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sticksandbones2024-02-06 06:21 pm
unheiring) wrote in sticksandbones2024-02-06 06:21 pm
Well It's All For Me Grog, Me Jolly Jolly Grog,
Towering Above
It’s hard to miss the fact that a new building has appeared on the eastern edge of town. Made entirely of brick and stone, the Watchtower stands at the forest’s edge as if it might serve as a last stand against any sort of creatures that might crawl through.
And yet it becomes clear, as stray bottles and cups are piled into trashed crates outside, that the Watchtower is far more than that. This is your new bar, Grove residents. And right now, Luca Aurelius is currently toiling away to get it in working order. Offering help in your own way might just net you a few free drinks and get the bar open that much quicker.
Opening Night
Just a few days after the tower goes up, the doors are opened to the public. The announcement is short and simple — a scrawled page in the Netbooks for all to see.
The Watchtower Bar is now open. Free drinks to anyone who helped with cleanup
Must be 15 or up for Cider and Wine. 17 or older for hard liquor.
Food provided.
Entering the premises will reveal that no expense has been spared, or at least no expense within the parameters of what the Grove can provide. Though the Watchtower itself is three floors, only the first two are available for patrons. The first floor has plenty of tables at hand, all arranged around a central hearth with various pots of food and snacks left to simmer above it. The bar itself is arranged against the back wall, with additional stools to accommodate patrons in need of more direct service. Casks of wine, beer, cider, and ale are all arranged along the wall, while bottles of the harder stuff are sat above.
Visible from the first floor is the second. The lofted seating area provides the perfect view for the revelry below, all while staying out of sight. There are plenty more tables up here, though they’re more spaced out to provide slightly more intimate conversations. You’ll just have to be the one to fetch your drinks— there are no barmaids to help you here.
A Night of Revelry
That isn’t to say you’re without the bare basics, though. Naturally the liquor will flow, especially as long as you’re providing currency. Luca isn’t all that picky — shells, sticks, bones, it’s all the same. The food, at least, is free. Whether you reach for the cheese and crackers laid out on various tables throughout the bar, choose to ladle out some of the stew simmering over a fire, or pour some of the fondue beside it, you’ll have plenty at hand to satisfy your munchies.
One table in particular features a deck of cards. There’s no game in particular to be played, and any money you decide to put on the line is your choice. Poker, Blackjack, Rummy — whatever suits your fancy is on hand. Or if you feel like hogging the table, play some solitaire. Luca isn’t going to shoo you away.
Close by, another table has been pulled away. A somewhat messily carved dartboard has been hung against the wall. Rather than actual darts, you’ll have to play with knives but… that’s just part of the fun, right?
One final table is adorned only with a single jug. Peering in, you’ll find that it’s filled with wine, and the faintest compulsion to just drink it. Doing so without any prep will only result in disaster, however. Failing to plug up three specific holes and angle the jug just right will result in your clothes being stained with wine. Worse still, you might even hear a whisper in your ear. “Take two shots.”
Weird, but hey! What’s a party without a drinking game?
All Good Things…
When the moon rises high and the liquor stops flowing, it’s bound to happen that the fun comes to an end. Whether patrons are passed out or have stumbled home, you might find yourself alone at the bar.
Well, not entirely alone.
There’s the sound of a whistle as a chair scrapes its way back into place. The smell of tobacco and spices might encircle you as your plate and glass are gathered up and carried off into the storeroom. You can’t always see him, but someone seems keen on looking out for you.
Unless you’re passed out in a ridiculous position. Then you might hear the ghostly laughter of a man long dead.
no subject
[And you know, because he's being a shithead? He'll reach over and ruffle Zahilya's hair while he's at it. It's exactly what others have done him in an attempt to patronize. He isn't trying to be mean of course. Just a little spicy.]
And I cannot control how tall I am. Terribly sorry about all of that.
[He relents eventually, handing over the marshmallows.]
There.
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Thinks, and then some stray strands of hair flop into his face, and he dramatically huffs and blows them aside. They comedically fall over his cheeks again, and Zahliya sets aside the bag so he can fix his hair since Luca screwed it up for him. This involves taking the bun he normally has out and putting the tie between his lips while he combs his fingers back through the waves.
His hair is long. About hip-length, black and sleek and wavy, and it's no wonder he puts it up constantly. Once can imagine it would get in the way of his fighting if he didn't.
So, as he's putting everything back into place and blindly tying it all back up, he says with that tie still in his mouth,]
Rude.
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He kills the thought before it can progress. His lips press firmly into a line as he turns his back. He shifts over to a lower shelf, searching through it as he tries to keep his mind busy. If he idles, who knows what may happen.]
Crackers, right? What type?
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Graham crackers. They are cinnamony, I think.
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Right. [Luca isn't familiar, but thankfully he doesn't need to be. With a bit of rummaging, he finds something akin to what they're looking for. Thank god for s'mores cocktails existing in some capacity.] These, then?
[He's already shoved two things at Zahliya, so he'll keep hold of the box.]
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Those!
[And out they go, holding a haul of sweets. They can go back to the table with the snacks to do this for ease of cleaning up a mess later. Zahliya can't imagine cleaning an entire bar is fun.
He is very quickly and carefully removing things from the various packages to put on plates.]
So. You put the marshmallow over a little fire to melt it. Then you put it on the chocolate, which melts, and then you put that between the graham crackers. "Voilà" or whatever the phrase is.
[lmao]
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All that is to say - he holds his hand out flame cupped within a palm. One tableside marshmallow melt for the gargoyle?]
So it's a sandwich. A very sweet sandwich?
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The flame makes Zahliya's tail wag. This is better than heading to that central fire as far as he's concerned. He, very carefully, holds the marshmallow above the flame for long enough that their joint heat starts to melt and crispen it at the same time, you know how marshmallows are, and then slaps it on top of the chocolate, et cetera.]
I suppose it is. I don't often think of human foods in categories like that. Elsword did start an argument a few months ago about if certain things were sandwiches or not, though.
[Zahliya would say a s'more is its own category, but it's not like he ate for many hundred years.
With the assembled cookie-sandwich-sweet-thing in his hand now, he... holds it up to Luca's lips. Take a bite. :) ]
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[Anything would get this town riled up, the longer he thinks about it. It might be a fun way to spend the evening, tossing a controversial topic into the group and seeing who went to war for it first.
But that's for future Luca. This Luca is presently leaning forward to take a bite. There's no small amount of hesitation here, hesitation that's promptly proven to not be unwarranted. He tries his best not to make a face at the taste, but as expected, it's extremely sweet. He does his best to swallow it down all the same. He doesn't want to shut Zahilya down, after all.]
It's - [He clears his throat.] I can see why someone might like it.
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[He's not bothered by it. Luca can shut him down if he wants to, or not, whatever floats his boat. That said, the little gargoyle does take a bite off of the same point he just fed Luca from.
So yeah have fun with that one—]
What do you like, Luca?
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[Perhaps he could be made to like them if he can watch something like this? No he's not going to pursue that line of thinking any further, thank you. Staring at the bite taken out of the smore on the other hand is a completely different story, however.]
I would not say it's sweet things in entirety. I love a well-done apple pie, for example, which is usually sweet. But it compliments well with the tartness of the apples and buttery taste of the crust.
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[....................zahliya,]
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... Perhaps I can make one for you, at some point