Chapter 99

Sassafras and Rock Candy.

“If I had known you were looking for the man, I'd have sent a courier to find you.”

“I can’t believe it,” I said. “What’s a bronze ranked brewer doing with one of your silos?”

“Ah, now that is up to the gods, isn’t it.”

I stared at the plaque. The name. The level that paused at 815.

“What do you think?” Hiccup said.

“I’ve finally found my first clue! I’ve been to Salindune, Kilek, Mt. Rouse, Glademill, and Holldam! I’ve found not a hair on his head this entire adventure! I’m not even on a proper quest. This is a favor! I can’t believe this. How long ago did he acquire this silo? Where is he? Can we find out where he is?”

“Slow down,” Hiccup said, pushing the air. “I’m still trying to figure out how he fills it beyond even my capabilities.”

My head was spinning. A thousand questions ran through my mind, but all I could do was stare dumbly at the plaque. Hiccup’s light-hearted laughter broke me from my thoughts.

“Come, Abigail, let us continue our chat over dinner. We can figure things out together.”

I talked the whole way back to the brewery. The mystery of Hawkin wasn’t just mine anymore. HIccup was equally curious about the brewer. The more we talked about how the silo was filling so quickly, the more we found ourselves at a loss.

Over crab cake salad, we racked our brains.

“One more time,” I said. “Just so I understand. It fills up all the way to the top? All at one time?”

“That’s the thing,” Hiccup said. “It doesn’t fill up. It simply appears there, already full. You saw it yourself.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “Fantastic crab, by the way.”

“Thank you, yes—Imagine pouring yourself a bowl of cereal, oats, or what have you. You can physically see the pile grow before your very eyes. Just like you saw earlier—it doesn’t do that. It simply,” Hiccup snapped his fingers, “appears full. It's suddenly there. Already full as though we blinked and missed something. So let’s begin from the beginning. Tell me everything you know about the man.”

“He insulted Potere,” I said.

Hiccup choked on his beverage. When he recovered he said, “We’re off to a good start. The future’s bright for Hawkin.”

I chortled.

“Potere asked me to find him because of something another god said.”

“Which god?”

“The one assigned to his quest path. Dellia Lucerne.”

“Just a minute. We have a brewer on our hands who chose not to assign Potere, the god of drink, to the brewer quest path. Please stop me if I haven’t got things straight.”

“You’ve got it. That’s right.”

“Well what’s this other god about? Why did he choose him? Her?”

“Her—and this comes directly from Potere. She’s a planes cutter.”

Hiccup reacted big. He gestured as though at a finished puzzle.

“That’s it then, isn’t it? Hawkin is filling silo number forty-three from the ethereal plane.”

“Wouldn’t that mean he’s harvesting barley from there as well?”

“Holy shit,” Hiccup said. Utensils fell from his hands. Clattered around his plate. “Holy shit,” he said again. “Has anyone done that before? Has anyone brewed beer with grains harvested on the ethereal realm?”

“Margaux?” I offered.

“No, I don’t exactly see her assigning a new god to her brewer path.”

“This is a first, then?”

“Could be. First I’ve ever heard of it.”

“Explains the silo phenomenon.”

“Tell me, why does Potere care so much?”

“He’s jealous, “ I leaned in to whisper. “He doesn’t want his reputation to be damaged. Dellia is another god influencing people to brew better beers than those that Potere has influence over.”

“There’s more to it then,” Hiccup said.

“Dellia told him something about Hawkin that rattled him. She said he’s destined to be one of the greatest brewer’s the world has ever seen.”

What followed was minutes of Hiccup and I eating in silence, lost in our own thoughts, rationalizing all the information we had.

Then at last, “Barrel aged quad?” Hiccup offered.

A butler met us on a grand balcony that overlooked the city. An elegant bottle was delivered via a purple pillow. Upon the glass was a simple etching written in cursive. It read “Hiccup’s Flare. 5 year barrel aged quad”. The butler opened the bottle and poured each of us a glass chalice full.

The foam was bright white and glittered like a compact collection of infinite stars. The color of the beer was like that of old brick. It was clean and striped with streaks of mahogany.

“This beer is excellent on a windy day,” Hiccup said. “The trick is to clink it, so let’s toast, and you’ll see why.”

“A toast to the first clue of my adventure” I said.

“Hear, hear,” Hiccup said.

We clinked our chalices together. The glittering foam ignited into sparks. The sparks became flares and were carried into the city by the dusk breeze. We watched the ignited flares scatter like fireflies.

“Surprised you haven’t burned down Lavenfauvish yet,” I said.

“Nonsense, my dear. It’s just a play of light. They extinguish well before touching the ground. Now, I’m sorry to break the mood, but what do you think Margaux is going to do when she learns Hawkin may in fact grow to be one of the greatest brewers we’ve ever seen?”

I groaned and said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if she went after him.”

“My thoughts exactly. She’s… …vindictively jealous.”

“Annoying, is what she is.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Margaux,” Hiccup decided at length. “She wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. She might do her best to make life difficult for him, but that’s all the harm that she is.”

“You’re mistaken,” I laughed. “She wouldn’t do anything herself. She gets other people to do things for her.”

“The truest thing I’ve ever heard. Alas, she’s got bigger fish to fry than rumors of an upcoming bronze ranked brewer.”

“Let’s not talk about Margaux. I’ve had to deal with her enough in my life.”

“Very well,” Hiccup said.

I sipped from the chalice. I fell in love with the beer as we watched flares dance out into the waning light of Lavenfauvish. I tasted sweet rye, jungle vanilla, oak, freshly roasted barley and the skin of browned marshmallows. The beer was almost candy like, while still as bitter as thistle root. An essence of sassafras and rock candy lingered in the after taste.

My mind was instantly blank. All that existed was the phenomenal beer. The flares that danced in the breeze. The burgeoning night life of the city. The bruised remains of daylight upon the horizon. The achieving smile on my face.

At the end of an incredible beer, I asked, “How long ago did he acquire this silo?”

“Last week,” Hiccup said.

“Can we track him? Can we find out where he is?”

“I’m afraid that’s beyond my capabilities.”

“May I use Brewer’s Harvest from your garden? I’d like to portal here if I need you.”

“You needn’t even ask,” Hiccup said. “You’re welcome anytime, day or night. I… …don’t have the company of my dear Ashlee anymore… …so I’ll always enjoy the company of friends.”

I put an arm around my dear friend.