At this point the group’s consensus on wine was something wet.  Even warmed or chilled wasn’t worth debate to them; a large jug of anything would satisfy their palettes at this point.<br/><br/>Down the stairs the tree and roots descended into the earth, cooled beyond even the evening air outside.  It was at least a constant temperature however, balanced between the insulation of packed earth and the warm living roots of the great tree.  Hard-packed dirt and archways of cultivated roots made guided natural halls and offshooting rooms.  One open kitchen area was vacant, the workers either done for the evening or serving other night-time duties.  There were large communal meals prepped for the temple residents, lots of oats, grains, berries, and nuts, processed and combined in various ways with baking, cobblers, honey-sweetened trail rations as toasted granola bars, and relatively plain loaves of bread with jams and nut butters—though the loaves were either exquisitely braided, in hundreds of papery fluffy layers, or sculpted in some representative subtlety (https://barbarabakes.com/wp-content/upLoads/2012/08/Cream-Puff-Swans-collage-Barbara-Bakes.jpg) or gingerbread composition (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rX0XO).  A tiny berry tart or cookie would not go missing in such a large venture, especially since it went to feeding the clergy anyway.<br/><br/>Near the kitchen were the larders, root cellars, and wine.  There were great giant oak barrels aging wine as well as racks of bottles, sideways or upright if magically infused with sparkling bubbles.  One side contained the local vintages, while the other had imports either brought in by collectors, or traded for in Greengold, the port city of trade with non-elves.  Here Alice was most likely to find the vintages of humans and other cultures: some stronger and more robust, often younger and made to be drunk quite soon rather than the elves’ traditional years of aging, and with many more experimental tastes from alternative barrel woods, fruit or grain choice, and exotic special ingredients.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Appraise DC 20</div><div class="spoiler_body">Determine best wine visible in cellar, one choosing to define “best” either as value, strength, or largest portable size</div></div><br/><br/>Aside from the kitchens, which were dark and quiet in the evening, there was plenty of noise and activity from another section of the tunnels.  Steam, churning, and splashing sounded from the cleaning areas, where hotsprings or magically heated pools soaked soapy clothes, which were scrubbed, hung, dried, or sorted by low-level acolytes, initiates, and servants.  More delicate or fantastic garments were carefully labeled and magically steamed or prestidigitated clean with cantrips and orisons, then packaged and delivered back to the quarters of the priestess or patron in question.