The Pink Eel
by Sheldon MorrisThe Pink Eel (a.k.a. The Drinking Eel)
In the small trading and fishing village of Rugalov near the Eastern edge of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos there is a curious little tavern. There you see the sign of a pink eel drinking from a tilted mug swinging from above its front door. Inside it's just as most any Karameikan tavern; several tables with benches, superstitious charms hanging from the walls, a small stage off to the left, and a cheerful, colourfully dressed Traladaran barkeep. The patronage seems quite normal as well for a mostly rural clientele.
Dimiter Torok, the barkeep, approaches stretching out his arm "Welcome friends, what'll it be?"
The rogue, not able to keep his mouth shut at times, pipes up "For starters, why the pink eel? Why not grey, or even green?"
Dimiter answers with a slight smile, shrug and a sigh that foretells of a statement told many times before, "This is the Drinking Eel, didn't realise it was pink you know - got trouble with seeing colours", followed immediately afterward by a chorus of patrons lifting mugs together, "WELCOME TO THE PINK EEL!" (They wouldn't dare let poor Dimiter change that sign!)
Many fisherman come here as well as many lower class travellers of the Eastron
Road. Merchants can often be seen here as well but, again, generally just the
small-time ones. At least one of the town officials likes to come here with a
regular frequency, Eudociel, the Thyatian chief of the town guards. He's very
friendly, even genuinely most of the time, but he's really just sniffing out
the trouble makers.