open mingle 🍷 grand opening

[discourtesies]

Who: Diluc Ragnvindr, Barok van Zieks, and anybody!
Where: At Day's End bar and winery
What: After a few months of preparation, Diluc and Barok's Fine Drinking Establishment is finally ready to open! So they're doing that. With a party! Bring your own toplevel.
When: A few days before the flower festival
Warnings: I mean. Alcohol?

Welcome to the grand opening of At Day’s End!

As a nod to the upcoming holiday, the bar has been decorated with carefully arranged flowers in addition to the planned garlands and lanterns to evoke a comfortable but festive atmosphere. Although the pair didn't exactly anticipate the sudden influx of emotion-steampunk-land natives, they have temporarily removed a few tables in the interest of opening up the floor for more visitors, and the weather is thankfully warm enough for the doors to remain open. Attendees are encouraged to try small tastes of different drinks before deciding upon a full glass, giving an easy opportunity to mingle with others.

At Day’s End serves a variety of locally-crafted wines and spirits as well as non-alcoholic options such as juice, coffee, and tea.

• ALCOHOLIC SPECIALS
  
  • Cider Special: Applebloom Cider - Apple cider brewed with apple blossoms. Light and floral. Usually only available during Windblume in Mondstadt, and similarly will only be available during the month of April in Songerein.
    
  • Red Wine Special: Midnight Harvest - A sweet red wine with a very fruity taste and hints of nutty flavor.
    
  • White Wine Special: Winter Moon - A dry, crisp white wine for those seeking a less sweet drinking experience.
    
  • Cocktail: Thorns of Springtime - Whiskey, honey, chamomile tea, and elderflower liqueur. Served over ice.
  
  
• NON-ALCOHOLIC SPECIALS
  
  • Gray Valley Sunset: It’s just fruit punch with a fancy name.
    
  • Rosé Bloom: A mix of juices made from only the finest red and white grapes, according to van Zieks.

Comments

[discourtesies]

[How in the world this man manages to accomplish anything, let alone the brilliance which helped upturn a decade-long international conspiracy, Barok will never understand. What an utter mess of a human being. He watches the retrieval of the glass and wine with an obvious level of disdain, only turning his eyes back to Herlock's face when he's addressed with such a... generous offer.]

I would rather not have the distraction when you've pressed such a delicate situation upon me.

[He'll get himself one later, maybe once the thing has become comfortable enough to rest in his coat without making a ruckus. He also doesn't trust that Sholmes might not mess up the simple pouring of a cup of water somehow; he'll take care of this issue himself, to his own standards.]

[thegamesafoot]

[ Sholmes gives van Zieks a suit yourself kind of shrug, then rests an elbow on the bar to watch the prosecutor deal with the unexpected wildlife. He casually swirls the glass of white under his nose, admiring the bouquet with an inhale while the bat continues to shriek. ]

Surely there's some way to calm the little chap? Some scritches behind the ears? Maybe bundle him in a kerchief? I have one—a bit bloody ... Oh! [ A knowing smile. ] But would that be to his liking?

[ The detective produces a rumpled pocket square thoroughly stained in dark, purple blood—dried, fortunately—and wags it at the poor creature as if it has any notion as to what's going on. ]

[discourtesies]

[Van Zieks pulls the distressed bat away from the man's careless gesture, an expression on his face that can't get much more unimpressed. It's not a surprise that Sholmes would fail to understand how rare vampire bats are in the grand scheme of things, but it doesn't make Barok any happier about it.]

Describe to me exactly where you found this unfortunate creature.

[He will take care of it, without any of the offered "help," and without any unnecessary explanation of his actions; it's unlikely the detective would care to remember it, anyway. However, if there is anything useful in Sholmes's brain regarding the situation, he'll retrieve it.]

[thegamesafoot]

[ Bat knowledge falls neatly in the bucket of things Sholmes doesn't bother himself with. Right next to the heliocentric model of the solar system.

He takes a long sip of wine and nods his head approvingly as he considers that request. He did make a promise to the ents that the Glowing Dawn cave (or at least their hidden oasis therein) would remain a secret.

Though it may well come across as petty revenge for van Zieks' refusal to discuss Noctaere, Sholmes now denies information in kind: ]

No.

[discourtesies]

[He should have expected such behavior. And really, it's a sign of van Zieks's magnanimity that he merely retorts:]

Then remove yourself from my presence.

[Rather than saying he's going to throw Sholmes out, of course. The detective can enjoy his wine elsewhere in the establishment; Barok has no need of someone who refuses to share information that would solve a problem said person caused.]

[thegamesafoot]

I found the stowaway under the yoke of my coat after returning from the Wildlands. [ There, enjoy a vague answer. No reference to the cave or the frantic, undignified process of capturing the bat once it was loose in the Mikotoba treehouse. ]

I'll give the two of you some privacy, then. [ He raises his glass in a toast before turning to find someone else to torment speak to. ] But do let me know how he settles in—I've become rather attached to the little banshee.

[discourtesies]

[Barok watches Sholmes leave without making any promises or further remarks that may keep him in the vicinity. The information given was as useless as he'd anticipated, and he's perfectly capable of simply "forgetting" the request.

Honestly, it's just his luck that things would turn out this way. Hopefully there will be no further excitement caused by detectives or otherwise, but for now he'll have to head to the back and try to settle this poor bat's mood...]