No, apparently it was NOT permanent or how else could he have gotten it? And one does not need to go to poison testing school to notice something is wrong. Besides, any true Nord would have killed the guy on the spot for just spitting into their mead.

Because of course, any time you taste a drink and it seems "off" you immediately think "poison."

Last night I had some soda that didn't have enough syrup in it, didn't taste right, had to be poison.

The barrel the captain's mead came from never moved, ever.

It's bad writing.

Didn't read everything but i would like to point out that there are no Dwarves in the Elder Scrolls series.

the Dwemer how ever have been called Dwarves because giants saw them as small, but in truth the Dwemer were very much normal size for a human.
Their race has however does not exist anymore ( want to know how? read the lore ).

P.S. a certain somebody may or may not be alive in Morrowind, who knows as that was 200 years ago and Red Mountain exploded, but he has the ability to live forever...

No, it has got a moral to it. It is good. Maybe you want to say it could have been better. That I could not disagree with. It was however one of many quests and for a good enough.

What moral does it have to it exactly?

Do not let others drink what you have not tested first.
Do not trust a complete stranger to take care of important business for you.

Them are two I can remember.

Maybe the reason why the barrel never moved is either..

a.) for times sake. No one wants to sit there and wait for him to fill it.

b.) It's like a beer nozzle at a bar, you don't rip it out of the counter when you want to fill it. No, you just fill it up.

c.) Maybe he was filling it while you were heading back from the extermination job.

d.) (my favorite one) Nobody gives two craps. it is just a game, they did a fine job with the writing and the gameplay, and it really ticks me off when people don't show appreciation for such a great game. Really, if you think you can make one better go ahead try it, the OP obviously can't.

hahahaha sad isnt it...

Cast > Pacify, help myself to her house keys, loot house and poop under her bed, do I win?

I love choosing my own adventures.

Okay I didn't get far. Problem number 1, dwarves no longer exist. They are gone, and it is said they became the skin of a god.