No Escaping It

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 16th June 2010

Characters: Fayazel, Drage
Description: Fayazel has a minor catastrophe on his hands to test the new Hallsecond
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 9, day 24 of Turn 5

Fayazel had an unusually dark expression on his face as he walked into
the wine cellar. "An _ice_ wine cask?" he asked the journeyman who
stood at the bottom of the stairs.

Drage shook his head, wiping his forehead. "Aye sir. After inspecting
it, I'm fair certain it wasn't sealed properly."

"Well, there's no escaping it, let's open it up and see where we are."
Why did it have to be an ice wine? Those were the most expensive, and
therefore lucrative! Their Hall could use those marks... Well,
hopefully it wasn't as bad as they feared.

Drage gave the word and an apprentice opened the barrel. The first
obvious sign that something had gone wrong was the smell. The journeyman
almost cried.

Fayazel closed his eyes, breathing it in, just to snort in disgust. His
well trained nose could recognize the smell immediately. "Not even fit
for vinegar."

"We'll dump it then." The apprentices moved to get the cask on the cart.
"We can look at it after." Drage was trying to remember which cooper
had done the barreling.

"How many bottles would you estimate are lost?" Fayazel could estimate
from the size, but he was sure the journeyman would have a clearer idea
than he.

"At least 30, I'd say." Drage shook his head again as the cask went
traveling down the corridor. It was dark and cold in the aging caves.

"30 bottles?" Fayazel let out a soft whistle as he did the sum in his
head. "Any idea how this might have happened?"

"Either the cooper didn't build the barrel correctly, an apprentice
didn't seal it properly, or something ate a hole into the wood."
Theoretically the resin should have prevented that, but things could
happen.

"Have you checked the other barrels yet?" Hopefully it wasn't more
wide-spread than just the one barrel.

"Aye sure everything else is looking fine." A mercy it was, thank
Faranth.

"I think we better send some apprentices around to make sure." The
journeyman was most likely right, but they could not afford to lose any
more.

"As you wish, Master." Drage, like any vintner worth his salt, could
smell anything a mile away.

"Let's also get one of the coopers to look at the barrel and make sure
it was the seal that failed. And if it was, I want to know who was
responsible." It was most likely an honest mistake, but Fayazel
intended to make sure that vintner would watch what they were doing from
now on.

"Already on that." Drage was pretty sure it was the seal, knowing the
cooper had made more than one barrel and none of the rest of them had
failed.

"Right, well, nothing more can be done about it. Let's just see what we
can do to make sure it doesn't happen again." Fayazel gave the
journeyman a nod. "Thank you for bringing it to my attention so
quickly."

"Aye sir, well I know how important it is." Drage hoped the ice wine did
as well this turn, bringing in more income.

Last updated on the June 28th 2010

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No Escaping It