Elven Roses

"I said, get out of my tavern, you lousy plastic doll! Can't you read?" The Bartender gestured sharply towards the large white sheet metal sign bolted onto the wall beside the entrance door. In elfish and Republic common, were the words, "NO ANDROIDS" crudely painted in a deep red.

"But sir, you don't understand," Mericlou pleaded. "I'm not here for a drink; I'm just looking for someone!" Anger swelled within her, mixed with intimidation over the bartender's imposing combination of height and width.

"I don't care if you came in here looking for the high priestess!" The bartender snapped back, his thick arm firmly directing the way back to the entrance. "Now are you going to leave, or am I going to have to call the night watch to remove you for me?"

"Excuse me," Aldrec said, making his presence known behind the momentarily startled bartender and much-relieved Mericlou, "but is there a problem here?"

"Oh, sorry there, master elf, sir," the bartender said. He flashed a fierce stare Mericlou's way before turning to smile mawkishly at Aldrec. "I'm just getting rid of this here android. She's not supposed to be in the place … rules and all, you know?"

"Have you ever had androids try to come in here before?" Aldrec said.

"Well … no … not exactly, that is," the bartender replied, becoming flustered, "but you see …"

"Do they usually drink alcohol?" Aldrec said.

"Well, no … not to my knowledge, they don't," the bartender replied, now considerably less confident than he had been a moment before. "But then again, well … I don't know exactly what their kind does and doesn't like."

"Well, I know," Aldrec said, seeming more stern and menacing. "They don't drink alcohol. They find the taste repulsive, and besides, it has no effect on them. So why, may I ask," he gestured towards Mericlou, now motionless, as if in standby mode, "are you giving this android a hard time?"

"Well, um, like I said, it's the … ah, rules, sir." The barkeeper was now fumbling his words in sheer desperation. "I … I don't let androids in; they're not allowed, you see?"

"Well in my opinion, it seems like a rather pointless rule," Aldrec said, casually thumbing towards the sign, "seeing how no androids would come here anyway, unless they had good reason." As he took a gentle hold of Mericlou's pale hand, his voice turned as stern and cold as his expression. "And she's with me, in case you want to know."