Who Says You're Tavern Master?

Writers: Cali, Jane
Date Posted: 14th April 2008

Characters: Zandreu, Barthella
Description: Zandreu moves in to the Tavern and meets the cook, Barthella.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 9, day 20 of Turn 4

The thin man wearing the faded knots of master rank and the badges of the Vintner Hall pushed open one half of the double doors into the great room of the Tavern.

The place was all but silent, this early in the morning, and had an almost haunted feeling to the emptiness that was evident in the sunlight flooding into the room.

Yesterday, when he had visited, the Threadfall shutters had been closed.
This morning they were all open showing the great room off to good effect.

Zandreu stepped into the room and then walked across it, one bag slung over his shoulder and a small trunk carried in front of him. It wasn't all he owned, but it was enough for him to start in a new place, and to keep him going until the rest of his gear caught up with him. He didn't like to claim to be an expert, but he had had enough moves over the last decade to have worked out a system.

At the foot of the stairs he placed the trunk and bag, out of casual sight and certainly out of the way of anybody using the stairs or corridor, then went deeper into the building in search of the kitchens.

With the space behind the bar empty then the next most likely place to find people in a tavern would always be the kitchen.

Barthella almost ran into stranger as she came through the kitchen doors with clean tray of mugs to set up at the bar. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said instinctively before wondering why this man was trying to enter her kitchens. As she readjusted the tray she asked, "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm sure you can. I'm Zandreu, and I'm going to be acting as the Tavern Master here while Master Bhervehan's away. But I don't want to hold you up," he said, backing out of the way. "You carry on and I'll talk while you work."

She gawked at him a moment while she processed what he was saying, then set down the mugs at the edge of the bar. "What do you mean _carry on_, I can't just go about my work once you say something like that!
Who _says_ you're Tavern Master? Do you have papers or anything?"

"I have master's knots," he suggested mildly, "and you could always pop across to the Hall and ask the Hallmaster if it's true."

"And don't think I won't either." She waved her finger at him, suspicious of anyone who would try and usurp Bhervehan's authority.
She looked him up and down, making sure to inspect his mentioned master's knots and finally spoke again. "Saying I buy that you're the _acting_ Tavern Master, I'd probably better introduce myself. I'm Barthella, the Head Cook and most irreplaceable person you'll ever meet."

"I had a meal here yesterday," he said, extending his hand to the cook.
"So I can believe that easily enough."

She wasn't at ease with him by any means, but a compliment on her cooking went a long way with her and she accepted the handshake. "We don't cook much on Threadfall days, it's not worth it with only a handful of people showing up. We'll have a better variety to show off today and I'll introduce you to the staff."

"I'd appreciate that, though there's no need to pull them away from their work if it's inconvenient. I wouldn't want to upset the routines any more than necessary and I can catch up with everybody over time."
He shrugged. "I take a pretty long view of things."

"However you please, they aren't a shy lot." she said curtly. She didn't see how an introduction would inconvenience anyone, but if he wanted to poke around by himself then he was welcome to it. "I take it you haven't had a proper tour of the tavern yet, I'd be happy to take you around."

"I'd appreciate that. Who usually handles the accommodation side of things? I'd like a room over here, to be on the spot, rather than in the Hall or the cots out the back."

"Nathia's in charge of the rooms, I believe I saw her heading towards the laundry. I'll show you the way." Barthella turned and headed into the kitchen not looking back to see if he was following.

The new Tavern Master smiled. It was obvious that the real authority in the Tavern lay with the head cook, regardless of his own masters knots or his appointment to the job by the Hallmaster. It took time for things to settle down after a change in leadership and he had the feeling it would take even more time with Barthella.

Last updated on the April 17th 2008

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Who Says You're Tavern Master?