A tavern without a story was like a dwarf without height-boosting insoles.
What good did height-boosting insoles do a dwarf, you asked?
How else could he look taller than halflings and gnomes?
By the same logic, how did a new tavern distinguish itself from its competitors?
A "story" was its indispensable height-boosting insole.
[Star Plum Wine] was certainly expensive and rare, but Lord Mel's brewery also supplied fine drinks to the major taverns.
Not to mention that other taverns sold locally brewed drinks, as well as others imported through the port and canals—
The cheap but excellent ale [Underflow Black Beer], the tequila dwarves took such pride in, [Iron Furnace Flame], and the champagne favored by Teren's nobles, [Is Riverbank]...
Naturally, the better and broader the selection of drinks, the better.
Every tavern racked its brains trying to give itself a distinctive selling point.
"For example, [Mermaid's Song] has this widely circulated joke about 'a mermaid swept in by the waves, suffering from the loneliness of being far from home, who got thoroughly drunk in the tavern and then sang out over the sea'—"
Although he looked like a delicate-featured young boy, Chuck was already a fifty-year-old father with three daughters.
As a "guide" who had moved to Dragon Tail Pass as a child, he knew most of the amusing stories about Dragon Gold City.
While Dawn was upstairs calling for Kuru, Tang Qi, who was very interested in these stories, could not resist asking:
"Why is it a 'joke'?"
Chuck took a sip of beer and waved a hand.
"Because the owner of [Mermaid's Song] used to be a dockworker who hadn't seen much of the world.
"But his muscles were quite attractive, and he hooked up with a merchant's daughter and secured the funds to open a tavern.