Sophia White
Stories
6
Chapters
1,465
Words
493.5 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 17 h
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I awoke to banging, and the familiar sound of Whistlemop screaming at my door. I sighed and pulled myself out of bed. I was exhausted. We'd barely managed to get the conditioned bottles properly labeled and stacked last night, and today was probably going to be a zoo. At least the hard work was worth it! I still didn’t really know what a Karmic Reversal did. The description wasn’t overly useful either. I really needed those theology lessons from Prophet Barnes. “Balin, wake up!” *Moan* I…-
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“Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods.” “Lever goes there, Balin.” “Got it.” *Clank* “Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods.” “Is the spigot in place, Richter?” *meeeeeh!!!* “Aye.” “Let it go, Balin!” *CRUNCH* “Was it supposed to make that sound?!” “Uhh… let me check.” “Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods.” “Aqua!” I grabbed the pacing dwarfess as she walked past me and shook her shoulders. "It’ll be fine! Calm down!” “Calm down!?” Aqua was nearly in tears. “How am I…
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“Do you want to do the talking, Annie?” I asked, as I adjusted the carry platter. The moment would be ruined if I spilled the drinks. “Yes. You can come across as insincere. Sorry Pete.” Annie shifted from foot to foot, pumping herself up. “No, no. I absolutely “Okay. Is Balin ready?” “He and Tania both gave me the signal a moment ago.” Aqua called from the door to the kitchen. “Let’s do this.” Annie moved forward and I followed behind her, carrying the drinks. There was…
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What followed was a lot of back slapping and congratulations. “Pete! It worked!” Annie ran up and pulled me into a hug. We were soon joined by Balin, then Aqua, then everyone else. “We did it!” “Huzzah!” “Congratulations!” “Did anyone else hear that sound?” “It looks amazin’, I can’t wait to try it!” *Meeeeeeh!!!!* *Burp* We broke apart and considered Penelope, who had finished the bowl and was pushing it towards us with a stamping foot. “We have to give her Aqua…
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Richter and I arrived at the Brewery to find everyone already preparing to open the pub. “Pete!” Annie waved me over as I walked through the door to the brew-room. “What did you find?” “Lily-liver oil seems to be a pretty standard ingredient in potions.” I passed her the books we’d bought, complete with strips of paper marking the relevant sections. “But it’s from the dungeon, so I think our water is out as a contamination source.” Annie nodded. “I agree. Balin said the he went…
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*Bing!* My hand stopped glowing, and I waved the notification away. And… that was it. There was no further flash of light, the tank didn’t glow or change colour or anything like that. It was a bit anticlimactic actually. Annie’s desperate face popped in front of me. “What happened? Did it work?” “I think it did? There was a notification on it. But - “ I looked around the room at everyone, “what the heck is unrefined lily-leopard liver oil?” — It took almost an hour, but the…
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We looked down into the bubbling vat of the open-top fermenter. The Kräusen was foaming and bubbling merrily, a clear sign of a healthy yeast culture. The problem was… “It’s fermenting too fast.” I said, giving it a stir with the ladle. “It started this morning. The Ancestral Seed shouldn’t be so thick already, and the bubbling is far too vigorous.” Annie said, wringing her hands. “What’s happening?!” I was worried enough that I didn’t even care about the awful name. “We…
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Waiting for beer to ferment can drive a dwarf crazy. Thirty-two hour days didn't help. It’s like putting on a pot of water to boil. You can’t help but stare at it, desperately willing it to boil faster. Fermentation is like that, but with a lot more crusty Kräusen. So we waited, and kept ourselves busy during the time the pub wasn’t open. Every morning Balin and I woke up and had a simple breakfast of goat sausage, eggs, and oats. Balin would run to schmooze with Annie while I schmoozed a cup of…
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“Alright everyone, listen up!” Annie waved to catch our attention. Just like last time, the entire brewery was in attendance; Aqua and her dad, Richter, John, Johnsson, and Balin. The only difference was that this time Jeremiah was standing to the side, his face dour. I guess he was feeling a bit melancholic watching the next generation preparing to take over. That, or he had indigestion; he’d been out drinking with his guard buddies all night. Speaking of last night, Bran was out at the Grand…
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I kept bouncing back to have quick chats with Barnes’s table until his brother Joshua invited me to join them. Since the main rush was done, and I was a bit peckish anyway, I obliged. Joshua and Tourmaline were originally from the Capital, Kinshasa. Joshua was cagey about his profession, and only willing to say that he was a very successful businessman. Apparently he was incognito in Minnova on business, and he asked me to keep quiet about it. I had no problem agreeing to that, though I made a mental…
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