The Drunken Barmaid 3

[Evalynn Frostfawn]

Fall 6, 523AV Eva was told that today she would be learning some new things around the tavern. They were minor things, but could turn a situation into a problem if it was not addressed sooner. For the first few chimes of her shift, she was to learn the menu and prices. Though Eva had been working for roughly a month and felt like she had everything down, it never hurt to go over the basics and keep the information fresh. The prices were never going to change, and the quality of the items wasn't going to either. A gallon of ale was the same price as a pitcher of wine and a poor man's meal. It had been like that since the tavern opened, and she was told that negotiation for lowering the prices was not possible for most of the populace. “If someone is being pushy about pricing on our menu, walk away. They can’t afford our prices, so they don’t need our attention. Same goes for our rooms, which are just about the same pricing or so as our food. Common patrons pay full price, and regulars get special attention.” Eva gave a nod and studied the menu that was handed to her before giving it back. She had a good grasp on the basics of the prices, and even learned to be firm with the customers as best she could. So after a few chimes, she handed the menu back and was sent out to the floor to help with tables for the time being. Mostly, it was her cleaning the tables instead of actually taking orders. So she would gather up plates and scrape the food off them to form little stacks. Mugs of alcohol would be poured into one glass before also being taken off of the table. Returning to the table, Eva would be equipped with an old rag and a bucket of water for cleaning. It was nothing special, just some cold water with a small bit of soap in it. It barely suds up when disturbed, and there was no residue after cleaning. As she dunked her rag in the water and squeezed it out, her mind wandered to the realm of what if’s. What if she used hot water when she cleaned the tables and floor? What if she used more soap? The bucket of cleaning water was typically only emptied twice a shift. What if she emptied it every time she finished using it? Simple questions like these entertained her, but it also cut back on her paying attention. She had been rubbing the same spot mindlessly on the table and shook her head to focus more when someone's yelling snapped her into reality. Dunking her rag again, she started wiping down the table, pushing the crumbs on the floor to sweep up later. She straightened the chairs and wiped them down as well before taking the bucket back and grabbing the broom. The floor didn’t have any large spills, so mopping was not needed at this time. Instead she swept up the food and took it to the back to throw away. Word Count: 521

[Evalynn Frostfawn]

Eva went around the tavern, sweeping up food from the floor to the best of her abilities. Some of the stuff was smashed into the ground and would require further scrapping, but most of it was loose bits and pieces. She was baffled by how much food people wasted, given the environment they were living in. Sunberth wasn’t exactly a place where things could be wasted. People would take advantage of that down the line. As she went to empty the dust pan of its contents, a table stopped her to put in an order. She tucked the broom and dustpan in the nook of her elbow and pulled out a pad of paper to take the order. “I want four mugs of ale, filled to the brim with only one with ice. I want a hunk of cheese and three large chunks of meat. Oh, but make sure not to cook them too long, I want them bloody when I get them. Just sear the outside and bring them here.” Eva was nodding and writing as the pompous man was talking. But internally she was already trying to figure out if this man was going to be a difficult customer or not. He definitely talked as if Eva was below him and that everyone was his servant. He didn’t have the clothing for someone with such an attitude, but she heard that some people acted high and mighty to get away from their reality. Was this one of those men? “Alright, sir, so for the four mugs of ale, hunk of cheese, and three chunks of meat, that will be one gold, one silver, and six copper.” The man pulls out two gold and waves them at Eva, giving them to hear and telling her to hurry up with his order. Eva nods and walks away to first put in the order then drop off the broom and dustpan. Once she was done, she got the change for the man and brought them out to him. “Alright sir, your change is eight silver and four copper. Your meal will be out shortly.” The guy just waved Eva off as he sat back and looked over a paper of some sort. She rolled her eyes when she turned her back and went to the bar to retrieve the mugs and food. She pulled the mugs together and placed the plate on top before carefully picking it up and making her way to the table. She set the mugs down, and before she was able to take the plate off, the man grabbed it up and began cutting into it. He clicked his tongue and sneered at the meat before glaring at Eva. “It’s overcooked. Look, there is barely any pink in there.” Eva tilted her head and peered at the chunk of meat. It looked basically raw to her, with a thin outline of cooked meat. If this man was saying it was overcooked, then she needs to get her eyes checked. She explained that she could get him more meat, but she would have to charge him for the new pieces. At that, he flinched before giving a grumble and beginning to eat his meat. Word Count: 536

[Evalynn Frostfawn]

Eva continued her day learning about miscellaneous tasks and chores. She was getting pretty bored of the general routine until she noticed a new face walk into the door. A man with a body to show he lived abundantly and an air that said ’I am a big shot, serve me. Eva stared at the man a bit before he walked over and sat down at the table she had just finished cleaning. His dark eyes stared up at Eva and he gave a grin that made her skin crawl. “Hello there. Bring me your finest drink and meal, expense isn’t an issue, just keep it coming. I'm tired of searching for a place to eat, so I guess this place will do.” The man toss three gold mizas on the table and said that he would pay more if he had to. He then waved her off, but as Eva walked away, she could feel his eyes undress her from behind. She gave a shiver and put in the order, specifying the man said he wanted it to keep coming. When Eva turned back around to bring the man a few drinks, the atmosphere in the tavern had shifted. Everyone took notice of the wealthy looking man that had entered earlier, and the air was full of greed for his riches. Eva gave a sigh as a ton of scenarios came to mind before she walked over and set down two glasses of wine. “Here you are sir. Our finest drink is our house wine, your meals will be out shortly.” She smiled politely and ignored the creepy little chuckle he gave in response. Honestly, she was more distracted with the fact that he was already sweating buckets under all the expensive layers he had on. His forehead was soaked and it looked like he was already breathing heavy. She paid no more mind to it though as she turned on her heel and went back to retrieve his food. The tender mentioned that the air in the tavern may get a bit dicey and to stay on high alert while the guy was here. Eva nodded in agreement, taking the plates of food and bringing it over to the man. “Your food. I hope it is to your liking, as you look like you dine in more expensive places.” The man snickered and put on an air of superiority as he cut into the meat. He asked about extra services and eyed up Eva before she gave him a look of curiosity as she tried to hide her disgust. “I am sorry sir, but my services end in the bar. If you would like extra services, you will need to buy a private room and a slave.” Now, Eva was unsure if anything she said was true, but she knew for a fact that he would have to buy a private room and that she wasn’t going anywhere near it. With that information, the man scoffed in disappointment and just waved her off. She smiled one last time at him and scurried away from the table, happy to have escaped that situation. Word Count: 526

[Morose]

As the man scoffed at Evalyn and waved her away, before he could dig into his food his body suddenly tensed. It happened just as the barmaid was turning away and about to leave. A sudden motion might have been visible out of the corner of her eye, that of something moving speedily through the air. A moment later the man tensed his body and would let out a odd noise- something between a whet cough and a grunt. The establishment being as rowdy as it was, and no one else being as close to the patron as Evalynn who was serving him albeit a few paces away, no one else noticed right away what had happened. Suddenly the man let out a bloody gurgle and collapsed atop his food. Now however he had one noticeable change, the bolt of a crossbow jutting out the front of his throat. If an observant person traced the path backward along the route it had taken they would notice an open window. Normally it would be either closed and shuttered or barred so no one slipped through, but at some point both the shutters and bars had been opened to leave the window wide open and without obstructions. Likely some coin had changed hands before to allow that "mistake" to occur. The bolt had been moving fast enough that it had gone through one end, hitting him by some crazy chance in the back of his neck just below his skull... It then passed through his neck and out the front, but either was not moving fast enough to escape all the way or perhaps caught on some piece of bone so that the back end did not make it through. Likely the shooter was either incredibly lucky, very close to the now open window, or some combination of both. At the moment though no one could be seen out the window, so the shooter seemed to have moved already. If Evalynn decided to loot the body she would easily have time to check his coin purse, after all she knew just where it was seeing as the man had just withdrawn some coins from it to pay her. Inside of it she would find nine gold mizas and two silver mizas. Perhaps he had his other money elsewhere, or just did not carry too much on his person at once. Should she go for his coinpurse first then by the time she would finish emptying it there would be a loud argument at the door, a man urgently trying to enter and in a hurry to do so but the guard at the door not letting him inside. Perhaps someone had failed to bribe all of the proper people involved, or a guard was harder to bribe than someone in charge of a window... Should Evalynn stop at that point of looting she would likely be able to get a fair distance away while the man at the door was still arguing. If however she decided to take her time or check his body elsewhere rather than just looting the coinpurse and search his pockets it would be less clear if she could get away before the man at the door got inside... Of course if she took too long or was to loud in her search she could also manage to attract the attention of the other patrons.

[Evalynn Frostfawn]

Eva was bustling back and forth to serve this one man. He had switched his drink from wine to ale, as he stated the wine was not strong enough for his liking. The ale only made his deplorable behavior worse as he went from egotistical to handsy. Any barmaid that passed him, he would take a swipe at their ass or legs. Eva was not exempt from such behavior either, she had smacked his hand away several times. “Sir, keep your hands to yourself or I’ll have to have you dragged out. I'm not some doll you can grab onto whenever you want.” This was her final warning as he had tried grabbing more than just her ass. She had whacked his hand with a mug and glared at him hard enough to drill a hole into his skull. The man only hiccupped and laughed drunkenly as if her threat was nothing but petty words. “I think it is time I cut off your alcohol sir, you don’t seem to be aware of your current situation.” The man protested with a slur of his words before he went silent after the sound of glass breaking came to her ears. Eva looked at him curiously as seemed to be making a weird noise. Suddenly, he coughed, and what he coughed up wasn't his mix of spit and sweat, it was blood, and it splattered all over the food that was in front of him. Her eyes went wide at the sight of blood before she realized the man had begun falling face first into his food. She took a few steps backwards, trying to keep at bay the flashbacks of her past. Her eyes flashed all sorts of colors, and if her hair wasn’t tied up in a headscarf, her hair would be shimmering like the night sky. Eva took a few moments to get herself under control before she looked down at the man who was laying in his food. A crossbow bolt stuck out from the back of his neck and blood started to slowly pool into his leftover food. She cringed at the sight and went to tell someone, only to stop when she heard the sound of coins jingling in his inner pocket from his body twitching. After all the gold mizas he had spent on food and drink, this man still had coin on him? Eva went from feeling gross to feeling greedy as she glanced around quickly and slid her hand in, snatching the coin purse and putting it in her purse. This didn’t take long to do, but apparently the person who had conveniently lost their crossbow bolt was at the door. They were yelling and Eva felt the pressure of the situation. She pulled herself together and went for one last item. She quickly grabbed a ring off the man's hand before skittering out of the way to the back of the tavern. Right then, the man was barging his way in and over to the man. His eyes studied the body before he pulled out a paper and compared the two. Eva watched from the kitchen and came to the conclusion that the man must have been a bounty hunter. She shivered at the idea before going back to work, grumbling at the mess she would be cleaning afterwards. A few bells later and Eva is back into the rhythm of work. She was currently avoiding the murder scene as the body was still there and the guards were getting ready to haul it out back. Why it took so long to move, Eva couldn’t quite figure it out, but all she knew is she was told to clean up afterwards. She had kept her eyes on the scene while she helped other patrons, watching the guards talk to the man from before as he explained what was going on. Apparently, he was telling the guards that he was tailing the man when an arrow came flying out of nowhere and hit the guy. He came rushing in because he witnessed the guy being shot and needed confirmation. Eva didn't get why, but she also wasn't here to question yet, she was trying to hide and stay away until they finished. Word Count: 709

[Evalynn Frostfawn]

She had dubbed this task ‘The Big Clean’, for everything was sticky or nearly dried. Eva also smelt the scent of shit from where the man was sitting as well, and when she arrived she was met with a trail of shit that seemed to have tumbled out of his pants after they moved him. She felt nauseous, and definitely used layers upon layers of cloth to pick up the pieces and dispose of them. She felt icky afterwards, and the feeling didn't stop when she continued to clean up the mess. First things first was to clean the table, and that included taking away the spilled mugs and the bloodied food. The washer in the back was grossed out and just said to toss the plates after seeing how goopy the blood had become after mixing with the food. She then grabbed her bucket and filled it with soap and some hot water before hauling it out into the dining room and over to the table. The spilled mead and blood had mixed and seemed to have cemented itself onto the surface of the table. Eva scrubbed and scrubbed until her hands were soar and arms throbbed, but still only got halfway done. Wiping her brow, she sighed as she leaned against the table. The rag was stained red from all the blood, and the water looked like it was filled with blood, but the table was only halfway done. She hulled the dirty water back and got fresh water, going back out and starting the process again. After about a half a bell, and another bucket of hot water, she finally got up all the blood from the table and floor. It wasn't perfect, but it looked a hell of a lot better than before, and that is what she was going for. So for the remainder of her shift, all that this barmaid had to think about was finishing up her shift and moving on. Word Count: 328