Every Right to be Proud

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 4th April 2008

Characters: Zandreu
Description: Master Zandreu visits the Vintner Hall Tavern during Threadfall.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 9, day 19 of Turn 4

It was a quiet time in the Tavern but even had it been busy the staff would most likely still have noticed the tall, thin man with the high, broad cheekbones. He wore the faded knots of a vintner master, which wasn't unusual at the Vintner Hall's tavern, and he asked for a meal in that in-between time after the midday meal service was over and before the evening meals began.

And this on a day when Thread was due to fall over the Hall at just that time.

Even that might not have made the staff notice the man, but the fact that his order was accompanied by the request that they should serve his meal – " ... only if it is convenient to do so, otherwise just the dark grape juice."

"Of course it's convenient, sir."

The dark-eyed man smiled. "There are any number of reasons why it might not be. Threadfall," he said, nodding at the windows of the great room, now securely covered with shutters.

"You don't want to get back to the main building before the alarm?" the young man suggested diffidently.

"No. I'll stay here and drink my juice."

"And eat your meal."

The master vintner smiled. "If it's convenient."

* * *

Apparently it had been convenient for the kitchen staff to provide him a meal and Zandreu was pleased they had. The stew was tasty and served filling and spilling out of a seasoned dumpling of some kind in an artful display that suggested the serving was a large one. With experience and a little cynicism the vintner master thought the servings were probably all exactly the same size, and all designed to overflow the dumpling. Not that it mattered. The meal looked good, tasted exceptional even on a well-developed palate, and was filling enough that he had to think twice about whether he needed something else to round off the meal.

"Just fruit," he assured the young man – a different one to the one who had seen to him before. "And water, please."

The eerie sound of the Threadfall alarm began, warning that the menace was directly overhead. Both the vintner master and the young man glanced up, though there was nothing to see but the heavy beams of the high ceiling.

Outside, beyond the upper stories of the Tavern building, Thread fell and dragons flew. Zandreu had seen it, been awed by it, and been determined not to be caught in the open again because no amount of awe made up for the danger. Risks were for youngsters and fools; he was long past the former and, although he had been the latter for many Turns, he liked to think he had left that part of his life behind him.

"I'll get you a selection of fruit," the young man said, drawing his gaze away from the ceiling and his attention away from what was happening beyond the walls of the Tavern.

The dark-haired man nodded, almost unwillingly impressed again by the attitude among the staff. The people had been well-trained and despite the fact that their Tavern Master had been called away things were still running smoothly.

Bhervehan had every right to be proud of what he'd achieved for the Hall.

Zandreu looked around the room, dark eyes noting the fireplaces, though he was sure that there was electrical heating as well because fires were just not that useful for regulating the temperature of such a large room. The tables, mostly empty, were scattered around in an arrangement that looked haphazard, but the master vintner had spent some time in taverns – sometimes noticing, something not – and could see the access that would make it easy for the staff and customers to move about.

The raised platform for the harpers looked like a new addition to the much older hall. He tried to recall if anybody had mentioned the former use of the building. Had it been something to do with woodsmiths?
The fruit platter was delivered, with a pitcher of water and a clean glass. An attractive, thick-sided blue coloured glass. Not suitable for wine, but amusing and interesting for water. Zandreu smiled as he sipped from it.

At this time, during Threadfall, with the Tavern nearly empty, there was something of a hush over the place. The staff padded around speaking to each other in low voices as they prepared the room for the evening's influx of guests. The few people at other tables made little enough noise that they might as well have been silent.

Somewhere out the back of the main room were kitchens and cool rooms; upstairs accommodation for staff and guests. No doubt there was an office, somewhere, for the Tavern Master. Zandreu didn't feel that he needed to see every handswidth of the place to know it. The staff, the main room, they told him a lot about the intended customers and how they would be treated.

Zandreu didn't know everything about the Tavern, but he knew enough to be able to tell the Hallmaster he would take the job as Tavern Master while Bhervehan was away.

Last updated on the April 5th 2008

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Every Right to be Proud