"Professor Kraft, you've got to try this." Martin came in carrying two large mugs and knocked on the wooden door of the booth. The sweet, fizzy aroma and music from outside slipped into the room, then faded again as the door shut behind him.
He set the mugs down on a spot on the table not buried under papers, then picked one up and took a sip. "I heard the owner made enough from this to buy an entire manor."
"What is it?"
Kraft moved the dangerous-looking drink, with droplets running down its sides, away from the papers covering the table. He held it under his nose and sniffed.
It was a light alcoholic drink with a natural sweetness. Its base was beer, mixed with crushed leaves that gave off a cooling scent and a thick, sweetening syrup. Sparse bubbles rose from the pale golden liquid now and then, joining the thick, snowy foam.
A film of condensation had formed on the glass, and that was where the droplets came from.
"Beer? Cold?" It didn't look cheap, especially in the middle of summer.
"Honey beer. You can only get it here, near Rivers. I hope you like it, though I've never met anyone who doesn't." Martin blew away the foam and bits of mint, took another sip, then gestured for Kraft to try it.
A drink brought back from an off-campus stall on a sweltering day? How nostalgic. Even the crisp, fizzy sweetness was similar.
"Thanks so much, but drinking isn't a good idea when we have work to do."
"Just try a little. It's light and refreshing."
"All right, just one sip." Kraft picked up the mug. Few people could resist a sweet, fizzy drink, and he was a longtime fan.
It tasted a little different from what he'd