It turned out that Rosie actually did have some True Brew squirreled away. Our tavern was certainly in good hands with the talented [Innkeeper] at the helm!

Master Brewer Blunt took a deep drag from his Whistlemug then leaned back with a smack of his lips.

“Ahhhh, Riverside True Brew. You’ve got tha good stuff! Ya know they won tha local Octamillenial contest right? Master Brewer Schist is a [Wizard] when it comes ta brewin’ True Brew!”

I choked on my own beer, a tangy liquid gold that I’d secretly turned into a radler. “WHAT did you say?”

Blunt gave a wide smile, his white moustache dripping wet. “Aye, it can be hard tae believe! Master Brewer Schist is an actual [Wizard]! He started as a [Manashaper] and Specialized ta become a [Wizard]! He’s plannin’ ta see if he can become a [Wizardly Brewer] or summat with his next Specialisation! He’s got some gadgets like yers in his own Brewery, I’ve heard tell. Not that I’ve seen it!”

“No no no, not that part, though that’s super cool. His name. What was it??”

“Master Brewer Schist?”

I clutched my chest. “Ugh, my heart!”

Blunt leaned forward, concern etched in his aged face. “You alright, young Brewer?”

“His name is actually Shits??”

Blunt frowned. “Nay, Schist.”

“Shist?”

“SChist. Tha ‘c’ is silent.”

“Then how am I supposed to know it’s there!?”

“It’s a river rock. What kinda dwarf doesn’t know his rocks! Next you’ll be tellin’ me ya don’t know karst from carts!”

He laughed and I chuckled weakly alongside. I was now truly a dwarf at heart, but I was still woefully lacking in certain dwarfy areas. I knew the Ordinances backwards and forwards, I understood the local economy, I even knew the rules to hitball (they were violent), and I’d been slowly learning the common flora and fauna, but geology just wasn’t a priority yet. To be fair, I had decades of learning to make up.

I decided to change the subject. “The Brewer’s Guild doesn’t have a problem with Master Schist messin’ with tha True Brew?”

“Hmmm… Master Brewer Malt told me a bit about yer problems in Minnova. I can tell ya, young Brewer, if you’d told me a decade ago that tha Master Brewers of Kinshasa would be tryin’ new ways of brewin’ I’d have called ya beardless. But Master Brewer Schist has been a respected Master Brewer fer a long time, and with all tha’ fuss around the contest… well, let’s just say it’s nothin’ close ta what I hear you lot you were doin’ in Minnova, but we’ve loosened tha rules a bit.”

“Is the guild going to have a problem with us?” I asked, in a hushed tone.

Blunt stared at me, well, bluntly. “I cannae deny a little. Yer Guildmaster Malt has been workin’ hard on yer behalf. You’ll need ta thank ‘im. Yer lucky you weren’t run out o’ town soon as you came. That Ass-Blaster is an abomination.”

I couldn’t help myself, I grinned. “I can’t really deny that.”

“Hah! At least ya know. But yer Liquid Gold, and Barista Brew especially, have given the Greybeards some pause. Not few o’ tha families in Kinshasa have sons and daughters in tha Highwatch, and they swear by you. You’ve got somethin’ special, Brewer Pete, and we’ll not be gettin’ in tha way until ya run yerself headfirst down a grike. At least while the King is still sanctionin’ this elfin’ contest.”

Oookay, I didn’t know what a grike was, but it sounded like we had permission to play around with True Brew as long as we didn’t reach Ass-Blaster levels of ridiculousness.

“Where is Riverside Brewery?” I examined the beer in Blunt’s Whistlemug. It looked closer to our own New Brew than usual True Brew, with a bit more carbonation and less trub than usual. I could actually see through the mug; not bad.

“Redwall. Near tha docks.”

“I’ll need to scope em’ out. How do you like the Whistlemug, by the way?”

Blunt looked askance at his mug. “Ach, this? I’ve been seein’ it about town. That Whistlemop has been sellin’ them out of that garish wagon of his in tha Grand Market. Few o’ tha Brewers love it. I prefer me metal tankard, meself. Better in a fight.”

I had indeed noticed that Whistlemop was selling mugs again. It was why my influence quest had been ramping up even though we weren’t selling much beer yet.

Quest: Dwarven Influencer Part 7/10 The dwarves need your help. Influence 1,000,000 dwarves with your otherworldly alcohol knowledge. Dwarves Influenced: 923,000/1,000,000

Reward: [Pete’s Poor Manasight]