Closed [Surf and Turf] Can't Swim (Ambrosia)

[Dovey]

19 Spring, 518 AV
"Speech"
"Others"

It was a golden afternoon in Alvadas, and Dovey had no more work to do for the day. Why in the world shouldn't she go walking?

There was risk in that, of course. She might not find the Cubacious again until the golden day had turned to chilly night, or she might be snagged by Ionu's inevitable mischief. But - she thought her first Festival of Illusion might have taught her this - if you lived in Alvadas as a shut-in, all you would ever experience were the risks, the catastrophes. You had to get out into the city and look for fun if you wanted to make the disasters worth it. So - petch it, if she must, then what better time than now? She tugged on her boots, thumped down to the inn's ground floor, and headed outside.

There was no use in not going too far in Alvadas, so Dovey wandered with abandon. There was the Temple of Ionu, fully visible today, mossy and looming. Round the next corner a gambling den - Dovey wrinkled her nose and looked away up the street, which was otherwise lined by bright-painted houses. The sun not yet close to setting, she rambled on.

Now she began to smell salt and the flesh of fishes. It must be the Patchwork Port ahead, a place she'd hardly seen before. It smelled like home a bit, like swampy Kenash, and she felt her mouth curl into a half-smile. She would go and see the sea, a perfect place to end her aimless wanderings, and then she would set about finding the Cubacious again.

She made her way down the gray-cobbled street, following the sound of the surf and the shouts of sailors round the next corner. She stopped in her tracks, and frowned, and then grinned, for the coastline lay ahead of her far closer than it could yet logically be - but then this was Alvadas and logic had no part in determining the location of anything here.

After a moment Dovey walked forward once more, and the masts of ships in harbor came into view past the bright-painted houses still lining the street. A little further and she could see the water, lapping choppily at the ships' bases - and then something began to tighten in her gut and her steps slowed. She had stayed in this city for nearly a full year; why had she never come to the port before?

At the next turning she paused, glancing down each side of the intersection more slowly than necessary, with overemphasized curiosity. But she took a second, more genuinely interested look down the left-hand street.

Past the end of the lane the coastline appeared to curve abruptly inwards and form a sort of secondary bay, rimmed with a wide edge of stone. And into this stone, leading directly off the street upon which Dovey now stood, was cut a wide stairway. It ran down into the rock as though leading to a house's cellar, and at the base of it she could make out a wooden door.

Dovey hesitated a moment before turning down the left-hand street.

As she came closer to the odd stairway, a muscular figure grew distinguishable from the shadows at its base. A guard? Dovey trotted closer, paused at the top of the stairs, and receiving no warning signal from the man at the bottom, trotted down to his side.

"Excuse me, but what is this place?" she asked the man - who was rather attractive, really, she thought, eyeing him appraisingly. He gave her a no-nonsense smile in reply to her greeting but didn't otherwise respond. She frowned and tried again, a bit louder - as if that could help. "What is this place?"

The door swung open, pushed from the inside. Dovey flinched in surprise - she wouldn't have expected anyone to emerge from the strange cellar! - but the Konti who stepped out into daylight was decidedly unintimidating. Having caught the question's repetition, she laughed. "Well you musn't ask the bouncers," she said. "The twins don't speak! But this is the Surf and Turf, dearest, and welcome!"

The woman swept past before Dovey could thank her.

The Surf and Turf? And bouncers. But what kind of a bar - ? She pulled open the door and peered through.

Immediately came the sounds of music and chatter. Dovey was looking into a spacious room, carved out of the same deposits of stone as the staircase, and open at the far end to the sunlit ocean vista. People sat at the stone-hewn bar or at similar tables, drinking and talking, or else they danced to the music of the fiddler-and-gea'tarist duo performing atop a central dais. And away in the corner of the room, water shimmered.

Dovey stared for a moment in wonder, then - petch, this is gorgeous - why didn't anybody tell me we had a place like this? - she slipped inside and darted up to the bar to see about a drink.

Boxcode credit: Karin Ironyach

[Ambrosia Alar]

Ambrosia sat at the bar, watching the patterns the light made as it danced off the water and across the walls. She was here, she had told herself and her employer Cade, to monitor the competition, to see how much of their customers frequented other alehouses, to see if there were any new ideas they could implement at the Rear. But Ambrosia knew that was a lie. The only reason she was there was because she knew there would be no one here she would know, no one who would see the sadness in her eyes and ask about it, no one she would have to put on a fake smile for. Here, she could think and drink or drink and think. The order didn’t really matter to her. Already, she was five drinks in, and a healthy glow lit her cheeks while the room gave the slightest hint that it was trying to sway. Opinions, heavily biased by her prejudices against any bar other than her own, had already formed in her mind about the place, some of them fair and others not. The bouncer at the front door had been a slight put off. One thing about the Rear was that its owner and its patrons doubled as its security. If anyone got too out of hand, they were quickly put in their place by everyone else. Having sullen, hulking men lurking about wasn’t very drawing for an establishment, though the man in front would have drawn people’s eyes easily if he had thought to smile. The environment was classy, and immediately, Ambrosia knew none of her regulars would come here. The Surf and Turf was far too sophisticated a place for any of them. One thing she did have to admit was that the drinks here were good. The lager rivaled that of the one at the Rear as did the two wine selections, but the liquor was lacking. To call it lacking was a lie, but neither the spiced rum nor the fruit rum even came close to comparing to degtine. That was perhaps an unfair comparison to make. The Denvali liquor was unique among the hard spirits, and a rarity unless one had the right connections, which Cade did. But the environment itself in the Surf and Turf was beautiful, and Ambrosia found herself particularly drawn to the water and the entertainment that was available. One thing was certain in all of this. Neither tavern had to be concerned about the other stealing its patrons. Each drew different folk, and those folk were stuck in their ways. The Surf and Turf was higher class and would draw a more sophisticated type while the Rear was humble and drew the working stiffs. Ambrosia enjoyed the laborers that were her regulars and wouldn’t have it any other way. Still, she was here, and she was going to enjoy every moment she could. A Konti woman swept up behind the bar and caught Ambrosia’s eye. The barmaid tapped her empty glass with a smile. Returning the smile, Ambrosia’s rival stepped up and cleared the empty glasses. “Can I get you anything else, dearest?” “Another shot of the spiced rum, if you would, love.” The Konti filled the shot and pushed it toward Ambrosia. “I haven’t seen you in here before.” “No. I’m just here scoping out the competition.” When a worried look passed over the Konti’s face, Ambrosia laughed and shook her head. “I’m only kidding. I do work for another tavern, The Stallion’s Rear, but we ain’t got any intention of trying to push you out of business. We each fill our niches.” The Konti relaxed at this. “I’m Ambrosia.” “Kay’Layza.” Holding up her shot, Ambrosia invited the bartender with a smile. “Have a shot with me, on me?” She slid the necessary coin for two shots across to Kay’Layza. The bar’s proprietor smiled and poured herself a shot. Holding it up, she took it with Ambrosia. “So what do you think of The Surf and Turf?” “It’s beautiful.” Ambrosia gestured to the water side of the bar. “I would have never thought of putting a bar in the water.” She shrugged as she added, “Mostly because all our patrons get so shitfaced they’d drown.” Kay’Layza smiled and laughed at that, nodding. “It does come with its risks. But my bouncers also know how to swim, so they keep that from happening whenever a bartender doesn’t manage to cut someone off early enough. We generally know our customers’ limits.” “It’s good to know your patrons.” “Is there anything else I can get you, Ambrosia?” The barmaid shook her head. “Honestly? I don’t mean to insult you, but I came here for quiet and escape.” Kay’Layza nodded. “I know what you mean. I’ll leave you with one more shot.” Watching the rum as it spilled into the shot glass, Ambrosia stared into it as Kay’Layza wandered off toward the street door. She had come here to escape thoughts of her sister trapped in Alvadas’ Underground, but every time she tried not to think of Tessa, Tessa was all that entered her mind. She drained her shot quickly, then glared at its empty bottom. If there was one thing Ambrosia didn’t like, it was seeing the bottom of a glass, especially her own. Ambrosia hadn’t heard the door open, so she hadn’t turned to see who had entered the bar. Soon though, there was another young woman at the bar next to her flagging down the nearest bartender. While the two waited for the bartender to finish pouring drinks for a couple farther down the bar, Ambrosia flashed a quick smile to the newcomer. “Good afternoon, love. I don’t know if you frequent here a lot, but I definitely recommend the spiced rum.”