Chapter 205 A Thread of Hope (1/2)

I entered the tavern, and noticed couple of Lizards inside. Some were drinking, whilst others eating or chating. When I entered, the tavern became quiet, and all Lizards looked at me. This lasted only a few seconds, then they returned to whatever they were doing before. I walked over to the counter, where a Lizard was standing, acting as the bartender.

I asked ”What type of food and drinks can I get here?”. What shocked me, was not the fact that the Lizard answered, but that it sounded like a female. She said ”I can give you a manu, to have a look”. I nodded my head absentmindedly, and she passed me the menu. 'I have to watch out, not to offend some female Lizards here. I didn't even realise they look so similar' I thought.

When I looked through the menu, I had no idea what those things represented. I decided to ask ”Can you tell me what this dish is made from?”. When I said this, one of the Lizards sitting at the table shouted ”You heard that guys? The kid needs a mommy, to tell him what he is eat”, and all the Lizards started laughing. 'It wasn't even funny' I thought to myself, and still looked at the bartender.

She didn't seem to care as well, and replied ”The dish called Lears in Crumbs, is made from Lears, that live in the caves. It is cooked covered in crumbs”, then she showed me the creature. It was a sort of larva creature, but it was big enough to cover one's palm. I wasn't very picky about food, and trying new stuff out, was also a part of experience.

I said ”I will take one portion then”. She nodded her head and said ”Have a sit, and I will bring it to you in a moment”. I already checked the price of that dish, it costed only 5 Copper Hals. I decided to order a drink as well. I didn't usually drink alcohol, but I decided to have a taste of something new. I asked ”Which drink would you suggest?”.

While she prepared the dish, she answered ”If you want something strong, then Fiery Goblet is my recommendation. If you want something regular, you can take the Opal Water”. I nodded my head and said ”I will take the Opal Water then”. Again, the same Lizard shouted ”Not man enough, to drink the real stuff eh?”.

I didn't give a shit to be honest. I didn't intend to respond. I simply found an empty table, as there were couple of them, and sat down. The Lizard that shouted those things, never took it a step further. He obviously knew the rules in this village, I wouldn't be provoked either. They continued their conversation and drinking, while I awaited my food.

The bartender soon arrived, with a cooked Lears on a plate, and a wooden mug, filled with some sort of liquid. I took a sip and it was quite strong. To me, any alcohol was strong. I didn't drink for a long time. I then took a bite of the larva thing, and to be honest, it didn't taste that bad. 'It looks much worse than it tastes' I thought, and ate the whole thing. I then gulped down the rest of the Opal Water.

With my meal finished, I took the plate and the mug to the counter, and said ”It wasn't bad at all. Thanks”. She smiled and asked ”Do you need anything else?”. I asked ”How much do you charge for a room?”. She said ”For a simple room, we charge 50 Copper Hals a night. If you want something more lavish, then it's going to be 2 Red Hals a night”.

I asked in confusion ”A night? But there is no sun or moon here. How do you know a night has passed?”. She smiled and said ”Thanks to this”, then pointed at a something. It looked weird. The thing was made from glass, it had sand or something similar inside, and there were couple of containers to which the sand slowly travelled. I asked ”What is this?”.

She said ”This is called Sand of Time. It's a tool to measure, when a day passes”. I exclaimed ”This is amazing. I've never seen such a thing. Can I buy it somewhere?”. She said ”Sure, probably on the market, but it's not very useful, if you are on the move. It's more of a stationary tool. That is why, it is here on this counter”. I nodded my head and said ”That's a shame. It would be very useful, when I travel around the north”.