"You know what they say about full moons, right?"
The man who pitched the question was old and wrinkled, forever smiling and amicable. His leathery, dark hands were wrapped around a cracked beer mug, washing it casually as he studied the woman sitting across the bar from him. She wasn't a regular to this bar in particularly, but any barkeep worth their salt stationed in Rillaria would know her face without question. From the black she wore, to her hoyden attitude, to the copious amounts of alcohol she could consume in one sitting, it was easy to recognize her when you saw her – Dahlia Blackwood. Whenever she was off duty, it normally meant that one lucky barkeep was going to have a load of patronage that night...
Dahlia laughed, setting her mug of mead down on the withered, wooden bar, tilting her head to the side curiously. "What do you take me for, old man? 'Course I know." She pushed her empty mug towards the barkeep, wordlessly demanding a refill. "The full moon's supposed when all the spooks come out, of course. Why do you think this bar's so empty tonight?"
If there was anything Dahlia hated, it was being stuck in an empty bar. She had chosen this little pub – The Three-Legged Lion – mainly because she heard that the mead was good and the company was pleasant, but so far, the mead was mediocre at best and there were barely any people here. A couple of sat in the corner of the pub, playing rummy, and a few maids went about serving them meekly, their gestures timid and tired. This was hardly the place to be on a lonely weekend night.
As the barkeep refilled her mug, Dahlia took a hearty drink, and set it down again. "'Course, that's just some myth – spread by superstitious vagabonds like yourself," Dahlia joked, shaking her head. "You think demons sit around waiting for the moon to change shape? Well, some do... but for most, it doesn't matter! Shouldn't stop anyone from having a good time!"
"You say that – but the human mind isn't always logical," the barkeep reminded, swiftly drying the glass he had been cleaning and setting it on the shelf. He made himself busy by cleaning more of them, talking while looking down at his work. At his words, Dahlia stared at him for a moment, but then grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Hah! Good thing I ain't human, right?"
She swung out of her stool, and waved her hands over towards the other few patrons of the Three-Legged Lion, cupping her hands over her mouth to project her voice. "Oi! You lot! Let's have a free round, drink's on me!" she called over to them, grinning like a child. The other patrons looked confused for a moment, but then let out a cheer, throwing their card games aside, scrambling for the bar.
Others ran out of the pub, bringing in friends to have a free drink - and suddenly, the pub had exploded with life. In a few moments, the pub had went from being totally dead to incredibly lively, and hell if Dahlia was going to think about the consequences this would wreak on her wallet. People were pouring in, yelling out on the streets how the Three-Legged Lion was giving away a free round of beer, until the pub was packed – loaded with blokes from all around.
A sheevra's mind isn't logical either, she realized. But, to hell with that! She picked up her mug of mead and had another hearty drink – for some reason, it tasted better when she was amongst people, than it did when she was drinking alone.
