The door to the Lion’s Tail Pub swung open. Rain rushed through the entrance as if it were trying to escape the howling storm. A cloaked figure stumbled inside like a drowned dog. The dripping man advanced to the front table under the barkeep’s wary glare.           

“We’re closing up for the night.” The barkeep said. “Come back tomorrow.”           

The cloaked man didn’t stop moving. He slumped onto a stool and raised one hand.           

“Give me a bottle of something strong.” He grumbled without making eye contact.           

The barkeep folded his arms. It would be difficult to call the guards in this rain. Moreover, it looked like this man had braved the storm for the sake of a drink. The barkeep sighed and then filled up a glass.           

“One drink and then you’re out of here, got it?”

*Chink*           

The barkeep’s eyes widened as the rogue tossed out a few coins. He would have been surprised to see silver, but all three of them were gold.           

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“The bottle.”

The rogue explained himself with only two words and a pointed finger. The barkeep begrudgingly left the bottle. In less than five minutes, both containers were empty. The rogue slid one of the gold coins across the table.

“Two more bottles, two more coins.”

The barkeep stiffened. Each gold coin was ten times more valuable than his drinks. As much as he wanted to kick the man out, it was impossible to ignore such a windfall. Plus, the barkeep admitted, this man had at least set a limit. Hours later, the barkeep regretted having such a naïve thought. After his three coins were spent, the rogue slammed another five onto the table. When the barkeep insisted that he leave, the rogue refused to listen. He stubbornly tempted the owner until profit overcame reason. After drinking enough to kill a horse, the rogue leaned back with a wide grin.

“Aah, that’s great. That’s really great, you know?” He spoke in a sing-song voice. “With my endurance, I was worried that I couldn’t get drunk. That would have been a tragedy! I couldn’t even drink before, since I was underage. Not that those rules exist here, ha-ha!”

The barkeep ignored the man’s nonsense while desperately wondering when he’d be able to sleep. Then, his eye caught a glimpse of something red under the rogue’s cloak. Now that the rogue wasn’t hunched over, the barkeep could see a copious amount of blood caked to his tunic.

“Y-You’re injured!”

“Nah, nah, calm down. That wound closed hours ago.” The rogue laughed. “A little cut like that isn’t going to kill a cheat like me. A, uh…cheat. A cheat…”

As the rogue muttered to himself, the barkeep reexamined his face and noticed a familiar scar across his nose.

“You…you’re one of the adventurers that stopped here a week ago.”

“The very same!” The rogue grinned. His earlier mutterings were already forgotten.

“Ah.” The barkeep shook his head.  

There was nothing else to say. A party of two had left to challenge the Demon King. Only one had returned. At this point the barkeep wanted to pour himself a pint.