Ash 18, 121
It was a crisp evening but not too cold yet, as Franky put the finishing touches on the night's event. Today was the Imperial tradition of Cider Rolls, which while sounding like a delicious pastry, and one that Franky would have to talk to a baker about, was actually a game. The many hearths in the bar had been removed and cleaned out, and Franky was now setting up the little statues he'd had commissioned by a wood carver. Each of them was a goblin, each with a story attached to it that had been passed down in his village. Goblins of old and lore, memorable and historical figures.
The carpenter was a goblin, another who had come from the Imperium, and had done a fantastic job.
Franky finished setting up each triangle of ten figurines in the hearths, before moving back over to his bar. Where there were normally stools sitting at the bar itself, instead was one stool and several wooden crates, the lids removed. Inside were many different bottles of ciders, all brewed by Zaichaeri brewers, from fruit grown by Zaichaeri farmers. The bottles rested in straw to help prevent them from jostling about. There was such a wide variety; apple, pear, plum, cherry, elderflower, honeysuckle, raspberry, blackberry, currant, and on and on.
Franky grabbed a honeysuckle, ripping the cork out, and tossing it over his shoulder into the barrel of corks he kept behind the bar. He boomed out over the early evening crowd. "Welcome to Cider Rolls, everyone. For those of you who have not experience this tradition from the Imperium, I'll explain it for you."
He held up the bottle of cider, "You buy a bottle." He then proceeded to chug the entire thing down, loving the subtle sweetness that burned gently at his throat. Once it was done, he held up the empty bottle, "You finish the bottle, alone or with friends, your choice." He then walked across the room, picking a spot on the wall across from a hearth.
Franky placed his heel against the wall, "Foot must touch the wall." Then Franky swung his arm low, and sent the bottle rolling and skittering across the floor toward the hearth. It collided with the first of the wooden statues in the hearth, which sent the rest behind it sprawling. The bottle then exploded into a shower of glass inside the hearth. "Knock over all ten goblins in one go, you get a free bottle and get to go again." Franky then pointed at the brooms next to each hearth, "If you miss the hearth altogether, you clean up your own damn mess. Don't be leaving that shit for Millie and me."
Franky then walked back over to the bar, taking his spot on the only stool, looking out over the people there, a wide grin, "Who wants the first bottle?"
