The Tidepool Bar, 4th of Spring, 518
The midday sun bore down on Delvin’s back, an unwelcome companion as he plodded along the beach. Thankfully, The Tidepool Bar was just a short distance more, but walking on the beach made the distance feel longer than usual. He had never walked on sand before coming to Syka, and it had taken him an embarrassingly long time to realize that walking on the edge of the sand where it was wet and firm was far preferable to the shoe-swallowing dry sections, even if the wet stuff still tugged at his shoes as he tried to lift his feet. The going had been much easier since then, and he was plenty glad that he had only brought his pouch with some mizas and his waterskin instead of bringing a backpack, but it still felt like he had been walking much longer than he had, and the sand in his shoes was of no help in his situation. No matter how hard he tried, some of it always ended up in there and until he could actually sit down for a while somewhere he doubted he would be able to get it all out. Never before had he been so glad to arrive at a bar as he did when The Tidepool was just before him, inviting him to come over and take a good long rest, kick back, and have a drink.
He had hardly just arrived in this land of sand and jungle, and already he felt a bit overwhelmed. Everything was so vastly different from what he knew. Even something as simple as sand had been an obstacle, and of the dangers yet waiting to face him he doubted that would be the most menacing. Perhaps the long trip over the sea and the newness of the whole thing was clouding his judgement, but as he was feeling at that moment, he was unlikely to get anything productive done. Developing a forge would have to wait for another day. Before truly starting his life as a settler of Syka, he was determined to learn all he could about the facilities and people already there.
His mind wandered briefly to whether it was wise to spend his mizas while his means of earning them was still under development, but he swept the thought to the side with a quick promise to himself not to drink too much of his money away. Caution out of the way, he made his way across the walkway and into the bar, where a friendly bartender who introduced himself as Stu got him acquainted with the menu. The drink names were slightly concerning, but Delvin could not help but be amused and put at ease by the seemingly good-humored nature of the bartender, and before long he was sitting down at a table with a mug of Sunshine and Sandcastles. Despite making him feel a bit weak for picking what was supposedly the calmest drink on the menu, it was probably his safest bet to start. The young blacksmith was no stranger to alcohol, but he tended to stick with the lighter stuff, preferring tipsy to pass-out-drunk any day.
There was something hypnotic about the interplay of sights and sounds on display at The Tidepool. The sun danced on the water as usual, but under the roof of the bar in the shade looking out on the ocean with drink in hand, it was somehow different than it had been before. No ship lurched beneath his feet, and while the glare on the water made him squint, it was not so oppressive as it had been when the sun’s rays were boring into him on the way there. After shaking out his shoes as thoroughly as he could manage, he set to work on drinking his Sunshine and Sandcastles. It was surprisingly good, but just like everything else in Syka, it was definitely a new experience. The doubts and anxiety he had harbored began to ease slightly as the surroundings and alcohol tamed them. Closing his eyes, Delvin listened to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the distant calls of birds he could not recognize, and the ever-present whoosh of the sea breeze.