As you enter Stolley's Tavern, the odor hits you - hay, beer, dust and mold, and something that smells suspiciously like blood.

The tavern is dark, full of shadows and corners. The light coming from the lone phosphor lantern hanging from the rafters does not seem to get far in the murk; it is weak and sickly. The patrons huddle at the bar, seemingly too dejected to speak. The bartender, Stolley, slouches in a corner, absentmindedly polishing a glass. No one's eyes meet yours, and no one looks up when you enter.

The building, once your eyes adjust to the light, looks as though it were made of kindling and prayers. There are certain places where the walls are held together with rope and a few nails. A hole in the ceiling lets in rain, but never, for some reason, sunlight. The beer is certainly not the reason to come here. It tastes watery and cheap. Yet, this little building always seems to be packed; there is never a shortage of customers.

If you were to pay close attention, you might notice an unusual number of galdori come into this bar, and they all seem to head to the basement.


Minke blushed. She didn't like being looked at as uncultured but this was something she honestly had known nothing about. From all the Minke had gathered people were really happy, sad, or angry when they came out of bars. Then again, those same people were usually the same when they went in the bars. All the drinks seemed to do was magnify the moods. Minke was sad or angry, so what was there to be afraid of?

"Moonshine? I must admit it has a charming name. Almost magical. Why not?"

"Ha! That's what I like to hear!" He patted her on the back and walked up to the bar, ordering their drinks, and returned with three mugs. "Oh, I'm sorry, did the wolf want anything?" He set the drinks on a table before them. Rita immediately leapt from his shoulder and began lapping at the smaller mug of beer- when they weren't sharing, she knew not to go for the pint.

Minke gazed down at Kendra who appeared to be too busy sneezing from all the dust to notice much of anything else at the moment. She smirked and patted the wolf's back.

"No, I think she's a bit preoccupied-but uh thanks anyway."

Minke looked at the beverage in her hands. It looked fine enough but when she took a sip the burn caught her by surprise. This was supposed to be pleasant? As much as she wished to stop right there and order a glass of water, she wasn't about to be rude. She forced down a couple more sips. Afterall, she had been treated by-who was she being treated by?

"E-excuse me," Minke coughed out still not used to the after effects of the drink, "but I don't believe I got your name. I'm Minke Labres, but my parents call me Minnie." What had she just blurted out? Is this was moonshine did?

"Um...you can ignore that last part." she added, embarrassed.

((LOL Minke. Moonshine - sounds magical! ))

Of course, he didn't ignore that last part, "Minnie, eh?" He chuckled, "Alright, 'Minnie,' my name is Seth Richards. You can call me Seth..." He glanced down at Rita, apparently appalled, "No, I do NOT go by Ios! My name is Seth!" He twitched, then looked back up at Minke, blushing, "Eheh... you can ignore the cat... she's had a bit much to drink, if you ask me, eheh... As I said, you can call me Seth." He nodded.

Minke grinned, "Alright Ios. What a pretty name." she batted her eyelashes to emphasize her joke.

"Hey what's with the..." Minke paused unsure of what to make of the cat. All she ever heard were normal cat noises. What kind of weirdo talked to his cat like any other person. Then again he was a human and a possibly dangerous one at that, even if he wasn't threatening. He was still a thief and he probably had a couple connections if he had any dirty work he needed done. Minke decided maybe she should just play along. "..um never mind. Lost my train of thought." she back pedaled while pointing to her head.

Seth grumbled under his breath, not liking his own joking turned back on him. "It's Seth. And the cat? Her name is Rita. Saved her when she was a kitten and she's never left me since." He took a long sip of beer, closing his eyes as it went down- it wasn't the best beer in the world, being watered down, but there wasn't a whole lot better in The Stacks, unless you went underground, and he wasn't sure if this particular character was familiar with the underground- didn't want to lead any Galdori lovers where they shouldn't be. "Anyway, she's just an ordinary cat. I promise. Smarter than an average cat, but other than that, perfectly normal.... yep... completely normal." Rita looked up at Minke, licked her furry little lips, and continued with her drinking. The glass was already half empty... or full, which ever way you see it.

"That c-cat can sure drink." Minke said with a clumsy stutter. Looking down at her glass she noticed that she wasn't far behind.

"You know this stuff is...is pretty good. Thanks for taking me here." she said as she took another swig. Was it just her or did the ground just get closer?

THUMP! Minke had leaned too far from the sturdy support of the bar and ended up on the not so sturdy, but definately more furry, back of Kendra. If Minke had been a bigger person the fall probably would have affected Kendra more but it just caught her by surprise. She let out a howl while frantically licking Minke's face.

"Unnngh." Minke moaned while rubbing her head and wiping off dog slober. "Thanks, Kendra."

"Eheh... yeah, sorry, should have warned you about that... it happens to inexperienced drinkers... here, let me help you up..." He took her hand and helped her slide into a chair, chucking to himself before casting a sudden glance at Rita, "No, I am NOT flirting! Where do you GET these rediculous ideas?" He then turned back to Minke, "Again, sorry... are you alright?"

Minke was still too dazed to notice Seth's tiff with Rita.

"I'm fine, though m-maybe maybe I should go home." She tried to stand up but just slumped back into her chair. The room was moving way too much for her liking. The chair seemed to cater to her needs better.

"Ehh... home... right... well maybe you should sit down for a bit, first. Sober up a little... once you can walk, if you still feel the need to go home, I can help you if you need it..." He could have sworn he saw Rita smirking at him, "What? She's drunk, she needs help! ... Shh! Finish your beer." Rita didn't seem to notice him at all, as the entire time her head had been in the glass, save for the occational shake of the head, or lick of the lips. Her tail flicked slowly back and forth.
"Hmph... that's better."

Seth was right. Minke could walk, not on her own, and probably not with help. What was a couple more minutes to sober up a bit? Since she had studied the floor so well, Minke figured she better get to know the rest of the bar as well. She looked around for a bit, observing the people in the bar.

"Why do you think the galdori only go down stairs? It's like they don't want to be around us luggers." She said the last word with disgust. It wasn't fair that they were so lucky. What work did they actually do to deserve it?

"I'm sick of looking at them."

"Oh, ahh..." He looked around to make sure no Galdor had heard her little outburst. "I-I'm not sure, uhh..." He lowered his voice, "Careful what you say in here. Dont' want to offend the upper class..." He felt suddenly uncomfortable, as if the entirity of the tavern was staring at him, but when he looked around, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed anything unusual. Rita stared up at him, her head cocked to the side, her mug empty, "No, Rita, you had enough... No... Come on, just go to sleep..." He picked her up and helped her to his shoulder, where she curled around his neck. He sighed under his breath, then glanced back down at Minke. "So, uhh.."

It hit Minke that she had probably talked a little bit too loud and accidentally caused a scene. "Oops" she mouthed. "Sorry."

Minke mimicked Seth by looking around for any galdor around. She brought her level down to a whisper. "Have you heard of the underground? People always whisper about it on the streets. Do you think it really exists?"

Seth was cought off guard by this question, unsure if he should answer honestly, or just lie. If she wanted to go underground, did it mean she wanted to join the resistance? Or did it mean she would destroy it? Though Seth wasn't currently a member, he did wish to join, and didn't want to ruin his hcances by bringing in a threat to it's security. Then again, she seemed like one he could trust. "Well... yeah, in fact I know it exists. I sell a lot of my wares there." His wares obviously meaning the fruits of his labor- the items he so carefully stole. "You want to join the resistance or something?" Not that he could help her there- he wasn't even sure who to talk to. He would make it a point to ask around the next time he went there to sell something.

It was at those words that a grunt issued from the bar. Stolley, who had dozed off during their conversation, was once again awake.

"You kids be careful whatcha say, now," he said, in a low, warning tone of voice. He jerked his thumb towards the basement and made a slit-throat movement with his hand, which might have meant "be quiet" or, alternatively, "they will slit your throat"; either seemed likely.

Minke was about to respond to Seth, when she heard Stolley's warning.
"I uh...I think we should talk later. I'm pretty beat anyway." Minke stood up slowly, she was more sober now than before, but still a little wobbly.
"Kendra, come." she called to her wolf. Kendra followed her order without hesitation and was not at all bothered the Minke was now using her as an object to keep her balance.

Minke turned around carefully to say goodbye.

"See you soon, Io-I mean Seth." she called as she waved a little bit.

"Ookay. See you around..." He sighed, leaning back in his chair- at least she had forgotten about the money she thought he owed her.



"Seth... right." He nodded, then gave one last glance to Rita, who was getting ready for a nap. "Yeah, yeah, don't get cocky. Just consider yourself lucky I didn't give you an embarrassing name. I could have named you fluffy." After that, his expression softened, and he smiled down at Rita, giving her a gentle scratch on the head before turning to finish his beer, Rita purring softly under his chin.