Monthly Story Prompts

What does your character think about this?

Good! People are drinking too much anyway

Roe roamed the streets of Namarast as she did almost every free day she had away from the Academy. It was strangely quiet though. Usually, Namarast was a bustling city of people but, today, there was barely anyone out on the streets. Perhaps they were all studying. Maybe it was just a slow day for trade. On the surface, it was possible to come to these conclusions. However, look more closely and it was easy to see the problem. Although the city is ruled by The Order and it is mostly a hive of lecture theatres, libraries and study areas, there is more to it than that. Small stalls often line the streets and there are a number of shops dotted in between all of The Order's looming structures. For the majority, Roe is not acquainted in any of them with the exception of a couple of bookshops hidden away down the back alleys where she tends to hide away when responsibility called her name. But, after a long day of teaching, the professors had to have somewhere to go and relieve their stresses and worries (somewhere responsibility wouldn't call their names, either) hence the many micro-bars and speakeasys. As Roe walked, she began to notice the empty buildings; lights switched off, chairs stacked up, doors locked. The ghost town was beginning to make sense now.

But why were all these businesses closed? As the petite grey deer peered through glass of each bar, squinting to see if she could see movement, she came across one door with a note stuck to the wood. This business-owner had been kind enough to scrawl a simple explanation out to those in search for their daily liquor fix.

'NO ALCOHOL - GO ELSEWHERE'

Well, that was hardly a riveting read. No alcohol? How can an establishment, who's only purpose is to sell alcohol, be out of alcohol? And, then it dawned on her. Mead. Mead was the hub of breweries, each claiming they had the best beer in town. They exported the stuff like crazy, with barrels and barrels of ale leaving the tiny village every day, heading all over Ivras. The monster fiasco had brought a halt to everything in Mead with everyone fleeing to escape. With no one to manage the brewing, production had simply stopped overnight. This wasn't just the final blow though, oh no! Mead also produced a wide range of other delicacies such as whiskey, vodka, wine and other drinks that required some form of process to produce (fermenting, distilling, etc). So, yes, the pubs were closed because, regrettably, Mead was also closed.

Was it regrettable though? Perhaps not. Alcohol made the best of men do idiotic things, sometimes. Roe never stayed out after dark - she was scared of what lurked in the shadows. During the height of summer, she would often sleep with the window cracked open to allow what little breeze there was to circulate her room but the noises of the night led to many sleepless nights. Stumbling home, blurred vision, unable to find home. That hardly sounded like fun. But there was the other side of alcohol that led to not just innocently losing your keys. It made some vulnerable but it also made some dangerous. They say, a drunk mind speaks sober thoughts but it was truly hard to believe some of the terrible things she had heard would be done by a sane person. It sent shivers down her spine. So, maybe, these businesses were out of business for good reason. Maybe the corrupted mage who still thwarted Mead was doing the kingdom a favour.

Alcohol never appealed to Roe. She tried it once. It's bitter taste and burning sensation stung her tastebuds and throat. That one sip was enough to convert her to abstinence. How anyone could find the taste delicious was beyond her. The taste was rarely the appeal, though, and its nasty kick could be smothered with a sweet mixer to make it palatable. The appeal was its affects and its ability to make one forget. She knew there were regulars that frequented these bars that would queue for the doors to open and be in there until they were forced to leave at closing, trying with all their might to drown the sorrows on their mind. It never worked though but they continued trying, digging themselves deeper and deeper into the hole. Their favourite watering holes must be driving them to the brink of insanity. Maybe it would help The Order's cause of defeating the monster - enraged alcoholics waving their pitchforks around to try and quicken the restoration of Mead and, subsequently, the restoration of their drug of choice. Roe hoped it would lead to the salvation of some of these desperate souls. In any case, the widespread destruction of this particular market was good. People were drinking too much anyway.