"Soren! Take the Barrel over to Old Zoran!"
Outside the Morning Breeze Inn's wine cellar, a young man watched the workers moving the Barrels. "This many? Can Old Zoran drink it all...?"
"Even if he uses it to soak his bad leg, that's none of our business." The foreman waved to a passing friend, straightened up, and urged him on. "Get to work!"
Soren hoisted a Barrel onto his shoulder and headed for Old Zoran's home.
He had not gone far when he saw the foreman's friend whisper to a companion, "Old Zoran soaks his feet in beer from the Morning Breeze Inn..."
No wonder Old Zoran ordered so much beer... Soren thought as he headed north along Coastal Street.
A Freight Wagons caught up from behind, and a startled voice drifted down from it. "The beer we drink was used to soak Old Zoran's bad leg..."
No wonder Old Zoran ordered so much beer... Soren thought. He paused to let a group of children run onto Sandy Beach, watching them with envy. Star-Moon Bay provided for them and even let them work four hours a day to earn money. When he had been their age, he could only scavenge through rubbish on the streets while dodging thugs who sold people... At least that was all behind him now.
When he reached Old Zoran's little Wooden Cottage, the door was shut. A neighbor said Old Zoran and the old Orc had gone to Sandy Beach to perform "Betar's Redemption" for visitors who had come to see it. Soren left the Barrels by the door, asked the neighbor to watch them, and returned to the inn.
He heard workers like himself huddled together, whispering, "It's awful... They found Old Zoran's bad leg in the inn's beer..."
Soren was glad he did