It was a rare treat to grab a meal in town, but growing up, Aiden had always been taken to the Seared Tusk by his grandfather every time they got paid for a big order.
The Seared Tusk itself was well known for a couple of things, mainly its cheap food, kegs of good beer, and rowdy customers. However, it had been his grandpa's favorite place to eat when they were in town, both because he was good friends with the man who owned the tavern and because he could often make a few gold off those who got drunk and wanted to keep going with some herbal drunkenness remedies.
Aiden opened the door to find the tavern bustling with people.
In the corner of the room, a bard was playing songs while a pair of elves and a dwarf between them all had their arms around each other's shoulders. The dwarf's feet were a good two feet off the ground as he swung between them, their faces red with alcohol as they slurred the words to the song and danced like nobody could see them.
Near the bar stood Eustus the elf. From what Grandpa had told him, Eustus was in his 400s. His four great-grandchildren had been born recently, but like most elves, he held that youthful luster that made him look like he was only just starting to approach his 40s.
When Aiden made his way over to the bar, Eustus turned with a grin and said,
"Aiden, good timing. Do you have some of that sobering herb thing?"
Aiden sat down at the bar and nodded.
"That depends on what you all have on tonight's menu."
Eustus reached below the counter, grabbed a menu, and slid it Aiden's way while mugs started floating up around him, getting filled with beer before being moved to various patrons in the room. It was a trick Aiden always loved seeing, especially from the rare psionic class.
Aiden turned to his bag and started to look through his vials of herbs and potions.
Belramba. No, that was used to soothe fears.
Ironsplit. No, that helped people see in the dark.
Here it is.
Hangover Helper. A powder mix of study leaves for focus and alleha for higher metabolism.
Aiden held up the vial, and a small cup of water was slid in front of him. He mixed the correct amount in and called over Misty, who was currently flying around with the cups and chirping happily.
She flew over and started to mix the herbs and water together by swimming through them, making a noise not unlike gargling as a small vortex formed.
The cup floated away and made its way to the table of a fullblood beastman wolf.
He wore a set of loose-fitting clothes and wrappings around his paws that resembled those of a boxer. Aiden knew about fullbloods, but the shaggyness of the beastkin would have made one guess a wolf had wandered into the bar, been offered a drink, and gotten wasted if not for the attire.
He looked pretty well built, and thinking back on his knowledge of the 77 classes, Aiden figured he could be a guardian. Maybe a warrior.
Actually no, he was probably a pugilist.
At the moment, however, he seemed rather incapacitated, swaying with the look of someone who had too much to drink.
Aiden watched the red-faced beastman get lifted while the herb drink was poured down his throat. He suddenly started squirming and thrashing while coughing.
"What in the judged hells was that!?"
He yelped, looking around the bar wildly as if searching for a bug that had stung him.
Eustus waved him over and said,
"Welcome back to the land of the sober, Jax. Feeling better?"
"Yeah, surprisingly so. What was that disgusting drink anyway?"
Jax asked this after landing with a thump and jumping up with his front legs on the counter.
"It's two parts alleha and one part study leaves. It helps get rid of hangovers."
Aiden said this while checking to see if there had been any changes to the menu.
"Wow. If you fixed the taste, you could be rich."
Jax threw his head back in a laugh. Then he looked up at Aiden and held out a paw.
"Nice to meet you. The name's Jax. Jax Stormcaller. A traveling pugilist who is trying to start an adventuring party."
Aiden held out his own hand to shake and said,
"I'm Aiden Hallowcreek, an alchemist who supplies a little shop in town."
"So you make potions? How does that even work? Just tossing stuff in a pot and stirring?"
Jax asked in a muffled voice, lightly nibbling at what Aiden assumed was an itchy spot on his foreleg.
Aiden chuckled at the simplicity he implied, then heard Eustus set down a plate in front of him with steak bites and caramelized onions. It was a favorite meal of his that he always got when he came here.
He did not even have to ask, it just started cooking as soon as he came inside.
This was the privilege of being the owner's friend, and one Aiden was happy to use for a tasty dinner.
"It's a bit more complex than that, but for some simpler recipes, that is the case."
Aiden took a bite of steak, tossed it into his mouth, and let the savory meat sit for a minute.
"Is there a potion to give me thumbs?"
Jax asked in a coy tone.
It was a classic joke beastmen would make, asking production classes if they could make a way for them to have thumbs, but there were always beastmen who genuinely wanted them. Especially those with melee classes.
Jax's stomach growled a bit. He turned to the menu that Eustus had set in front of him and started to look his choices over.
For a moment, they sat there while the bar continued in its rowdy nature behind them before a question came to Aiden's mind.
"So what brings you to Hopestone?"
Aiden asked, taking 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 where a lot of adventurers come for opportunities. 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."
"What kind of quest is it?"
Jax looked back and forth before leaning in and whispering,
"I have been tasked with investigating a strange mist 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 this while taking Aiden's empty plate after clearly eavesdropping.
Aiden turned to Eustus with a bit of a confused look. Jax however gave him a broad smile, his tail starting to wag.
"That's great. Maybe you can help me with the quest, then. Potions are practically essential for adventurers."
"I-I'm not sure," Aiden started to say, turning to Eustus for help.
"You keep saying you need help with the firewood, and I'm sure 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 this with the helpfulness of a bad batch of herbs.
"That sounds perfect. I'm happy to cut lumber and stuff for you. Lead the way."
Jax jumped down from his barstool and rushed for the door, seeming to forget anything about ordering dinner.
"H-Hold on, I still have to pay for dinner."
Aiden called after him, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening.
Jax headed out the door into the slowly dimming street, which was still bustling with people while Aiden turned back to Eustus.
"Is this revenge for a prank I did years ago or something?"
Aiden knew that elves often got people back for things years after the fact, mostly because they have good memories and hold a grudge for even longer.
"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 so you can see if you really want to be one, served on a fancy, slightly hairy, alcoholic platter."
Aiden turned toward the doors.
He had a nice thing going. Adventuring was something people with big dreams and the drive to chase them did, not the little alchemist in the mountains.
However, while he stared at the doors, a smaller, fainter part of him thought back to a memory with his grandpa.
You will never know anything without trying something.
Aiden looked around the bar, where lumberers, shop owners, and more were eating and drinking. But among them, he also saw some adventurers laughing and talking about something that was drowned out by the commotion in the tavern. It seemed to be a story of their adventures.
Aiden shook his head as he headed for the door, but the saying seemed to keep repeating like an echo.