Chapter 136: The Tavern
In fact, when Cheese asks Sparrow to lead the way to his boss, Little Sparrow refuses. If a dangerous person like a mage is directly brought into the boss's lair by himself, then it is okay to say that the two of them have a smooth transaction, but if something goes wrong, naturally no one will dare to let Cheese compensate for the loss, but on the contrary, Sparrow, who exposed the hidden place in front of Cheese, will definitely be unlucky.
"Remember, you'd better not look around when we're there, especially don't make eye contact with people, and don't talk to them......" Walking down the sparsely populated street, Sparrow kept telling the cheese next to him what he should and shouldn't do. These experiences were all summed up by the little sparrow himself, and he originally regarded them as a precious life creed, but now in order to prevent the cheese from causing chaos after punching five or six strong men into the hideout, he didn't care about it.
As for whether the mage was listening to the little sparrow's nagging, I'm afraid it's not so certain. And compared to the unwitting instructions that Sparrow had repeated several times in his mouth, Cheese's attention was more focused on the surrounding streets. In fact, in this city, places such as brothels are strictly controlled, and although they are not officially operated, it would be a bit self-deceptive to say that there are no eyes and ears of the royal family behind these places.
So what is called a hiding place in such a city is definitely not full of chaos and disorder like other such places. From the outside, this tavern with the sign "Crimson Blood" looks no different from the kind of tavern that is reserved for mercenaries and other low-income groups. However, according to Sparrow, this inconspicuous tavern is the external place of the leader of the underworld in the city of the Blue Lion King, One-Eye. Anyone who wants to find a one-eyed person or needs one-eyed help can find the services they need here. That is, of course, if they can pay a price commensurate.
Led by Sparrow, he pushed the door open and walked into the tavern, and Cheese quickly sensed the difference from other taverns that looked like the same kind. It's too quiet compared to the "Top of the Dragon's Back" run by Elsa or the other taverns that Cheese has visited. In the dim light, all the drinkers here maintained an oppressive silence, they just sat silently in their seats and drank something, and there was no conversation between the two people sitting very close.
The little sparrow tugged at the corner of Cheese's coat and motioned for him to follow, and the two of them walked straight to the bar. There was only one bartender, a very good-looking young man, except for the black strip of cloth that covered his left eye. Ladies and ladies who had no experience in the world might have thought of the bartender as a handsome young man, but the cheese noticed at a glance the hands that were showing when he wiped the glass. It was a pair of hands that were good at using daggers. It is clear that the bartender has a rather dangerous part-time job in addition to his job. But it's hard to say which of those part-time jobs or the bartender's job is what he really relies on to make a living.
"He's one-eyed?" Cheese asked, standing in front of the bar looking at the bartender. There was still a bar across the bar, but the mage's instincts told him to try not to go near the young man any longer, it would be quite dangerous and stupid.
Before Sparrow could speak, the bartender chuckled.
"Of course I'm not. Have you ever seen a boss wipe a cup here? If you want, you can call me Shadow. So, what are you going to drink?"
Cheese frowned, trying to tell the shadow that he wasn't here to drink, but to his boss to buy the antidote that Spyro had in his mouth. But before he could say anything, the little sparrow had already pulled him to sit down, and whispered to him.
"Whatever you want to do, it's the rule here to have a drink first. ”
Cheese tilted his head, accepting the strange rule. It didn't take much time to get rid of those hooligans just now, so the mage wasn't in a hurry now.
"Hmm...... That's mead. Cheese said to Shadow.
"Mead, don't you think about anything else? I have the most complete library of all the Greylions, and with all due respect, the taste of the mead tastes like fermented horse urine. Shadow listened to Cheese's words and froze slightly. Indeed, as he said, honey wine may be called a drink in areas where materials are not abundant, but its taste is indeed too intense for most people, and coupled with the poor taste, even the poor do not like to drink this kind of wine.
"No need, I'm used to drinking. Cheese said. It is true that the taste of honey wine is not good, but in the north where materials are scarce, especially where the gray tower is located, the mages do not focus on winemaking, so since the mage started drinking, he drank the most honey wine. Its taste has become a habit of cheese, so in terms of choice, even if there is a better alcohol, cheese still tends to choose something that is familiar to him.
"Are you sure? I've got last year's fresh beer here, and some ales and wines, how about I invite you?" Shadow was still trying to sell the aged wine in the barrels behind him, and it was obvious that he enjoyed being a bartender. He was even afraid that cheese would order the cheapest mead because he was shy in his pocket, so he suggested that he could ask cheese for a drink.
"A glass of mead, with ice if there are ice cubes. Thank you. However, the bartender's diligence did not impress the mage, and Cheese only repeated his plan to come up with the honey.
"Okay, okay, I got it. Shadow compromised at Cheese's insistence. He raised his hand in resignation, then turned and looked down in the lowest barrel for the one containing the honey.
"By the way, little sparrow, what are you going to drink? When I went to buy wine this morning, they gave me some juice that had not yet been fermented. Turning his back to the bar, Shadow asked.
"I'm going to be like him. The little sparrow sat down beside the cheese and straightened up, trying to make herself look less afraid. The atmosphere was so quiet that Sparrow, who was not here for the first time, still broke out in a cold sweat behind his back.
"That's not going to work. You know the rules, wine is for guests, and you, just a little bee that brings guests. The shadow said as he pushed the two cups towards the two men in front of the bar. The glass for the cheese was a glass with an amber liquor, and the one for Sparrow was a glass with grape juice.
"Hmph, I'll be drinking here someday!" whispered an oath as Sparrow took his glass of grape juice and took a sip of it. For him, this glass of grape juice is also a rare delicacy, but being able to drink wine in "red blood" carries a certain symbolic meaning in itself. For those who are not level enough, Shadow is not so polite every day.
"So, can we get down to business?" asked Cheese in his glass.
"Don't be in such a hurry, my friend, finish your glass first. And then we get to the point. The shadow said, pouring himself a small glass of honey wine. Then he stuck out his tongue after a shallow taste, and he really didn't like the taste.
"Can you bartender here drink whatever he wants?" Cheese took a sip and turned to ask Sparrow.
"When the boss is away, the shadow is the biggest in this tavern. He can drink whatever he wants. The little sparrow shrugged his shoulders and said.
Tilting his head again, Cheese felt that he was increasingly confused about what kind of medicine was being sold in this bartender gourd. The mage drank the honey wine in the cup in two sips, and showed the empty bottom of the cup to the other party, indicating that he had finished drinking.
"Haha, it's a bold guest. So...... Did you notice that I had poisoned the wine?" said Shadow with a smile as she looked at Cheese's glass.