Chapter 32
The Brew Battle

~*~

Mayor Sloan is Calinco. The others are utterly shocked, but I saw that one coming. Armed with this knowledge, we enter his office once again. Calinco is seated on a couch, eyes completely shut, enjoying a cup of tea. He seems to be in a trance, oblivious to our presence. How many times a day can a person have tea?

"Should we wake up him?" Elric asks, already approaching the mayor with who knows what kind of malice in mind. "He lied to us earlier. I can make him talk."

"He must have had his reasons." Oren also walks forward, taking interest in the tea. "Master Vars is also a lover of fine tea."

At the mention of Master Vars' name, Calinco comes out of his reverie. "I haven't heard that name in ages."

"You know Master Vars?"

"I do." The mayor rises from the couch and acknowledges us, not the least bit surprised that we are visiting him in the middle of the night. "We fought together in the War of Silence."

"But that's over seventy years ago!"

Calinco looks no older than forty. Perhaps in this world, facial features are not an indicator of age.

"Seventy seven years and two hundred thirty eight days, to be exact."

"So, you're suppose to be some old geezer," Elric says, even he now curious.

"Tea does wonders for the body."

"Mayor Sloan..." Cassis says, preparing to cut to the chase. "You're Calinco, aren't you?"

His expression turns sour. "Did I not tell you not to utter that name? The man is dead."

"I'm sorry, we won't call you by that name. But please, can you not tell us the location of the Speakers' Tribe? That's all we ask. Please!"

"It's sacred knowledge. The answer is no. Go home." Not wanting to see what more we have to say, he turns his back to us.

Cassis slouches in defeat. She stares at us with forlorn eyes, all hope extinguished. "Shall we get going then?"

I shake my head. There's still a card we can play. I communicate my idea to Oren. He shakes his head, not liking what I'm proposing. I point to Elric.

"Huh?" the thief says. "You want me to do something?"

Cassis also understands my plan. "I...suppose we can try."

"What is it? Tell me."

After a brief pause, Oren bends. "The mayor mentioned earlier that the cityfolk don't like Calinco and that they can be a bit...hostile. Do you understand?"

Elric's eyes widen in less than a second, and he smiles. "Let me take care of this." He marches over to face the mayor and begins his threats. "Right now, only we know you're Calinco. But what do you think will happen if the whole city of Mahgareb finds out who you really are?"

Calinco's eyes shoot daggers at us, one by one. "You vile human beings...You have sufficiently ruined my mood."

"Tell us where the Speakers' Tribe is, and we don't utter a world to your people. We won't utter the name Calinco ever again."

"You think you can threaten me? Hahahaha!" From out of nowhere, Calinco produces a staff and swings it at Elric.

The thief dodges it and dashes back to our side. "Well, that was unexpected."

"I'll teach you to respect your elders!"

All of us stare in disbelief as the mayor lunges straight at us.

Just then, Marla comes in and shouts at us at Calinco. "Oh no you don't! I'm not going to let you destroy the whole building. You reckless buffoon! Do you know how much money it would cost to repair it?"

"We're really sorry," Cassis apologizes. "We didn't mean to anger the mayor."

"You most certainly meant to." Calinco calms down, but he stance still remains combative.

"As a monk of Shalaron, I'm embarrassed to say I participated in this." Oren bows to the mayor. "Please accept my apologies. And please forgive us."

"Yeah, sorry," Elric says.

There is silence for a few seconds.

Then, Marla tells the mayor, "I've brewed you your favorite tea. Take a seat and I'll bring it over." He nods. She leaves the room then returns with a pot, placing it on the table.

Calinco pours himself a cup and takes a sip. "Perfect." He closes his eyes and smiles. Then remembering something, he opens his eyes again. "Have the guests arrived?"

"Yes," Marla replies. "As of a matter of fact, these folks here helped locate them. They were lost in the city's markets."

"Is that so?" Calinco now looks at us with growing acceptance, already forgetting the battle and threats of just a few minutes ago.

We all nod, welcoming the positive of events.

"Thank you." He pauses to ponder, then addresses us again. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you the location of the Speakers Tribe."

"You will do that?" Cassis says, brimming with excitement. "Thank you!"

"It'll have to wait until after the Tea Festival."

"But..." Cassis pleads with her eyes, but it's futile.

"Marla, find them a room, will you?"

Before we can protest, Calinco already has his eyes closed, sipping on a cup of Kamarakan Summer.

Marla escorts us out of the mayor's office and through a door which leads to a long hallway. We pass by three more doors and enter the fourth one. She wishes us a good night and leaves.

"Wow, I feel like royalty," Elric says, eyeing the room and the fancy beds.

Cassis, too, is impressed. "I'm royalty, and this is quite extravagant."

"It's nothing special to a monk," Oren says, as he takes a seat on the bed and begins his meditation. "Rest well, everyone."

With nothing else to do, I hop on one of the beds and close my eyes.

It feels like ages since Lady Vesuvia last spoke to me. I'm surprised I even remember her. For some reason, she stopped appearing in my sleep.

When I open my eyes, I find my group standing by Marla's desk. She seems stressed with the day's events. When she sees me and the others, she brightens up. "You guys! I'm so glad you're finally awake."

"What's wrong?" Cassis asks. "Is it Calinco?"

"No, it's one of the guest judges. General Jahara is missing!"

Oh great, another search quest?

"How can we help?"

Marla thinks aloud. "The Brew Battle is starting soon. There's no time to look for the old man. One of you will have to replace him as judge."

Cassis happily volunteers. "Well, I'm a Princess, so my opinion will be respected."

The receptionist shakes her head. "Sorry, but nobody on this side of the kingdom knows you. And we already have Prince Logan."

Cassis groans as Marla considers Elric and Oren.

"The thief...is not dignified enough..."

Elric shrugs.

"...and the monk..."

"Yes?" Oren says, expecting good news.

"Too wordy."

Oren groans. "I was hoping to taste the different exotic teas."

"That leaves..." Marla turns to me, "you."

"But he can't talk," Cassis tells her.

"Which makes him all the more mysterious. He's perfect!"

How did I know that was going to happen?

Marla steals me away from the group and pulls me into Calinco's office. The room has been transformed for the event with the most notable addition being a huge banner on a wall that reads THE BREW BATTLE. Below the banner, there's a table with four seats. Three of the seats have already been filled by Lady Prestelle, Prince Logan and Calinco. I claim the last one.

There are no spectators.

Soothing jazz music trickles into my ears. The perfect mood for a tea competition, I suppose.

Marla brings in the contestants one by one. All men, there are twelve in total, one of them I recognize to be Old Man Sam.

Calinco begins a speech. "Welcome to the Brew Battle. You've spent years perfecting your craft. Now it's time to show us your creations. Which one of you will win the coveted time of Brew Master? We shall find out soon enough. Let us the battle begin!"

The first contestant, an old man, steps forward to showcase his work. "My tea is called Prison Delight. It's a cold beverage inspired by my time in the Asentian Dungeons where the only thing that kept me alive was the condensed sweat of my fellow prisoners that collected on steel pipes. Fond memories." He places a cup each in front of us.

Lady Prestelle promptly brushes it aside.

Prince Logan takes a whiff and he, too, recoils in disgust.

As a man of tea, Calinco braves it with the tip of his tongue.

I pick up the cup and toss it on the ground, expressing my displeasure.

The old man slumps his shoulders and leaves the room.

The rest of the contestants, all old men, present their creations. The other judges drink and make notes. I do the same as before: rejecting the tea in disgust.

And finally it's Old Man Sam's turn. "My tea is called...Mother's Love. It's made with...bits and pieces...of...love from Bunnies." He decides to keep it simple, and spare the judges the disgusting details.

Lady Prestelle takes a sip and literally flies off her chair.

Prince Logan inhales the fumes and brushes the cup aside.

Calinco once again uses his tongue to test it out. "This tastes like...shit. And I don't mean metaphorically..."

I down the entire beverage to show my enthusiasm, but it doesn't help.

Sam weeps blocks of tears and runs out of the room. As he disappears, something falls out of his body.

I go to pick it up.

Did he give up his job because he didn't win? How sad. Maybe this is my reward for the quest.

With the Brew Battle over, I return to the mayor's office to find my party. As soon as Calinco shows his face, we ambush him.

"What a disappointing turn of events," he says. "Oh, it's you guys..."

Cassis kindly reminds him of his promise. "You were going to us about the Speakers..."

"Yes, I didn't forget...Hmmm... The Speakers reside in the Wandering Woods, just north of Mahegrab."

A look of confusion appears on Oren's face. "But that's just a rumor. No one has confirmed this."

"And do you know why that is?" Calinco's expression turns devilish.

"The woods there...wander, and people get lost. Those who enter supposedly never come out."

"Who knows how many have perished in there."

Oren frowns, finally understanding the mayor's words.

Cassis remains positive. "But you know how to navigate the woods, don't you?"

"I do..." Calinco takes another sip of tea.

"Then please tell us."

"No. As I've said. It's sacred knowledge."

Elric grows annoyed. "We can find the way ourselves. If I can navigate the Asentian Desert, I can navigate any place in the world."

We all look at each other, uncertain.

Marla nudges the mayor. "At least give them some guidance."

Calinco strokes his chin. "Very well. Read carefully. FOLLOW THE VOICES AND YOU SHALL FIND THE WAY."

"What are voices?" Elric asks, waiting for the mayor to continue.

"That's all," the mayor tells us. "Should you get lost in the woods, simply take the north path five times, and you will end up back at the entrance."

"That makes no sense!"

"It makes perfect sense!"

Elric scratches his head, the mayor's cryptic clue proving more than he can handle.

Cassis is equally confused, but she's intent on figuring it out. "Can you not give us more hints?"

"FOLLOW THE VOICES AND YOU SHALL FIND THE WAY!"

Oren looks to me, as if suspecting that I might know the answer. I shake my head. The riddle is too vague.

"We'll make our leave now, Mayor Sloan," Cassis says.

He nods, then turns to me of all people. "As a fellow priest, I would like to lend a hand. Take this." He throws something over to me.

You received Flash Scroll!

"With it, you can learn the Flash spell. The Wandering Woods are extremely dangerous. Use it to protect your friends."

We thank Calinco and leave him to his tea.

~*~