It was still raining as they rode into the village Benj grew up in. He knew there wasn't one unless someone had built an inn in the last half a year. Travelers would often sleep on the outskirts of the village if Mayor Hagen didn't invite them to his estate. Benj knew he didn't need an invitation; he only needed to ask. So he led John through the downpour and muddy streets until the village bell came into sight. He directed him to a good place to park and ushered the two towards the front door.

Benj knocked and then waited with John and Lucia under a wall of water. Soon, the noise of a latch and the creak of a door displayed an uncertain look on the Mayor's face.

"Hello?" Hagen asked through the crack in the door.

"Hello, It's me, Benjos. Can we come inside?"

"Yes, come in, come in, what are you doing out in the rain?" Hagen ushered the three inside to a sitting area. "Can I get you some tea? What am I asking? Of course, you'll have some tea. Let me get you something to dry off with. I'll put a kettle on."

After everyone had dried off and was reasonably comfortable, Mayor Hagen inquired about the reason for the visit. John explained that he was looking for a new home, and Benj asked if anybody had built an inn since he left.

Hagen shook his head. "No, I keep asking Tegan, and he says he doesn't want to. He says he prefers people to go home after he closes the Golden Stag. I offered to put him in a bigger building for free; he wouldn't do it. Don't suppose you want to start an inn?"

John raised an eyebrow, "I was planning on starting an herb garden. An inn, you say? I wouldn't know where to start."

"You've come to the right place to talk about starting an herb garden. Not only am I mayor, but I am also head of the farming committee. I'll show you a few vacant places after it finishes raining tomorrow. Maybe I'll convince you to start an inn; who knows?" Hagen gave a self-satisfied smile. "Of course, you are welcome to stay here in the meantime. I only have the two rooms, uh, Benj, you are welcome to stay if you…."

Benj understood what he was trying to ask and replied, "I'm fine. I'll be going home after this."

"So, are you back now or just here to visit?" The mayor asked before taking a sip of tea.

Benj shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I'll give it some time before making any big decisions."

"And we still need to climb Mt. Asven first," Lucia added, eliciting a thoughtful look from Hagen.

Benj's face blanched. He wasn't sure where she got the idea that he would go with her. He just told her that he couldn't talk about certain things until she climbed the mountain for herself. He felt embarrassed that she implied that he said otherwise or that she even knew about the mountain in the first place. He panicked slightly and tried recovering.

"I can't go with you," Benj explained, more for the mayor's benefit.

"I was under the impression we were going to go together," Lucia said, looking hurt. "Now you're telling me that I have to go by myself. Is that really so necessary? We came all this way together."

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"Hold on a moment," Hagen interjected, talking to Lucia. "Why do you want to climb the mountain in the first place?"

"Back in Royal, Benj helped me, but he," Lucia paused to think about her next words. "He wouldn't tell me how. He said the only way for him to tell me was if I climbed this stupid mountain back home. Well, here we are, and now he doesn't even want to go with me."

"It's not like I don't want to go with you, Lucia," Benj began before the mayor stopped him.

"Then it's settled," Hagan brought his hands together. "Benj if you want to go with her then go on ahead. As long as you don't talk about anything important and she leads the way, I can't see why everyone shouldn't win. Just ask her father first."

Benj reluctantly looked at John, who nodded once.

"We can leave tomorrow!" Lucia rejoiced, standing to her feet.

Hagen raised a finger. "Ah, I wouldn't do that. It's going to rain tomorrow evening, worse than it's raining tonight. After that, we should have clear weather for the next couple of weeks."

"How do you know what the rain is going to do?" John asked.

"I told you, I'm in charge of the Farming committee. We pay close attention to the colors in the sky, the rotation of the moon, and the previous year's weather patterns. I don't mean to boast, but our weather predictions are pretty accurate."

Benj stayed and talked with the mayor for a while longer before stabling the horses and going back home. Hagen offered to lend him a rain jacket, which he took despite still being wet from earlier. When he finally arrived at the bakery, he ignored the bell on the door, draped the wet cloak on the counter, and pushed into the kitchen.

Benj found Taft sitting in the kitchen, looking over old recipes. Taft looked up, waved, and continued reading. He could hear Sephus barrel down the stairs and then rustle around in the front room.

"I could have sworn I heard someone come in," he said from behind the door. "Is this your jacket?"

"It probably belongs to Benj," Taft responded, not looking up from the book.

"I don't care who it belongs to; jackets do not belong on the counter," Sephus burst through the kitchen door, surprised at the unexpected company. "Benjos, my boy! You're home!" He ran and gave him a hug that was cut short. "You're all wet. Do you want me to pour you some brandy to warm you up?"

"Oh, I don't drink anymore," Benj confessed, lifting up his shirt to show a tattoo of a black bird holding a crown with two stars over the outer points. "The last time I did, I was kidnapped, drugged, and given this. So I pretty much stay away from it now."

"Cool!" Taft exclaimed, leaning in to get a closer look.

"Benj, you didn't come back to try to impress the girl with that, did you?" Sephus asked sternly.

"No, of course not! I'm not stupid. I came back because I accidentally joined a guild of thieves and assassins. I killed one of their members and took his place. See," Benj lifted up his shirt again and pointed at the crown. "This is their symbol. I didn't get it to try to impress anyone."

"Benjos, why don't you stand in front of the fire and tell me the whole story, starting with where that horse I bought you is."

And so he did. Benj talked about Gallows Reese, the Crownsmith, and the robberies. He told them how his friend Priest had died and how, even though they hadn't been acquainted long, it still left a hollow feeling of pain in his chest. He talks about his time spent behind bars and how, thanks to Jafa's pickpocketing, they escaped. Finally, he told them about Lucia and how he would have never survived without her. Talked until his clothes were dry.

"So, what is your plan now that you're back?" Sephus asked, working the feeling back into his leg. "Are you staying for good now?"

"I don't know, maybe," Benj shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "I feel like the problems I had before are a lot smaller now. So, there's nothing really pushing me away anymore. Reese told me I could come back whenever I wanted. I guess I had been trying to escape so long that I ran when I could, even though I didn't need to anymore. I guess my plan is to process everything, climb a mountain, and then figure it all out later."

Taft frowned and redirected his attention back to Benj, "What do you mean climb a mountain?"