TheNexusProject/SignOfTheBlackCock
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The Sign Of The Black Cock
by MelWong
- "There ish a place in Cinnabar that servesh the strongest rum. Ish' been the ruin of many a poor boy, and the Dragons, they know I'm one."
- The most popular (and possibly most hated) drinking-song in Nexus. Sing at own risk.
- "Don't you know they have to use glass tankards there 'cause their liquor's so strong it eats through everything else? Mavram once kept some of his in a leather skin and it turned the hide to glue. Don't think I want to know what that does to y'insides, but it sure keeps y'toes warm."
- The drunkard, Manaros, over his tankard of Black Cock Brew.
The Sign of the Black Cock is a well-kept public-house run by the garrulous brewer Aleko Ausengrim and his beautiful daughter, Mejhal. The pub owes its name to the old metal weathervane on its roof. Nexus' polluted rains and air have stained the metal rooster silhouette with a blackish patina that won't rub off despite the best efforts and elbow grease of urchins paid to crawl up the roof and clear the gutters every month.
Located on the livelier end of the Plaza of Rising Stars opposite Hickory's Charcuterie, the Sign of the Black Cock is known to be a comfortable place where you can get a sip of something strong and a bite to eat. Most of the food is unostentatious - meat pies and cheeses dominate with the occasional pickle, but the real feature of the Sign of the Black Cock is its signature liquor, Black Cock Brew.
Ostensibly a strong, intensely-flavored black rum brewed from molasses and other unidentifiable ingredients, Black Cock Brew is so strong as to be a drink most are dared to drink. Even hardened drinkers prefer it cut with fruit juice, most commonly lime juice, and to drink it at cask-strength is dangerous to one's continued wellbeing.
Unlike most other drinking houses, the Sign of the Black Cock uses only glass tankards, supposedly to prevent metallic tastes from leaching out into the variety of liquors brewed and served there.
Rumours
- Some of the regulars claim that Black Cock Brew was originally what turned the brass weathervane black, and if so, that is probably the reason why the stuff is served in glass tankards. They only say so when old Aleko is out of earshot, naturally.
- The proprietor, Aleko, wandered the Threshold a great deal before he settled down with his late missus and had Mejhal. While most people believe that the pub's backroom and cellar door are locked because most of his brewing is done down there, others believe that treasure is hidden in tunnels below the pub.
Secret
- The pub's cellar opens into the dry storm drain network underneath Cinnabar. While it is mostly-impassable during the floods, a good swimmer could find their way to the nearest cistern and swim upwards. Aleko has locked the cellar to prevent vermin from running in - his brewing actually is done at his private residence where the smell of yeast won't bother the customers.
