These days, when Braiden saw Dudley, he definitely seemed a little more tired, but he seemed a lot happier, too. He’d had to hire some extra help, but the extra expense hadn’t diminished his stoic brand of cheer. The man rarely smiled, but Braiden could still tell, possibly in the same way that Elder Orora could allegedly tell when Elder Bahul was unhappy.
Even the questing board was plastered to overflowing with requests, papers detailing jobs and rewards tacked on top of each other. This wasn’t the only tavern that adventurers frequented in town, but to see how packed it was through the windows and to hear the raucous din of the drinking hall as they entered, Braiden might argue that it was the most popular of them all.
Craghammer marched resolutely toward the counter, exchanging a sober greeting with Dudley in the form of matching grunts. He set the barrel down with a thud, drumming his fingers on the counter as Augustin hurried to the bar.
“As promised, friend Dudley,” Augustin huffed. “A barrel of my finest elixir, ready for your kind patrons to sample.”
Dudley grumbled indistinctly as he searched under the bar for coins, but Augustin leaned on the counter with a dashing grin and a quirked eyebrow. Uh-oh. What was he up to?
“It’s on the house,” Augustin said. “First barrel’s free, friend Dudley, since you’ve been so kind as to offer to share my brew at your distinguished establishment.”
Dudley’s brow wrinkled with suspicion, his eyes flitting meaningfully toward Braiden’s face. Braiden only shrugged.
“Oh, goodness me,” came Elyssandra’s voice from the opposite end of the room. “Do I spy a barrel of Augustin’s Effervescent Elixir at the bar?”
She was still hovering by the door, accompanied by Warren, who had removed his helmet and was happily shaking his ears out. He cleared his throat, then spoke at what must have been the top of his voice.
“I have heard such wondrous things about Augustin’s Effervescent Elixir, available in many fine flavors. By the picture of fruit painted on the side of the barrel, I imagine that this is a sparkling apple cider.”
“Indeed, it is,” Augustin boomed heroically. “And everyone’s friend Dudley here has kindly agreed to let everyone sample the cider for free!”
A cheer went up from the Dragon’s Flagon, at least half of its patrons rising from their benches and heading over to investigate the barrel. Braiden caught the triumphant grin on Augustin’s face, as well as the smoldering glare on Dudley’s. The wizard had planned this all along. Very clever, all this marketing he’d learned from gorillas.
Braiden chuckled nervously as he sidled up to the bar. “Thanks again for letting him do this, Dudley. You did say you wanted a barrel of elixir here, didn’t you?”
Dudley sighed. “I should have been more specific. Quickly, before everyone rushes the counter. What’ll you have to eat?”
Braiden ordered more or less his usual: a bunch of sausages, a couple slices of crisp toast, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. Elyssandra, who similarly believed that breakfast was meant to be eaten at any time of the day, had the same thing.
Craghammer ordered the same as well, perhaps out of a desire to bolster his intake of protein. Warren insisted that he wasn’t hungry, curious instead about the Flagon’s selection of ales, something which couldn’t be found below the surface. Surely, the burrowfolk had their own methods of brewing and fermentation, but Braiden understood his need to experience something new.
Bones, fortunately, was content to pick at bar nuts, which clattered as they dropped down his rib cage and onto the floor. Dudley only stared Augustin down after he’d asked for a refreshing garden salad. The only two vegetables allowed to pass through the doors of the Dragon’s Flagon were onions and potatoes, as far as Dudley was concerned.
So Augustin had settled for a large turkey leg. An appropriate meal, Braiden thought, because it was as thick and meaty as his own head. Only a joke, of course, because Braiden could never deny that despite his antics, the Wizard of Weathervale was very clever indeed.
His gambit had certainly paid off. The free barrel of sparkling apple cider disappeared in a matter of minutes. Augustin would take breaks from nibbling on his turkey leg, turning over his shoulder to call out to passing adventurers about how his elixir had all the exciting fizziness and effervescence of a good beer, but without the hangover.
“And so sweet and refreshing,” he said. “The crisp taste of apples, ripe from the tree! And the elixirs come in so many other flavors, too.”
Braiden lifted another spoonful of eggs and hash browns to his lips, watching in quiet amusement as Augustin fielded questions from curious adventurers.
“An entire rainbow of flavors available,” he told them. “Though we’re closed for tonight. If you swing by the shop tomorrow, there will be plenty more to enjoy. And yes, you can sample every flavor before you commit to a mug, or even a bottle to take home, if you like. My kiosk is at Beadle’s Needles! Have you been to this fine establishment? Have you heard of their enchanted new wares?”
They hadn’t, which gave Augustin an excuse to rope Braiden into the conversation. Elyssandra passed out even more of the flyers as the adventurers left, then turned back to the tablewith an exhilarated grin. “To think that you could drum up so much interest with free things. You’d think that would put your business in the hole right before you even started.”
Augustin winked. “Ah, but if your product is good enough? Chances are they’ll come back for more. I learned it from a sorceress in Il-venesse. A sculptor, she called herself, except she didn’t work with clay and stone, but a person’s face. All sorts of spells for people who don’t like how they look. If you thought your nose too big, or if you preferred a different eye color, a sculptor could fix all your problems. This one in particular decided she would give out free sessions as samples of her work.”
Warren shook his head and chuckled, already connecting the dots.
“So she’d only do one side of your head?” Bones cackled. “And you’d have to walk out of there with a lopsided face?”
Augustin snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Very clever, isn’t it? At least we aren’t being as cruel. Letting them know that supplies are limited — and in fact diminished for the evening — is also a bit of a strategy. Those adventurers didn’t get what they wanted tonight, but the shop is nearby and convenient enough for them to access in the morning. So I expect we’ll open tomorrow to a healthy flow of already excited customers.”
He clapped Braiden on the back, clasping his shoulder firmly in one hand. Braiden chewed on his sausages, a dopey grin spreading across his face. “We,” he’d said, as if they now had a stake in the shop together.
If Augustin’s business really did expand, and it required more space at Beadle’s Needles, then Braiden could eventually ask him to chip in for rent, couldn’t he? Or maybe Augustin could find a spot at the night market. So many possibilities.
And if this kind of excitement kept up around both the elixirs and Braiden’s new accessories, then they most assuredly wouldhave enough to pay off Orora Arcosa. Poor Elder Bahul would just have to lug his chest down through the dungeon depths on his own.
