(no subject)

[igetthatalot]

Varric had meant to enter the Hanged Man this evening, but if the odd magic bar decided to appear instead, who is he to argue? Although the note that appeared when he went to see about getting a pint was pretty well unexpected, he reads it and solemnly nods. "Far be it from me to cause trouble when there's magic involved," he says. "But I'm going to need a stepstool."

He gets one.

Specials Tonight:

Antivan Brandy
Ale
Wine

After some thought he adds:

Drink a pint of Orzammar dwarven brew without making a face, and your next drink is half off

He's a surfacer. He can get away with that.

Comments

[killitwithfire]

Axel is. Well, he kind of can't resist a challenge.

"So, what's this dwarven brew?"

[igetthatalot]

"The dwarves of Orzammar," says Varric, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the bartop, "have a long and storied tradition of brewing, with the most famous tavern in central Orzammar offering no less than fifty-two varieties of ale. Unfortunately for the drinker, we aren't talking about a tradition that involves a whole lot of going out into the sun, so they're all made from lichen and fermented mushroom."

[killitwithfire]

"Interestin'. Don't think I've ever had somethin' like that before. Lemme have one."

He kind of wonders how it measures up to Atlantean. Or some of the other more exotic things he's had in this place.

[igetthatalot]

"Suit yourself," says Varric, turning around to find a cask. "Tapster's Red. Best they've got."

It's... strong, it's got that much going for it. But it tastes about like you'd expect beer made from stuff scraped off rocks to taste. Apparently the dwarves of Orzammar start acquiring this particular acquired taste early.

[killitwithfire]

...yeah, Axel makes a face. It tastes awful.

"That's... the worst stuff I've ever tasted," says the man who likes stuff brewed out of blister-the-tongue peppers.

[igetthatalot]

"You see why the specials are everything else?" says Varric, indicating the board. "Sorry about that. Would you believe there's humans who think they're being enlightened and worldly by drinking that stuff voluntarily?"

[killitwithfire]

Axel gives a laughing snort, and carefully pushes the rest of it away.

"Yeah, I'd believe it. I might've done it myself, when I was a kid."

Or, you know. Drank it because it was booze and he wasn't supposed to. Lea was the opposite of an obedient child.

[igetthatalot]

"Fair enough," says Varric. "Can I get you anything decent in the meantime?"

[killitwithfire]

"Glass of the red stuff," Axel says pointing it out on the shelf.

The 'red stuff' is in a small bottle, and is about the colour of his hair.

[makesthings]

Sam yawns as he makes his way to the Bar and nods at Varric, he's had a long day in the forge,

"Any kind of wine?"

[igetthatalot]

"Pretty much," Varric agrees cheerfully. "Got a preference?"

[makesthings]

"Spiced wine if you have it. Is Antivan a place or a way of making brandy?"

[igetthatalot]

"It's a place," says Varric, as he turns to look for the wine. "The country of Antiva, in northeastern Thedas. Haven't been there myself, but they have amazing trade goods."

[makesthings]

"So you're not from an Earth?"

Sam smiles as he points to where some spiced wine is, he's learned to spot it.

[igetthatalot]

"Not unless you're referring to the stuff that lies on top of bedrock," says Varric. "I was born and raised in Kirkwall, in the Free Marches. Spent most of my life there. Yourself?"

[makesthings]

"Belisaere in the Old Kingdom and no, a lot of people here are from worlds called Earth."

[igetthatalot]

"Mm. Can't say the world I come from has a name; people talk about Thedas, but that's pretty much just the one continent," says Varric. "If there's lands across the ocean, other than the ones the Qunari came from, I don't know about 'em. Old Kingdom, huh? Was there a revolution or something?"

[feminine-menace.livejournal.com]

YT perches herself on a barstool and regards the options on the Specials Board. She's not into wine and is very particular about her liquors, so that leaves only one option. "'Scuse me. What kind of ale you got?"

[igetthatalot]

"Several different kinds, mostly human-made," says Varric. "Elves don't have much of a knack for brewing. Well, distilling, sure, but not brewing as is."

[feminine-menace.livejournal.com]

Wherever the bartender comes from sounds pretty Tolkien-esque. YT knows better than to say that, however. "Got any recommendations?"

[igetthatalot]

"Personally, I favor the stuff that comes out of the Anderfels, although you don't see it often in Kirkwall," says Varric. "Too much of a journey for not enough profit. They sell it off in Ferelden, for the most part. But around here, well-"

Look at that, there's a cask and everything.

[feminine-menace.livejournal.com]

"Obviously the folks in Ferelden appreciate good beer," YT says sagely.

[igetthatalot]

"It's a cold, wet country with too much stew on the menu," Varric says as he reaches for a glass. "I suppose they turn to their beer for something else to do. Here you are, then..."

[feminine-menace.livejournal.com]

YT sniffs the beer daintily (well, for her anyway), and takes a drink. Her face lights up. "Mmm! This is the good stuff!" She puts the glass back down. "But isn't dwarven beer supposed to be the really good stuff? Or at least the really strong stuff." She looks at the Specials Board. "Maybe not as good as I've been led to believe."

[igetthatalot]

"Strong and good are two different things," says Varric. "The dwarves of Orzammar, my general kin, are an ancient and proud people with traditions coming out their eyeballs. One of them is that if you leave the thaigs and the Deep Roads and set foot on the surface, you're generally not really welcome back underground. Which means that whatever grain crosses the gates of Orzammar is almost certainly going to get used for bread instead of beer."

"Or, more simply put: dwarf beer is brewed from the kinds of things that grow underground. Think about that for a moment."