Kobold Life

Chapter 15: Settling In

After Gabriel had managed to secure a deal for housing for the night, we had to work for our side of it.

The barmaid who sealed the deal introduced herself as Tella, and her two daughters who we would be assisting were Delilah and Lillian, each carried a surprising resemblance to their mother, despite their clearly pointed half-elven ears.

"Have any of you ever served food before?" Lillian asked.

Gabriel and Jitra both affirmed, but couldn't attest the same. While I had worked in a supermarket before, I had stayed away from the food industry.  Jitra admitted her experience likely was far different than what would be expected of us here. Jitra's mood seemed to improve when Gabriel moved to join us in this endeavor. He had no intention of having us pull his weight.

Lillian went through the unnecessarily lengthy process of taking and filing orders, filling mugs, and collecting coin. While Delilah covered the counter, Tella opened and prepared the attic for us. Once Lillian finished her instructions we made our way up the stairs and the smaller folding stairs into the attic to drop off our things and our four-legged friend. Before leaving, I made sure to give my bag to Opal directly. Inside the harpy egg was still tucked away, hidden in the husk of a gourd that barely fit it. I knew she would let no harm come to it.

By the time we made it back downstairs, Tella had aprons waiting for us and instructions. Delilah and Tella were going to be managing the bar itself while the three of us would be on the floor being overseen by Lillian. The troupe of bards was playing a strange but jaunty tune on the far side of the room when finally we set out to work.

The job was not easy, most of it consisted of moving around the bar looking for empty mugs to fill and empty plates to collect, but there were also newcomers making fresh orders. I felt rushed from place to place even though a total of four of us manned the floor. I couldn't imagine how Delilah and Lillian were managing before. One thing that helped however was the simplicity of the menu. Rather than a long complex list of offerings, there were two primary options. Llot Roast or Mixed stew. The former was a chunk of grayish meat cut into thin slices seared over on either side. While it had certainly been roasted at some point, the meat was prepared by simply warming it up on a flat cooking top and serving. The latter was a stew with a few small vegetables floating inside, as well as trace amounts of meat and fat from older red meat that I couldn't identify. Both dishes were served with a chunk of bread that was somewhere between brown and gray.

From my normal sensibilities, the food looked incredibly unappetizing, but after having gone months without any sort of processed food and subsisting on rations for the last few days of it, my body was inclined to disagree. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until the end of my shift to get a meal of my own.

The band played for hours and the clients rotated as they could. Soon enough the rift-light began to fade and the Tella began lighting candles around the room, keeping the room sufficiently lit. I personally had no trouble seeing thanks to my cave-accustomed eyes, but it made me appreciate how much of a difference the light bulb made in allowing us to work into the night as humans.

I had expected the number of patrons to die down once it grew darker, but a considerable stream still came and went as they pleased. I supposed that places like these were good for nightlife. About two hours more and with a pitch black sky more customers were leaving than arriving. By now the band members had each rotated through solos or duets to give their fellow members a chance to have a meal of their own. The last to take his break was Fable, who was Justin finishing up.

"I'm afraid this next one will be the last for the night," he said, "if you have seen us before then you'll know the song well, feel free to sing, and," he raised his mug and quickly downed the contents before continuing, "to drink along too."