Tipsy Miscellany
(This miscellany is a record of a Wandering Poet's achievements. The power of Si's painting probably made it give off the smell of a wondrous brew of kohl. It feels as though there is a strange spell capable of bringing the reader's mind to another world.)
I remember the times when I was a kid. A very well-dressed lady often visited our family establishment for a drink.
Always she came in already tipsy. Always she ordered more drinks. Always she washed them down, mumbled a few words, slammed the coins on the table, and staggered her way out.
My grandfather told me she was educated, and a loyal patron. Many years passed and many things became different. But the lady remained the same, and her routine hardly changed.
Perhaps my grandfather already knew her back in Great Yan. It'd be amazing if that were true.
Since that realization, I always sat at her table whenever she came to sate her thirst. With a plate of peanuts I coaxed her for stories.
Though there were occasions when the kohl knocked her senseless, she usually had something interesting to tell me. She said things like "the views of Great Yan" and "border citadels in the wastelands". She also told me this: "You got Tianshi potential, kid. I can see you commanding armies one day."
Me? A Tianshi? And commanding armies? Hahahaha.
If I'm Tianshi material, then why couldn't anyone in my family read?
A Tumu Tianshi of HAS always has to contend with crushing deadlines, challenging tasks, and stringent budgets. Every job was as stressful as laying down a straight production line within a slug shell. Kohl was a refuge and without knowing it, I became addicted to the spirits as well.
I heard Endfield came up with something awesome that could ease our workload, but I don't know when they're going to deploy that in a decent scale.
I left the factory for more kohl at an inn, and somehow ran into a familiar face.
My grandfather had left me for more than a decade, but the lady had not changed at all, looking just like how I remembered her when I was a kid.
The innkeeper told me that she was a loyal patron and a generous one too.
Hold on.
That means our place wasn't her only watering hole.
But my family shop was on the east side of Hongshan. This inn was on the west side...
I felt a pressing need to satisfy my curiosity, so I treated her to some drinks and coaxed her for answers.
"Coincidence, I guess," she said as she washed down the kohl I poured for her.
If you're reading this letter, I'm most likely dead. Killed by the Landbreakers.
As a member of HAS, I got to lead my people and fought to the last. I die a satisfied man.
I don't have much to my name, and hardly have any regrets either.
Just kinda felt sorry for my parents. I also miss a drink with that strange lady.
(The lower half of the sheet is soaked through by kohl. Someone else has written a comment.)
An ambition fulfilled, a dream concluded.