"Thanks."  She sighs.  She's not sure whether it'd be more annoying if magic did theoretically work in Ev, or if it didn't.  Well, the worldgate door had to be able to open there at least...

Jenwy shakes her head and takes some paper money out of a pocket in her dress.  "What're your names?  And... do I need to do anything special, or can the bar read my mind about what drink?"  Just in case it can, as she sets the money on the counter, she's clearly picturing a strawberry soda.

He snorts. "Fine."

"The handsome man beside me is Conrad. I am Damian. Yes, you need to speak aloud – Bar will tell you what the price of your order is in your local currency. You'll be asked to pay an amount of money similar to the amount you'd spend if you ate it where you lived, or an estimate thereof. It can't read your mind, unlike me."

:What order would you like? And yes, as he says, I have no mind-reading capability. Please state your order audibly, or write it down on this napkin.: Bar conjures a ballpoint pen if Jenwy would prefer to write her order.

Jenwy takes up the conjured pen and rolls it over in her fingers, but then says aloud, "One strawberry soda, please - and one apple soda for Areli!"

(She puts another bill on the bar just in case, taking the total clearly above what those two sodas would cost in Ev, even in the small remote town where she'd recently lived.)

Bar disappears the bills and in the next moment conjures change and the two sodas in fancy glass mugs, similar to that of beer, with a straw for each of them. The change indicates that the price is above the price from Jenwy's town, but only by a little.

:Enjoy!:

"Soda. I don't think I've heard of that before. Wait. Soda. Soda. Oh, it's sparkling water with fruit juice? I think I'll have one too." He sets aside his wine bottle and asks for a strawberry soda as well, putting down more gold coins. 

Bar only takes one, and now there's another strawberry soda on the table.

"Thanks, Jenwy."

Areli takes his soda, and takes a small sip and then a larger mouthful.  It tastes almost like at home.  He's not sure whether he's imagining the additional magic flavor.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what soda is, at the core."  He actually looks over Damian's wine bottle for the first time.  "Huh, you actually asked for wine?  I had it once, but I don't think people have drunk it that often since a little after the Shift.  Guess this might support Colbina's theory about the Shift helping it die out."

He sips the soda. "Wow, that's good. It tastes...a little weird, though. It tastes like strawberries, but not like strawberries. There's something...off about it. Still good, though. 

Why not? Wine's great." He looks mildly offended. "It is my preferred alcoholic beverage. Maybe you just haven't had the good stuff. I'll let you have some of mine if you want. It rivals Cheliax's wines – Cheliax is my home country.

Is mind reading common where you live?"

"Sure, I'll try some.

"And no - we don't have mind reading at all.  We'd call that magic; don't you?  In fact, if magic's normal for you, how do you figure out what is magic and what isn't?"

"Ah, I see. I made a little comment about reading minds and Jenwy didn't react to it, so I had assumed it was common. Yes, it's magic to us too – the spell is called Detect Thoughts. That's the most common version, but there's also Detect Desires and Detect Anxieties. They're more specialized.

We figure out what stuff is magic depending on whether it produces an aura under Detect Magic. Alternatively, whether the effect or item stops functioning if put in an antimagic field, although that's a more extreme form of detection."

Then, to Bar: "Bar, how do you feel about divination spells? Are they fine to cast?"

:Divination spells are fine. I do not make a distinction between exotic and mundane forms of obtaining information about patrons – such as sight – so long as said sensing is entirely passive and does not affect the other person. A special exception is made for echolocation provided that the sounds emitted are not disruptive.

You must obtain the target's informed consent in order to apply any sort of effect on them. However, mind reading does not require this since it is divination as per the above definition, and so is an exception – you do not need to obtain a person's consent to look at them or to hear the sounds they emit. However, I highly suggest still obtaining informed consent because most people see their minds as private, and attempts to try to sense their thoughts are very likely to be interpreted as rude.:

"But do you know that magic detection and antimagic field really are getting all the things that we'd call magic?  And yes, sure, read my mind!"

Jenwy's thinking about a novel she read last year where some magical Elves thought that a whole lot of their magic was perfectly natural and not magic at all... until they got to another world where it didn't work.  In the back of her mind is floating the idea that she'd like to try some of that wine too, and she's forlornly hoping it'll be some magical potion.

He says a few words – which sound like just syllables without meaning – and gestures with his hands and arms. Detect Thoughts.

"I suppose not. But at that point, it's just arguing over details. Defining magic as that which shows up to Detect Magic and is nullified by Antimagic Field is a useful definition. Magic is simply a particular art that lets you affect the world. There are many things that can replicate what magic does, but which are unaffected by the two spells.

Elves cast the same magic we humans do. Wait, do you have elves in your world too? Or is it a case where it's just the same name? But no, you said it was a novel, so...elves are fictional in your world? Sadly, the wine is not a magical potion. I could cast Tears to Wine on it and make it a magical potion that will temporarily make you smarter – although in that case I should cast it on dirty water. Sadly, I don't have that prepared, and it would take a quarter hour to prepare it...if Bar will even let me cast the spell. Presumably making alcoholic drinks will undercut them."

:It is prohibited to bring outside food and drink. But...if you were to buy regular water on me and cast the spell on it, then I would rule that it is fine. You bought the water and so are free to do with it as you wish, and since the water was bought from me, it isn't 'outside'. Frankly, I'm not exactly pleased with this ruling – since it does undercut me – but I lean towards permitting rather than forbidding, and I can't see a company rule that lets me forbid it without special pleading:

"Elves are just fictional for us - what're the real elves like?"

"Hm. They live very long. Hundreds of years. Tall and thin. Not very strong. Very elegant and graceful. Pointed ears and weirdly shaped eyes, with huge irises. They usually live in their own societies apart from humans."

He makes a clicking sound with his tongue. "Admittedly, the two of us are not humans. We were humans, but not anymore. Being a human sucks – your lifespan is so short. We adopt our old human forms out of habit.

We're demons now." He smiles.

A whole lot of religious doctrine and speculation about demons floods through Jenwy's mind, and she can't help jumping back a bit.

But they don't usually (if ever) show up visibly, and this bar really doesn't look like any scheme they'd be playing.  It's not like they've tried to get her to do anything evil.

"I really hope that 'demon' doesn't mean the same thing to you as it sounds like to us?"

"I don't know – your thoughts went by too quickly for me to take in. Demons, in our world, are Chaotic Evil outsiders. And no, I'm not trying to get you to do anything Evil. I'd be fine with talking to you about that, though." He smiles again.

"I should say, for Bar's sake, that Bar is not affiliated with us.

In Conrad's case, he has an item that lets him change his form. For me, the type of demon I am can shift form at will."

:I confirm that we have no formal relationship – it is their first time here.:

Areli was shocked for a moment too, but he caught himself before doing anything more than staring, and started thinking. 

If he can trust them about anything they've said, he should be able to trust them about that.  And if he can't trust them about anything... well, why would they be admitting they're demons?  And they really don't sound like the sort of demons that Evite religion talks about.

He squeezes Jenwy's hand.

"I'll trust you," he says aloud to Conrad and Damian.  "If the wine's still on offer, I'll try some?"

If Areli trusts they're something else going by the same name as "demons," she'll trust them too.

"Of course. Bar, would you kindly produce a glass for dear Areli?"

A glass identical to Damian's appears on the table. Extra glasses are free!

"Here you go," he says, pouring some out and pushing it over to Areli. "Cheers." He raises his glass and drinks.

"We don't talk about being demons for obvious reasons. I'm surprised you took it well. Many people don't, because demons are Chaotic Evil. So are we – you have to be to become one. Right, your religion is different and you don't have Pharasma. Where we're from, mortals are sorted into nine afterlives based on their actions, thoughts, and philosophies in life. They are judged on two axes: Good-Evil and Law-Chaos, with a Neutral option for each. That's nine combinations, each of which is called an 'alignment'.

You probably don't have that concept since you don't have a god enforcing it. We used to be Lawful Evil, but turned away from it. Alignment is baked into the world: there are spells that specifically target one alignment or another, such as Shard of Chaos or Protection from Good."