Tears of the Dragon

See: Tears of the Dragon (distilled spirits)

 

‘Well I’ll tell ya, Samson. Them Checot boys have done a great job around here. The fence looks good and secure. I’d never have guessed at building one of these long houses, but I’ll give it the best compliment I can: That’s good engineering!’ Tanner looked thoughtfully at the long house.

 

‘Out west we call it common sense construction.’ Samson looked over Tanner with a sarcastic look, and both men began to guffaw.

 

“I’d like to do something nice for them Checot boys before it gets too cold. Pay is good, but true appreciation goes beyond that. What do you think?’ Tanner looked at Samson, searching for answer.

 

‘How about Saturday we have a party? Bring in a good keg of ale, roast a pig, arrange for some ‘entertainment’, and let ‘em have a good time. The next day, the only work that would need to be done would be caring for the horses. You and I could take care of that and give ‘em a full blown day off.’ Samson leaned up against a rail.

 

‘That sounds like a plan. I’ll handle the arrangements. What kind of ale do they like?’ Tanner had a look on his face when he had made a machine work for the first time.

 

‘Stone Wolf or Terrapin Ale seem to be the favorites. Not that rot-gut Olde Anglia 800 you drink, that’s for sure.’ Samson laughed, and Tanner joined in.

 

‘Consider it done.’

 

It was Saturday night and the horses had all been tended to. The ranch hands were eagerly awaiting the roast pig. They had already torn into the first keg of ale. Fortunately, Tanner had taken Faolan’s suggestion and bought second and third kegs. Some of the Checotah were wrestling. Others were eagerly awaiting the evening’s entertainment. There were some invited guests who showed up: ranchers Tyson and Johns. Worner actually came. He was on his way back from visiting his family in Big Cove, and Tanner insisted he stay the night. Annah sent her regrets at not being able to come, but she had ‘council business’ to attend to. Tazzo the Terrible, formerly Queen Bexar, has made it plain in no uncertain terms that she would not be around. King John begged off: ‘I’ve got a bar to run’, but he had sent one of his cooks to prepare the meal.

 

As the night wore on everyone told stories. Faolan’s were the best of course. He refrained from anything sad. ‘Thank Robb he didn’t sing ‘The Death of Bexar’ or old Samson would have come undone,’ thought Tanner. The Checot boys eventually went over and enjoyed the ‘entertainment’, namely two of Madame’s girls. Faolan joked about sparing the fair maids from the "ravages of savages", but Tanner said "let the Checot boys have ‘em. Tanner mistakenly thought that Faolan was wanting to seek female companionship of his own, and said he’d make it up to him by getting him a girl in the next week. Faolan commented that Tanner helping him with a girl would be like a rock giving a week-old corpse "getting-eaten-by-maggot lessons". Tanner walked off, with his friend, shaking his head. Judging by the whoops, hollers, and occasional female giggles, it had been a good choice. Eventually, Tanner, Worner, Samson, the ranchers Tyson and Johns, and Faolan were sitting around a small fire

 

‘I wish someone had a jar of miner water’, said Old Man Tyson. ‘That stuff has been hard to get since the civil war up north started. It was expensive enough to start with, but now you can’t even find it.’

 

‘Sometimes a man needs something stronger than ale. I haven’t had anything real good since we went to your ranch’. Samson stretched out his long frame. ‘How come a man of your ilk has not made it, Worner?’

 

‘Ach! The dangers would be tremendous. Bad alcohols can poison you permanently, and at the least cause blindness. I remember once in Anglia City, 47 years ago, someone tried to make miner water, and five people were blinded. The alchemist was hung up by his neck by a mob.’ Worner lit his pipe and looked thoughtful.

 

‘But still, Worner. A man could make a lot of money with that discovery on how to make something stronger than ale or port wine. Why haven’t you tried it?’ said Johns.

 

‘You are correct in one assumption, Herr Tyson. Yes it would make a lot of money, and that did interest me long ago. But there are other ways to make money that don’t potentially kill people. Besides, I was mistaken for the alchemist who made that poison, and I was nearly hung for it.’ Worner stopped for a moment. ‘As much as I value my pocketbook, I value my neck only slightly more’.

 

The men started to belly laugh. Johns looked at Tanner. ‘What about you? Everyone says you’ve got more books than a man knows what to do with. There ought to be some directions somewhere in one of them.’

 

All eyes looked on turned on Tanner. ‘You want me to make miner water? I wish I could. I could take a look around, but I can’t promise anything. Besides, I wouldn’t want to sell it; I’d want to drink it.’ All of the men laughed.

 

‘Save some for yourself and sell the rest. We could control the entire tavern trade in the Frontier and beyond if you could pull that off.’ Faolan had one of his wild looks in on his face.

 

‘Well, I don’t know. It’s not like building a pier or something. When it comes to making compounds, I trust the best.’ Tanner nodded at Worner.

 

‘Well, maybe it is best not to fool with such things. We’ll have to suffer with ale’, sighed Old Man Tyson.

 

‘Ach! If I were a young man, I’d brew you some of the rye ale my brother Ralf used to make before the war’. Worner blew a smoke ring.

 

‘I remember that rye ale. That was good stuff, with a fruity flavor from the hops, but it didn’t have a kick to it like miner water’, said Ole Man Tyson. At that, Johns, Tyson, and Worner started talking about the good old days, about how the bread tasted better, the beer was stronger, and women’s breasts were bigger 40 years ago.

 

The next day Tanner and Samson tended to the horses. Afterwards, Samson went fishing and tried to get Tanner to come along. ‘We could have a mess of trout for dinner if we wanted.’ Tanner begged off, and went to the library. Tazzo shot him a nasty glance as he walked inside. Taking her for a ride had not been a good idea when he had arrived back from the north. At least she had eaten some stew and put some weight back on since he had left. The woman boggled his mind. If only Faolan could give him some advice on how to talk to her. Faolan never had problems with women; well, Queen Anne being the exception. But that was to be expected. She was royalty, like Tazzo.

 

Tanner sat down in a chair and got down a few books. He was going to read up on water wheels and start sketching some drawings for the mill, but for some reason, miner water wouldn’t leave his mind. He got up and went to the book shelf again. ‘Treatises on Potions and their Properties’. ‘What am I doing with an alchemy book?’ Then he remembered getting it Anglia City the first time he was there. He had stopped reading it when he realized there wasn’t a formula to turn lead into gold, and that some of the stuff was ciphered.

 

Tanner read through the book for awhile. Nothing seemed to pop up. He was about to give up when he saw a chapter labeled ‘Moon’s Shine’. ‘What kind of ridiculous crap is this?’ He read through the section and was stopped dead in his tracks by a sentence: ‘If done correctly, this potion will be half drinkable alcohol’. Tanner read on hurriedly, but got stumped when he ran into a cipher. ‘Robb damn, where’s Faolan when you need him?’

 

Tanner grabbed the book, stuffed it in a bag and saddled Ghost. ‘C’mon girl, times a-wasting’. Tanner galloped out of East Point like a pack of Red Legs were after him. By the time he got to Brown’s Ferry, it was late afternoon. He rode to the Green Dragon, but Faolan wasn’t there. He hurried to Madame’s, but for once, Faolan wasn’t there. A new girl, a red-head named Andrea, tried to get Tanner to come up for a ‘real ride’, but Tanner declined. From there, Tanner tried a few other bars, when he finally ran into Faolan at the White Heron.

 

In between sets, Faolan came over. ‘Good to see ya, Books. I know we’ve got ale at the ranch, so you must have something important to tell me. It had better not be some hare-brained invention, ‘cause you’ve got that same look on your face as the time you figured out how to make Sunfire. There’s a nice girl in the corner needing some attention. He motioned at a curvy brunette in the corner. ‘Women before water-wheels’ is some advice you could heed. I know Tazzo wishes you would.’

 

‘To Robb with women! What if I told you I had a formula for miner water in the library?’ Tanner looked more crazed than usual.

 

Faolan’s eyes grew wide. ‘Keep it down. Do you want the whole Robb –damn frontier to hear you?

 

Tanner calmed himself down a bit. Now he was excited as a whore when a company of soldiers came to town. ‘It’s ciphered, so I’ll need your help. Probably have to get Worner involved too. What do you think?’

 

‘Old Worner will be in his study all night long. I’ll meet you over there after I get done with my sets and Kate.’

 

‘Okay, okay, but don’t try to go for three turns of the hour glass. The last time you did that, the girl couldn’t walk for a day and I ended up listening to a discussion about farming for the better part of a night.’ Tanner was almost bouncing up and down.

 

Later, over at the shop on Dock Street, Worner looked incredulous. ‘It’s impossible. I don’t believe it!’

 

‘Read for yourself. I think you’ll be surprised.’ Tanner drummed his fingers impatiently.

 

Worner read for awhile, and then inspected other parts of the book. After awhile, he got up, poured two cups of kahveh and lit his pipe. ‘This may or may not be real. But other sections of this book that are not coded contain valid formulae. The fact that there is no gold transmutation spell speaks well for the book. I don’t think we can be so lucky as to have found a formula for miner water. But it is worth investigating and trying to break the code.’

 

The two men sat down at a table and started to work. Faolan joined them before midnight. Tanner filled him in on the details. Judging by Faolan’s skill at ciphering Gahanna’s message regarding King Grey, his help would be of necessity. They worked through the night with little success. A few words came, but not many at all. Before dawn they drifted off to sleep.

 

After a few hours of sleep, Worner brewed some more kahveh. Then it hit him. ‘This kind of code uses multiple symbols and numbers for one letter. Only the better alchemists use this. I have not seen it in years, and never used it myself. We can crack this, but it will require some time.’

 

‘So what should we do?’ Tanner wondered. ‘It seems a waste of time for all of us to spend our time here, and we have things to do.’

 

‘If we make copies of the formula, we can work on it individually. Every three days, we meet and compare notes until it is broken’. Faolan sipped his kahveh.

 

‘Ach! That is a good idea. I would not have expected something so logical from you, Faolan.’ Worner lit his pipe.

 

"I fight for what's good, and against what's bad. I drink and sing and fuck every chance I get. What could be more logical than that? My LIFE is logic." Faolan tried to strike a pose like a hero, but a lack of sleep was interfering with this.

 

‘Your life is spent in pursuit of pretty girls and money…Not that there’s anything WRONG with that.’ Hesenborg grinned.

 

The rest of the morning was spent copying the text and notes they had already written. It was November 11. For several weeks they kept working at it, comparing notes. Finally, in mid December, they were able to piece the whole thing together. Worner remarked on the second ‘purification’ process, and said that it was the critical step in preventing blindness. It was decided Tanner would make the equipment; it would take less time to contract it out, but greater secrecy would be assured. A well would have to be dug out at East Point for fresh water, and sugar would have to be obtained for the process. This wasn’t difficult, just expensive.

 

Over the next several weeks, through Yule and into early January, Tanner assembled the necessary equipment. The Checot boys dug a well near where Tanner wanted to build the device. The book called it a ‘still’. Worner said it was derived from an ancient word for alchemical processing, ‘distillation’. Tanner and Faolan kept tinkering with the device, until it was Tanner’s birthday on the 15th of February. ‘What better way to celebrate your birthday than making miner water?’ said Faolan.

 

Tanner looked at him, with a grin on his face. ‘Well, now that Bexar has started being a bit nicer, I can think of one other way to spend my 25th birthday. I think we should hold off a few weeks until I feel confident in the purity of the process. We’ll need to make arrangements with Annah to be on hand for the testing in case I start to keel over from poisoning.’

 

‘So you’re going to drink it first? You’re not going to test it out on one the drunks down by the docks?’ said Faolan.

 

‘Yep. If I don’t trust my own product, I can’t expect anyone else to. Besides, if I die, I need you to compose a ballad about my heroic death in the pursuit of gold and getting drunk. Samson will have to build a pyre for me. Worner will have to make the Sunfire to burn me. Bexar may decide to mourn me or not, and I know Annah wouldn’t pass up a chance to laugh at me making a fool of myself.’ Tanner looked mischievous, and then started to laugh hard. Faolan joined in.

 

About the 1st of March, Faolan asked if he was ready to try again. Tanner gave the okay, and the first run was made. Faolan and Tanner ‘distilled’ a batch of the ‘shine of the moon’. They had to run into town to get some fresh clay jars. ‘Normally, I’d insist on being frugal and using Sunfire jars, but in this case, I won’t be a tight fist’ said Tanner.

 

‘Tanner, only you would even think about re-using something so potentially dangerous. And no, I'm not talking about Bexar’, said Faolan, grinning. ‘You get nuttier with each passing month.’

 

On the 5th, Annah and Worner rode out for the test. Bexar wouldn’t say anything. Robb damn, the woman hadn’t spoken to Tanner in over a week since they had … woken up together with Faolan looking through the door at them, half-grinning, half ‘Oh Robb they finally did hook up’. Annah looked nervous, but not as much Worner. Worner kept muttering about drinking poison and Tanner being a fool to go through with this. Samson had a grin on his face. ‘I haven’t seen this much courage out of you since you stared me down at Old Man Tyson’s ranch. You have learned a little aggressiveness.’

 

‘Oh, some people in this town have taught me the value of being aggressive’. Tanner winked at Bexar; he seemed to be the only person that would refer to her as such, instead of Tazzo. Usually it got him an elbow in the stomach. Now it was only getting Tanner the silent treatment. What had he done now? Tanner wasn’t mad, just confused. He would never figure her out.

 

‘It’s a good day to get drunk’ said Faolan.

 

‘It’s a good day to die’, said Tanner with a half-crazed grin on his face. Faolan noted that Tanner looked the same as he did the day the Salamander was tested with Sunfire, but showed much less concern.

 

‘This is what we’re going to do’, said Faolan. ‘Worner has whipped up an antidote for the alcohol; he’s got something that will make you puke if you start to feel ill. If it get’s worse, Annah will do her best to heal you’. Tazzo jammed an elbow into Faolan’s ribs. ‘Er, and Tazzo will do the same.’

 

Tanner took a mug and measured out about two ounces of shine of the moon. He looked at them and said, ’If I don’t survive this, I want you all to know that I consider you my friends. Samson, you’ve been like a wise older brother to me, and put up with my foolishness when you should have beaten the life out of me.’ Samson grinned in approval.

 

‘Worner, fellow book reader and pursuer of all knowledge that has been forgotten, you’re like my favorite uncle. Our conversations have been most enjoyable, and you’re the only one who will put up with incessant discussions of steel and water-wheels.’ Worner nodded approvingly, but in a manner that reminded one of a mouse in a room full of cats.

 

‘Annah, you’re like a sister. I appreciate your friendship and putting up with me. Not to mention healing and saving my life.’ Annah nodded with a concerned look on her face.

 

‘Faolan, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. If I don’t survive this, my weapons are yours.’ Faolan thought Tanner was being a bit over the top, but since Tanner was potentially drinking poison, he wasn’t sure if this wasn’t called for. Tanner then leaned over and told him to make sure Bexar was provided for, that Tanner’s share of the ranch was her’s. Faolan nodded in approval.

 

Last, Tanner turned to Bexar. He looked at her for a moment. The look of the half insane engineer was replaced with one of a young, gentle farmer who had not spent the last nine years fighting and killing his way across the Frontier. Tanner said the words nobody ever thought they would hear Tanner say. ‘I love you’.

 

Bexar had shown stony silence towards Tanner for over a week. Now, fear showed plainly on her face. In a small voice, she said, ‘I know.’ Annah looked like a woman who found her brother was potentially going to die, but at the same time was glad that Tanner could express his feelings on subjects other than war, money, engineering or ale. ‘Great timing’, thought Annah. ‘Tanner, you finally open up when you are potentially about to die. Only a man would do such a thing’.

 

And without further hesitation, Tanner downed his mug. His eyes bulged and his face grimaced. Everyone’s face sharpened with concern. Tanner choked down the alcohol and stood up straight. He gasped, ‘That isn’t smooth. Burns. Get me some water!’ Immediately Faolan handed him a mug and Tanner belted it down. Tanner didn’t look better; he started to cough and looked pale.

 

‘Ach! This is too dangerous! Give him the tincture I prepared and make him throw up!’ Worner ran over and was about to shove the mug containing the tincture in his mouth, but Tanner pushed him away.

 

Tanner coughed a few times and cleared his throat. ‘I think I’m okay, although I wonder if I accidentally mixed the Sunfire in with this.’ Faolan saw the humor in this, and relaxed a bit. Tanner gasped, but then he grinned slightly. He waited a few minutes and got his mug again. He put two fingers worth of shine in it, but this time, he mixed some water in with it. ‘Just needs to be cut a little bit. Too pure.’ Tanner gulped down the mug.

 

Everyone looked at Tanner and began to think that he might get through this okay, when, without warning, he walked over to the Chest of Longing. ‘Robb no, he’s not gonna try and open that thing’ thought Faolan. But no, Tanner didn’t open it. Instead, he jumped on it and started to dance a jig. After a moment, Tanner started to sing some awful drinking song from years ago, except he started changing the lyrics around. He hollered:

 

‘I’m walking leagues for beef stew,

I haven’t eaten for days

Yes it’s true.

 

I’m hoping and praying

For a meal or two

Walkin’ leagues for beef stew’.

 

‘Well, that shine wasn’t poisonous, but maybe it should have been’, said Faolan. I haven’t heard anything that bad since the Bardstown Farmers Wash Day Fair of September of last year.

 

Tanner grabbed a hold of the jug and took another swig. More terrible singing poured forth.

 

‘Bexari Woman

She shines in her own kind of light

She looks at you once in a day

And what's wrong is all right

And I love her,

Robb knows I love her

 

Bexari Woman

She gets to know you

She’s gonna own you

Bexari Woman’

 

 

Bexar, Tazzo to all others, walked over and slapped Tanner. ‘Shut up! You’re making a bigger fool than usual out of yourself!’

 

Tanner looked at Bexar, and started to sing again.

 

‘Now I've got heartaches by the number

Troubles by the score.

Every day you love me less

Each day I love you more’

 

Bexar looked embarrassed. She came in close where no one else could hear her and said, in a voice slightly cracking, ‘You know that’s not true. I could have said the same about you back in December, and again last month. You damn fool. That stuff could have killed you, and then who else would I have had to slap around?’ Her face betrayed her relief at Tanner still being among the living. Then she slapped him again.

 

And Tanner finally shut up. He started to pass the jug to Faolan, but Annah grabbed it and took a swig instead. Her face blanched. ‘Robb Damn! That’s strong!

 

Faolan then tried to get the jug, but Samson pushed him out of the way, and Worner ducked in with Samson. ‘Respect your elders, son’. Samson grinned and took a slug as did Worner.

 

“The wonder of the age! More important than Sunfire!’ exclaimed Worner. ‘This is the greatest thing I’ve ever worked on!

 

Faolan sighed and reached for the jug again, but Tazzo grabbed it. ‘Ladies first’, as she took two belts off of it and grinned. She looked like she’d been kicked by a mule.

 

Finally Faolan got his hands on the jug. Too strong and harsh, but with work it could be better. ‘Yes, stronger than ale. Many a tavern will pay handsomely for this.’ Faolan started to dance a jig. Annah joined him. ‘Robb, she’s sloshed!’ said Faolan. The only thing that hurt worse than his throat was his ears. Tazzo had joined Tanner in some song about a Bexari woman and a Frontier man that ‘get together every time they can’. This stuff is too dangerous. It makes every Robb-damn drunk think he can sing as well as me.

 

Tags: Side Stories, Tanner Hawkwood