Challenge #01536-D075: Dire Times at the Dog and Duck
It was one of those places that people went to, to drink as much as possible in the shortest time. There were tiles well above head height, the floor was tiled and covered in sawdust, at shift change staff hosed it out and put down fresh sawdust. -- Anon Guest
There wasn't a menu. There weren't interesting bottles on the back shelf. There was barely a back shelf, which held a bottle of suspicious pickled eggs, which also held a pickled vermin animal. The shelf also held the large, club-like object that was usually hidden under the bar.
It was that kind of pub.
People didn't go here to socialise. People didn't go here for a good time. They came here to get drunk and temporarily escape the miseries of their lives. Which was exactly the kind of pub you got in a place that existed because nobody could get out. The miasma in this place was full of misery, hopelessness, and stale urine. As well as the vinegary mess they excused as beer in this place.
This was exactly the wrong sort of place to announce oneself as a hero. And definitely not the sort of hero who was prophesied to solve all their troubles. Therefore, Krojak the Mighty kept her head low and ordered the local ale. Humanity could make alcohol out of anything that could ferment, and this brew was apparently made out of spoiled beets.
The fellow propping up the bar next to her sighed and said, "Times are tough."
Krojak the Mighty said, "Tell me about it."
She got an infodump. This town had won the grand prize in the lottery of possible miseries. A witch's curse, a warlock overlord, ogres in the next valley, a dragon in the nearby mountain, and heinous taxes from the Usurper. That was a heck of a lot of misery to unriddle. A lot of work to clean up the mess. And nothing that Krojak wasn't used to.
Just... not all at once.
The witch and the ogres would be the first ones to talk to. Ogres could be companionable under the right circumstances, and powerful allies if things could be arranged. And once those were at least no longer a problem, it would be time to talk to the dragon... Having a dragon in one's favour was always the best and brightest ace in the hole. After that, problems like a warlock and a Usurper were child's play.
Krojak didn't immediately take off questing. It always helped to listen to the complaints. They painted a picture of the rest of the area. Things to watch out for, like carnivorous treants, dryads, or whisp populations in the swamps. Finding out about the local hazards the hard way was never any kind of fun.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / AlgolOnline]
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