"I have a friend who showed me where some people keep their stills," Vasquez says, and so long as he only takes a drink or two, no one really notices. He shrugs and nods towards the inn again. "It'll strip off your tongue," he warns, but he's grinning wildly at it.

"It won't kill you, though," he promises. "Not if you've got a good liver," he adds, with a challenge in his eyes.