Slarti Bartfast Presently

[Slarti Bartfast]

Slarti stared out towards the north ocean as he sat on the hill, the cliff above providing him protection and cover. He winced as he touched the freshly healed arrow wound in his left limb. He listened as the hoofbeats of the bandit that felled his horse rode away and up the hill towards Hyllspeia.

I almost had the bastard's horse. If I'd just hopped off and sacrificied mine, I could have delivered the final blow before I ran.

Slarti's thoughts turned to his dead horse, Blister. He had served Slarti long. A desert horse of his caliber was at least 75 gold at the local pet broker. It was a sad loss and no-way-to-go for such a loyal companion. Not to mention the hefty sack of nymph herb in his bags.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I guess I'm alive at least. And that's the first time... the FIRST TIME I really gave a good fight back. Ha! He didn't follow me over the hill because maybe he didn't want his horse catching a flamestrike that would have finished him off! Come to think of it, I didn't do so bad after all. I'm getting the hang of all these new spells in my new spellbook. Zap! Boom! Sizzle! HEAL!

Slarti replayed the events in his head several more times as he looked out over the water while nibbling on a few nymph herbs.

(( Good fight, Everbloom. Maybe next time I'll get to drop a fulm on your horse before running for my life. ))

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

A few months after opening the door to his first physical location of Bartfast Brewery to the public, Slarti finally had a moment to sit down and consider his price structure. Up to that point, he had been busting his butt doing every job for his new brewery. This included harvesting, brewing, promotion, and upgrading and maintaining the brewery. Upon reflection, he realized that more of his time than he'd rather was spent harvesting. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, but harvesting at the rate he had been for the coin he had been charging for the finished brew was beginning to wear him thin among all his other duties. He'd not been able to even add additional room to the brewery he had been so busy picking spelt and fruit every day.

As he went over his logs and checked buy orders for spelt and fruits, Slarti soon realized he had enough capital to begin employing others to do his harvesting. He did not want to just offer the minimum, though. After careful deliberation, he decided that he would pay harvesters 20 cuprum per unit harvesting, allowing them to make 20 gold for 10,000 units, enough for a newcomer to Nave to get great start on life.

The new price structure reflects this change as well as now taking into account the prices of Ichor and Purified Water, which were not listed as expenses previously. Thus, fruit beers like Adventure Fuel and Fabernum's Folly, requiring paying of spelt and fruit harvesters, are 133s/100u. Slarti's mana-heavy beer, Oghmir's Ode, is now 225s/100u. The newest battle beer in the lineup, the Stam Slammer, is modestly priced at 91s/100u due to Purified Water being much cheaper than fruit to acquire. The quality of the beer is still the same because it cannot get any better. Slarti at this time brews the best beer in Myrland. He is fully trained on every skill required for each step of the brewing process.

Slarti is keeping a close eye on his logs, hoping that his customers throughout West Myrland are receptive to his new plans to employ new adventures as harvesters at the slightly increased price of the beer. This will also leave Slarti more time to work on additional parts of the business, such as gathering materials to upgrade the brewery and building the upgrades. He hopes to eventually add an inn section to the brewery for the weary traveler, providing an equerry as well for their beasts.

(( Beer is getting more expensive, but with good cause. Will the citizens of West Myrland pay the new prices and allow Slarti to diversify his business... or will the best beer in Myrland sit on the shelves and force Slarti back to this old price structure and endless harvesting. We'll find out. ))

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

Brewery is on the hill southeast of Tindrem Orchard. Ignore the bad directions on the flyer.

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

Slarti was sitting outside the front gates when an odd looking Thursar strode up to him on his horse.

"Give meh loot brah. I take it. I take it. Give me it."

Slarti had no problem with helping the less fortunate, but this fellow had a dagger out and was make threatening motions, despite the Tindrem city guards nearby. Slarti thought for a moment and opened his coin purse anyway.

"Here... here... put away your damn dagger! Here... go buy yourself a pretty helmet," said Slarti as he passed the odd Thursar 25 silver.

"Oh.. oh.. thank you... thank you," said the Thursar and ran off.

Slarti sat watching the gates for a moment as he was about to depart to tame another round of horses. No point in getting robbed right outside of Tindrem for failing to look. Then, again, from behind him...

"Bro bro here... here..." It was the Thursar... again.

"No.. not you again," said Slarti.

"No.. no here bro here bro," said the Thursar, extending his close hand toward Slarti. Nervously, Slarti opened his hand and extended it to the Thursar. The Thursar dropped 300 silver in his hand.

"Oh... oh.. well thank you," said Slarti, slightly taken aback.

"Yes yes, you good, thank you," said the Thursar, running off immediately thereafter.

"That's some interest," Slarti chuckled. What a lovely turn of events on a day when he had previously had terrible luck, losing his prized razerback, Getrude, to a bandit named Oghmir outside of Meduli.

 

[Amelia]

That Oghmir! He try to kill me yesterday and I am an oghmir too!
What a mad world !
p.s.: I see him in Tindrem right now, he's just a poor human. I dont understand why he named himself Oghmir bytheway ...

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

(( IRL stole my writing time. Here's a quick smush together of a lot of happenings. ))

Out east again! Slarti breathed in the crisp air and grinned as he approached the pirum trees. Pirum and blackwood for the taking with very little chance anyone would wander this far out just to commit a robbery. Though it did take crossing the Morin Khur bridge near the graveyard where foul brigands of many flavors often lurked. As he picked pirum, Slarti's mind wandered again to the spot he had originally picked out for the brewery on the path above Toxai near the waterfall.

If only there were more customers out east.

After collecting a substantial amount of blackwood and pirum, Slarti turned south and tamed a new razorback to take the place of Maggie who was slaughtered by a Risar soldier on the trek to Morin Khur. Sally became his and he returned to Morin Khur to harvest the rice fields. His newest beers were rice based and boasted the lowest health nourishment to stamina nourishment yet. They were sure to be hot sellers on the brokers. He planned to name the new brews Forgiven's Peace and Forgiven's Peace Light, in honor of Forgiven's beloved fallen bear that was taken from this world so unfairly. Slarti returned to west Myrland without incident, putting his new rice beer and blackwood ferments on the markets.

-

Shortly after returning to Tindrem from Fabernum, Slarti came upon a great party of horses and persons at the front gate. He heard a voice he thought he recognized call, "Come! Ride with us Slarti! Ride with Odinseed!" The surge of horses moved out.

Oh! Odinseed! I have heard this name... I remember their king at the tournament when I first came to Myrland.

"Uh.. uhh.. okay!" Slarti sputtered as he made a split-second decision to ride with this party unsure what adventure it might bring. The party left Tindrem in the direction of Fabernum travelling mostly along the roads when they were suddenly set upon by bandits and scoundrels on all sides.

"Mop 'em up! Kill them!" shouted a large figure as horses zipped around him in all directions, slaughtering the would be attackers with ease. "Come, tell me of yourself, Slarti!" shouted the large man.

"Well... uh... I'm a brewer by trade. And I remember this party that I ride with, Odinseed, or at least something of them... from the tournament in the west, when I first came to Myrland. I remember their king, Barados, fighting in the tournament. He let forth a battle yell that surely reached the stars as he charged his opponent, weapon raised above his head. His opponent blocked at the last second and was knocked back nearly 4 yards. It was incredible," said Slarti.

"Well that is ME!" said the large man with force. "I am BARADOS! King of ODINSEED!"

"Hail oh great King of the Seed!" shouted Slarti in awe of the fact that he was riding with the great King Barados. They continued along the paths at great rates of speed. Slarti worreid that his horse, Mustard, and mature razorback, Sally (the same as was tamed in Morin Khur), might run out of stamina. He could feel Mustard begin to slow from exhaustion just as the great party entered Fabernum.

"Slarti!" bellowed King Barados after the party had come to a stop near the middle of town. "I must give you the gift of the SEED! I must impart it into and upon you!"

"Well... uhh.. well. uhh..." Slarti stammered nervously, "I'm not sure I'm am ready for that. I'm not sure that I can provide an adequate vessel for the SEED! But in the meantime, I offer in tribute to you this stack of Stam Slammer beer!" Slarti pulled a large sack off the back off his horse and passed it to the King.

"Well! Thank you!" said Barados.

"Of cours-" began Slarti as he was cutoff by a muttering beggar.

"You have silver. I need armor. You help me, King?" the beggar said approaching Barados.

"Ah... yes... well.. here's some ambrosial beer that I just got from Slarti! Enjoy!" said Barados. The beggar received the beer and continued.

"Anyone... can anyone give me armor?" said the beggar.

Slarti felt his conscience pull at him. He had been most fortunate as of late. Business was good and the brewery had a new addition thanks to all his hard work. "Here... I have 50 silver," said Slarti extending his hand with coins in it to the man.

"Thank you. Thank you," said the man. "Anyone else have armor?" Another member of the Odinseed party brought the man with him to the bank. When they returned, the man was fully clad in armor. "I am ready. I am ready to receive the SEED!" said the man.

"To the stage!" bellowed King Barados! All of the Odinseed party and many of the onlookers proceeded to the stage. "Now, you shall receive the SEED! Prepare yourself!" yelled Barados as he raised his sword into the air above the newly armor-clad man. His blade fell right into the weak spot between the shoulder and neck of the man. He screamed with pain and ran from the stage.

"You must accept the SEED!" screamed Barados as he continued chopping away at the man. In moments, the man fell to the ground, sacrificed to the Seed. Slarti looked on with wonder.

What a beautiful but brutal initiation ritual. Perhaps I will join them later... when I'm more... uhh... brutal.

Slarti forced a smile as he imagined himself looking muscular holding his hammer above his head in a glorious, heroic pose.

 

[Slarti Bartfast]

Slarti shuffled his way through the crowd at the Fabernum Bank and Broker.

It's so damn crowded. So many more people. Fine with me... means more people to sell my beer to.

"Make way!" yelled a soldier passing through, his voice shortly followed by blood curling screams coming another soldier laid over a horse. The screaming soldier was bleeding profusely from a stump that used to be his right arm, leaving a trail of blood down the street and getting all over the poor horse. Slarti failed to move out of the way in time and was shoved to the ground amongst many feet and horse hooves. He rolled his fat frame quickly to the side of a building to avoid being crushed and pulled himself up with the help of the windowsill above him.

Along with more people to sell beer to had also come more war. Slarti had heard of giant battles in the fields outside of Meduli. Hundreds of soldiers in head-to-toe armor slashing, hacking, and slinging magic in a glorious battle for the ages.

Not sure what is so glorious about battle when you could end up like that.

Slarti had becomed softened as of late. Before the large growth in population in the West, there had been a quiet time. He had run his beer to and from Tindrem, the Brewery, Meduli, and Fabernum without incident for nearly a month. When he did come across another rider, they would often head in the opposite direction rather than attempt a robbery as had been the norm before. Maybe it was Slarti's huge new razorbacks that made would-be attackers think twice, massive in the bulk and nearly the size of a horse when fully grown. He had considered going into the razorback breeding business at one point since he was having so much success in raising them from a young age.

Bartfast Brewery and Swinery.

He chuckled out loud at himself letting out a snort, then headed into the Bank and Broker. The broker pulled out a massive sack as he approached and threw it on the table with a loud thud.

"Someone dropped a whole bunch of rice off for you Slarti! Finally filled those buy orders!"

Slarti grinned and tried to lift the bag from the table. His grin turned to a grimace as he grunted and grunted but the bag moved only inches. He turned and whistled to his horse, Sand.

I try to keep it parked outside, but sometimes you just need some horse power. I can't wait to get this ground to flour! I'd been running so low on grains lately with all the sales to the soldiers in town for the battles. Heck, folks are even finally stopping by the Brewery to pick up samples and food. It's a good time to be a merchant!