Let there be booze

by **Raeyn** on August 6th, 2018, 1:30 am

11th of Summer 518AV
The Azure

Armed with a shopping list, Raeyn ascended the Zintia peak to find himself among the Azure hues of the market. Among quite the crowd that always plagued this locations, his read hair didn't stand out quite so much, but did little good for the raging hangover proceeding last night's celebration. The young mage was searching for the hair of the dog that bit him.

Such a cacophony of sounds, sights and smells it was. Between walls painted blue, stalls and boots sat, tended to by their merchants. Upon tables and chairs all kinds of wares had been exhibited. Jewellery, clothing, trinkets, food, anything the soul could hope for. Patrons weaved from one side to the other to look at what find goods they could throw their money at. Women bought dresses and makeup. Their husbands rolled their eyes as they held onto the hands of naughty children. In the distance a busking fiddler filled the atmosphere with a jubilant melody.

Suffice to say Raeyn's post party haze had resulted in quite the migraine pulsating behind his temples. Shreds of memories returned as flashbacks. Beneath the usual immaculate clothing his body felt stiff as a board and heavy as a rock, as he made his way quite unceremoniously though the market. Had there been anything worse in the entirety of Mizahar than shopping?

Beside him the red haired beauty that was Mara too looked worse for wear. Sunken in eyes and dry lips, void of lipstick, suggested the woman was ever so tiered after a long shift. The smell of alcohol on her breath meant that she had perhaps a little to much fun working. She clung onto her brother's right arm, the healthy one, fingers holding onto fabric tightly as they strolled among stalls. For once she was the one telling him not to be distracted and get what they came there fore, nothing more.

Word count: 315

by **Raeyn** on August 6th, 2018, 1:41 am

The funny thing about alcohol, that never ceased to surprised the Inarta alchemist, was that whilst under heavy influence, there was nothing in this world he'd rather be doing than killing his liver and acting stupid. It lowered his inhibitions, loosened tongues and set him free. For a few hours Raeyn would get to feel atop the world itself. But once the rosy pink smog of the substance wore off and the incredible dizzying pain of hangover hit, he wished he'd never had starting drinking in the first place.

He'd promise himself not to do it again. He'd swear on Mizahar itself that next time he'd pace himself better, not mix liquors with wine. But yet here he was. A man who never learned his lessons no matter how many times he'd see the contains of his own stomach on the corner of the street on his way home. How pretty were cobbles covered in vomit.

For Mara however, who worked in the inn on the daily, this wasn't usual behaviour. She didn't need a vice to strike interesting conversations, she was the vice herself. Her looks drew people to her. Her pleasant, jovial demeanour lead her to often find herself at the receiving end of complements a'plenty. Last night's festivities had taken her however, lead her to forget just how much her body was capable of handling, which compared to other's wasn't much at all. Now she understood a little better why her brother rarely got out of bed after a night of heavy drinking. Somehow she had found herself wishing that she had never insisted on leaving the house, and followed his frequent example instead.

Fancy clothing had not caught their attention for once. Neither did pretty jewels which reflected Syna's rays, hurting their eyes. The twins had their heart set on two things; carbohydrates and a cure for hangover. Whether it would be vodka or a jar of pickles, that would only remain to be seen.

Word count: 329

by **Raeyn** on August 6th, 2018, 2:07 am

After some considerable mianderring, the twins finally found what they were looking for. Somewhere in the husstle and busstle of the buzy afternoon market, there was a booze stand. Excited that this unfortunate adventure was soon to run it's course, they hurried towards it and started to gage the wares.

Bottles there were a'plenty. Few with distillery marks however, leading them to believe the alcohol was either importad or home made. Either way good wine was good wine and no one put shit wine under glass and cork. What a waste that would be?

"Would you like to try some? We had a shipment of the finest stuff from Syliras itself a few days ago.' said the merry short man, thrusting half full mugs into the hands of either twin.

"Syliras you say?" asked Raeyn, swirling the scarlet liquid around, filling his lungs with the bitter scent of the concoction. "What's the price?"

"12 kina a bottle."

Raeyn hummed to himself thoughtful. In the state he felt he was in he was ready to pay the atrocious price simply to be done with it as fast as possible. Raising the glass bottom up, he felt the liquid slide smoothly down his throat and into his stomach. A momentary relief flavoured with oaky notes and earthy flavours. Dry wine, savoury as he liked it. Raeyn didn't have much of a sweet tooth. For his this bottle was just about perfect.

Mara on the other hand made her way though quite a few samples before finding a flavour she enjoyed. Being far more of a connoisseur of desert wines, she rejected quite a few fruity bottles before finding on that suited her tastes. Thick and sweet, that it was, with honey undertones. It would have gone perfect with cake if they had any. It soothed her aching head.

"Tell you what. If we buy two perhaps you'll lay off the price a little?" asked Raeyn a little cheekily but then again, at the market haggling was an expectation. And having many things to spend his hard earned kina on, overpaying wasn't in his plans.

Word count: 353

by **Raeyn** on August 6th, 2018, 2:25 am

The merchant looked at him as if he was talking on tongues. "For Sylirian wine? Sir, you must be crazy. This stuff is priceless."

'Then what's it doing here...' Reayn thought to himself for a moment before speaking again, doing his best to upkeep a polite demeanour in spite of the deep annoyance that the merchant was on a frazzled, hungover mind. "8 kina a bottle. That's a far more reasonable price."

The merchant's brows pulled together. The redhead wasn't kidding around. It seemed he had met his match. But appeasement of customers was as necessary to the job as actually selling anything. And so he thought for a moment before pulling out a bottle of whiskey from one of the racks. Similarly he pored each of the twins a little glass of it.

"You look like a man of fine tastes. I'm certain this would satisfy." the merchant grinned as Raeyn took a sip. "You buy this, and I'll do you a deal on the wine."

How could he resist? The golden liquid hit the spot quite splendidly. And so soon enough coins exchanged hands and the customers parted ways from the merchant. The twins returned home quickly after where they could cure their respective hangovers by pouring more alcohol on it. Such was the best cure. When one is drunk they can't be hungover.

Word count 227
Total W/C: 1124 words