating fish, crabs, and bugs for so long she'll refuse fish for dinner for a month.
R'miel wanders into the tavern. He needs a nice hot meal, one not pre-cooked for all the weyr's inhabitants, and one not cooked by himself either. Plus he needed a brew or two. The bronzer moves into the pub and heads to the bar to order, then takes a moment to look around, spotting two of the female candidates hanging out. He moves over to peer at them, though his expression is sort of lost in his glasses. "Ahem. What do you two think you're doing here?"
Thea slides into the chair opposite Rennu's with a sigh, "Food. Real food. I can't wait." Seems they got in from the wilderness too late for the meal in the Caverns. As the plate of pie is set in front of her, she slides the required coins across to the man and she digs in. "Mmm, no berries in it, either." She blinks up at R'miel's question, standing hastily and saluting the Rider, but since she's not ready to swallow, she answers around half-chewed pastry and apple filling. "Eating." It's fairly obvious. She swallows and as a moth to the flame, she slowly sits back down and follows the first bite with a second, "Sir." It's a juicy and mumbled sort of sir but hey— she remembered.
Neferennu turns to look at R'miel and gives a warm smile, then nods to what Thea said. "Eating something other than berries or fish. I am so tired of fish sir." A hasty salute, spoon still in hand, which sends broth onto her nose. This is quickly wiped away with her sleeve and more stew is eaten, followed by a drink of the klah, not even spiked. A smile is given to Thea as the other candidate digs into the pie and just gets bigger as it has only apples in it. "Ah, to have good herdbeast and wherry again. Also, not be worried about felines attacking during the night." This thought reminds her of something else, and her eyes return to her journal. Stylus is picked up once more to write about her assumption of the dragon bones found in the cave, along with the hermit that disappeared into that labyrinth underground.
M'ori pulls off a flying helmet as he enters the tavern. "Where did that rider say she'd gone. Oh." M'ori made for the bar and seated himself by Neferennu and R'miel. "Hello there." He says in a friendly fashion. The bronzerider orders a local fruit liquer. "And please, just a hint of lime?" The bartender nods and begins to prepare his drink.
R'miel chuckles at Thea. "You two better not be pounding back the brews. One or two, that's all you get. At least in public." Ram however, is going to pound back the brews in front of them. And he sets about it as soon as his mug is dropped off in front of him. He invites himself to their table. "And it's R'miel. Remember? Shards, they've got you both scared." He grins. "So you both had fun at the camp then, I take it? I wasn't allowed back after the sinkhole incident. Told me I was too valuable as a rider or something blah blah… Niva's face gets really red when she gets mad. Ysa's too, now that I think about it." R'miel nods to M'ori as he takes a seat.
Thea giggles with her mouth full of pie — bad idea. When she sees Rennu's stew broth land on her nose, it just hits her funnybone but now she has laughed pie into her sinuses. She gags for a moment then manages to half-hawk the pie back into her throat. She swallows. No way is she about to waste one single bite. Her mouth is clear this time when R'miel speaks as he joins them at their table, "Yes Sir! All I crave is sugar.' And now there's another Bronzer to salute, which she does after laying her fork down reluctantly. She quirks a brow at Rennu, "You were worried about felines? I was too tired to do anything but sleep." She moves her chair so M'ori can fit his in.
Neferennu laughs at R'miel's comment about red faces when the weyrwomen are angry. "Well, I think all riders are important, not that no one else is but I'm a dragonhealer so…" Let's just leave it at that. A couple more notes is put into her journal before it is closed and the stylus put above her ear. Then as someone else sits down, she looks at him for a moment and then recognizes him. "Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive. M..oh shells, I just forgot your name sir. Your the one who owns the shop in Ierne for clothing though." Her chair is scooted over as well, then before she says anything else, two more bites of stew are taken. No comment about alcohol from this candidate..nope.
M'ori arherms. "M'ori, miss Neferennu. Pardon me Weyrsecond, I came to meet candidate Neferennu. I'm on a buying trip and I was hoping I could purchase some of her massage oils for my shop." M'ori says politely. His drink is set down and he takes a healthy swig of the fruit wine. Thea's difficulty with the pie has him almost choking on the liquer in laughter however, and he arherms to keep from spraying the alcohol over the bar.
R'miel chuckles at Thea. "Sounds dangerous. Though I'm not one to talk. I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself." A bit? He grins to Rennu. "Well, it was something about if I wanted to go get myself killed I ought to just between and get it over and done with rather than taking a bunch of candidates with me or something. Ysa yelled at me, too. Like I was supposed to know there'd be a sinkhole there." Ram nods to M'ori. "Feel free, bronzer. We've bought oils from her as well, my weyrmate and I." Though those days were mostly over now, since Ysa insisted their oils come from some other source.
Thea doesn't notice M'ori's smothered laughter or his difficulty with it; she's too busy concentration on the cinnamon-sweet pastry in front of her. R'miel's comment about red faces does draw a half-smile. She takes a less of a bite this time, swallowing before musing with a half-wink, "Maybe they were just afraid you'd loose all the Candidates and leave the eggs with no prospects." She reconsiders, "On the other hand it could have been the thought of loosing their best tart-maker." Oil…her eyes go from Rennu to R'miel to M'ri. There's a story here.
"Ah yes, M'ori." Neferennu repeats and then gives a smile towards R'miel before turning back to M'ori. "Yes, they used to buy oil from me a couple months ago. As far as remember, they liked them too. Though I haven't made any more since I agreed to stand for the clutch, I have about thirty or so bottles ready to be sold down in the stores. I can't remember what they are right now, but my listing is down there as well. How many were you looking to buy?" A warm smile and then a laugh at Thea as she mentions tart. "Yeah, they probably wouldn't be too pleased to lose that. The pies have gotten even better."
M'ori hmmms, plucking a notepad out of his pocket and consulting it. "I can take all thirty bottles. What's your going price?" M'ori asked, fumbling in his pockets for a writing implement. "They'll go quite nicely with the makeup and cosmetics coming in." He looks over at Neferennu for her response.
R'miel chuckles. "Maybe. I'm sure Ella would have been mad. Ysa probably not so much." He grins. "You didn't even try one of the finished product, from what I can recall. Which is a shame, since the glaze came out really good." He takes a swig of his beer as Rennu and M'ori talk business, keeping his attention on Thea instead. "You'll just have to stop by next time I make a batch to have a few. You like redfruit, then? Or just sick of berries right now?"
"Belly! Belly! I hope ya got some of my good brew!" Ysa's humming is cut off by her loud voice, already well on her way to being plastered for the day. Someone was definitely in a good mood. Or it was probably just her being wasted already, as her red-rimmed face was apparent even in her darker skin. Those in the tavern aren't noticed just yet, especially when she was focused on the round bartender, beaming up to him as charming as she can when she was already drunk. "Ya know what I like, love, so don't be slow about it." She winks to him, and then proceeds to drum her fingers on the counter top.
Thea scoops another forkful of pastry, smiling back at Rennu around the fork as she sticks it in her mouth. She swallows, "Especially since they started putting wine into them." R'miel's comment causes her to cough for some reason, a bit of a flush tinging her cheeks. She scrapes her plate of the leftover juice as he continues. ""Next time you make some, I will," She says smoothly. "Berries I like but not after eating them every day for… however many days we were out there." Rennu is doing business with M'ori, so she doesn't interrupt that. Her gaze wanders and, oh there's a Ysa at the bar. But at least she's buying the stuff this time. A bit of an apprehensive glance slides towards Rennu..sitting at the same table as…R'miel. Uh, oh.
Neferennu looks over between R'miel and Thea for a moment, an eyebrow raised in curiosity about Ram making pastries the next time. It is at that point that she hears Ysa and turns to see where she is at. From the looks, the woman is drunk, which could be good or bad. Since the weyrwoman's back is turned, there is no salute to her and instead she scoots her chair just a bit closer towards M'ori. "Oh, I'm asking about half a mark per bottle. Cost of the bottle and oil mostly. Though if you have some bottles, I can fill them for you for a quarter of a mark." A smile and she has left plenty of leeway for bargaining in there. While waiting for a response, stew is spooned into her mouth to calm her growling stomach. A longing look is sent towards Ram's and M'ori's drink but that can wait.
M'ori jumps at Ysa's slightly tipsy entrance and shakes his head before telling Neferennu. "Whatever you have on hand at the moment is fine." His curiousity at Thea's pastry becomes too much, he asks Thea. "Do they sell those here? I'm in the mood for something sweet."
R'miel blinks at Ysa's entrance. Like anyone could miss /that/. He sighs a bit. Drunk again, it would seem. Seemed to the bronzer like most of the time he saw his weyrmate she was drunk or drinking to get drunk these days. His food comes in short order and he calls to his weyrmate. "Ysa, I ordered us some dinner." Well, he ordered himself dinner, but was now forced to share. He makes sure to put in an order for a pitcher of whatever it was Ysa was after. Then he turns back to Thea. "I'll drop some off for you." He gives the candidate a bit of a wink.
Ysa's drumming fingers only grow louder, and she's humming again though the smile stays on her face. A smile only for Beldar, as she watches the bartender painfully poor her a mug of dark ale. When she finally gets her hands on it, she spins around to the main room… and her smile falters. "Food? Who needs food?" she calls to her weyrmate with a bigger grin, if a bit stretched out. "What're y'all doing out here at this time? It's late, ain't it?" Definitely sounds drunker than normal. She moves towards their table, grabbing a chair and planting herself right in next to Ram and whichever girl was closest to him, not that she really looked their way as she takes a big gulp of her drink. "Thea! Don't I owe ya a drink? Or was that some other candidate now…"
Thea can't help it; the businesswoman in her won't let her. "Rennu, don't sell yourself short. Throw something in there for your labor—and the herbs you used. Otherwise you're just breaking even. What's the point of that?" She nods at M'ori's question, wordlessly points at the bartender. She's busily picking up all the pastry crumbs left on her plate and licking them off her finger, which she now waggles at R'miel with a grin, "Only if you make enough for me to share with the Barracks." Then Ysa's joining them and offering her a drink? Oh, no. "Ah it must've been someone else, Ma'am."
Neferennu turns towards Thea and shakes her head, motioning with her hand that her costs are actually lower. You very quickly learn to offer a higher price to eventually bargain down to a suitable one, or you don't stay in business long. A wink for the fellow candidate and then she scoots further closer to M'ori as Ysa sits down next to her. When the woman mentions alcohol, a snicker is luckily not passed through her lips and instead a couple more bites of food are eaten. "As I said, I have thirty assorted bottles on hand. Is a half a mark per bottle alright? That would make it about fifteen marks for the set." The klah is now taken into her hands and she is leaned back into her chair. The weyrwoman is still ignored, as long as the woman ignores her.
M'ori hmms, then groans, looking from Thea to Neferennu. Torn between /him/ making a profit and being a nice guy. "I'll pay 3/4ths a mark." There, nice save, that's fair isn't it. Wait! what was he saying? Outside Uluameth sputters in draconic laughter. "Your fellow candidate is right, and I got very good profits for the first couple of months. i can afford just a little higher than normal." He says sheepishly.
"You need food." R'miel informs his weyrmate. After all, Ysa had been taking in most of her calories these days in ale form. There's no complaints from the bronzer as the goldrider finally takes a seat next to him. Though he does sigh about the food. He reaches up to rub Ysa's back gently. "How do you owe a candidate a drink, love?" He grins to Thea. "Only if you ask nice, in that case. I don't think all of them slackers deserve /my/ pastries. Right, love?"
"I had food," Ysa tells Ram, sticking her tongue out at him. She squints her eyes at Thea for a long moment before she shakes her head. "Ya sure? Ya still want one?" She sets her mug down on the table and turns to scowl in the business-end of the table, wrinkling her nose up towards Rennu. It looks like she's about to drop another chore when she finds a hand on her back and smirks back towards her weyrmate instead. "I have no idea what you're asking 'em to do. Who's a slacker and who's getting your food? I hope you're charging," she says, poking at his side before giggling.
Thea grins at Rennu completely understanding. She could have mentioned the labor and started higher, but… She shrugs. "And you can mark them up as high as you need to hmm, M'ori, Sir? And oh, sometime I need to speak to you about some fine, handwoven camelid shawls." Back to the tarts, "Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But special favors don't go over well in the Barracks and I don't like being pranked. I could help ya make 'em as long as you don't do the flip thingie over my back again." She smiles at Ysa guilelessly. "I'm sure Ma'am. How about pie? It's very good tonight."
Neferennu laughs softly and then nods. "As you wish. That will be…" A quick mental calculation is done while covering it with a sip of klah. "Ah yes, twenty two and a half marks. If you don't mind me finishing my dinner here first, I will help you load them up for transport." Not like there is much left, maybe a couple spoonfuls. Luckily when she looks at the weyrwoman, she has since turned her head back towards her weyrmate, then gives a questioning look to Thea. 'Better not take it just in case.' This is mouthed to the fellow candidate before her mug is set down and the last spoonfuls of stew are eaten.
M'ori nods and fumbles around in his pocket, carefully counting the marks without removing his hand before calling out to the barkeeper, "may i have one of the ones she has?" He asks politely and pays the extra for the pastry. "Whew. I"m glad I brought enough marks tonight."
R'miel grins at her. "Sure you did. Bar nuts and pastries don't count, love. You need some meat in you." He leans over to kiss Ysa's cheek. Keep her happy, smiling, and drunk. That was the plan of action. "This one here was gonna get a pastry or two." He nods at Thea. "What do you think? Maybe that instead of a beer. Fair trade, right? Not sure if I want to bake for the rest of you though. We'll have to see how good a mood I'm in." R'miel eyes his weyrmate though while he works on his food. She was already getting close to the cut off point.
Ysa had a cut off point? Look at her chug that ale! "I had some real food in the caverns earlier. Not my fault ya didn't see me in there, love," she tells him with a wink before turning to squint towards Thea again. "A pie? Well, that's for ya, if ya really want. One glass won't really hurt!" But she wasn't giving the candidate any chance, chugging at the only mug. "Aren't ya a gentleman," she says towards M'ori, putting on her best grin. "Plenty of marks to spend on all of us here?" She winks to him before giggling again at her weyrmate's comment. "Oh, this one definitely," she says with a finger to Thea. "She's been nothing but respectful, I think." As far as this goldrider was aware of!
"Had," Thea corrects M'ori waving a forlorn fork at her now-empty plate. "Was so worth it though." Her eyes crinkle in amusement at R'miel and Ysa, "Not into beer or ale Sir, Ma'am, so sure, pastries. Some other time though. I'm full right now." Suuuuugar. She burps softly. "S'cuse me. My stomach's re-adjusting to a non-insect diet." She yawns and stands, "I need to get to sleep. Curfew's soon." And with a genral salute 'round the table she toddles off to her nice, warm…floor.