The next day, word of Winston’s return had spread throughout the town, and the Happily Ever After Inn was packed at lunchtime. However, the guests would be surprised to find Louis behind the bar and Steph serving food and drinks as had been the case for the past fortnight.

“Where is he?” Greg asked as he pushed his way to the bar.

Louis placed a mug of beer in front of the old brewer and arched an eyebrow. “Upstairs, fast asleep, would you believe?”

Greg’s eyes widened in wonder. “It must have been quite the bender he was on these past two weeks. Did he give any details?”

Louis shook his head. “He was exhausted and went to bed after a quick meal.”

Greg took a sip of his beer and sighed contentedly before leaning in conspiratorially. “What do you think he got up to? He can’t have spent all two weeks drinking and reminiscing.”

“Estos is four days away by wagon, you know.”

The inn fell silent as Winston descended the stairs, rubbing his head. “I do apologize if my abrupt departure alarmed you, but my friends were quite insistent. I parted ways with them as quickly as I could.”

Louis looked up and his hands stopped polishing the glass in his hand. Now that he was standing under the light of the midday sun, he could see that the landlord looked like he had aged ten years over the last two weeks, and that he had lost considerable weight. He gripped the polished oak banister has he walked down the stairs with slow, deliberate steps.

Ogden walked over to the bottom of the stairs with a cup of wine in his hand. Winston swayed slightly as the mayor clapped him on the shoulder. “Whatever it is, it’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back,” Winston replied with a wan smile. “Truly, there is no place I would rather be than right here.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Terrance cried with a raised glass.

“Cheers!”

As Louis made his way over to Winston with a glass of wine in his hand, he heard Ogden ask, “Your friends caused quite a stir. Will we be seeing them again?”

“I hope not,” Winston allowed. “I made it clear before I left them that I didn’t wish to be disturbed here.”

“Well, if they do come back, do you want us to help you… turn them away?” Ogden offered.

“Thank you, Louis,” Winston smiled as the boy offered him the glass. His hand trembled slightly as he took a sip. “And thank you Ogden, but no, I can speak for myself in the off chance they do come back.”

The mayor grasped Winston by the arm and looked him in the eye. “Listen, you’re family to us, Winston. If you’re ever in a pinch, there isn’t a person in this town who isn’t willing to drop everything and come running.”

Winston stared at the mayor for a moment before nodding. “Thank you, I’m touched but…”

He paused to gulp down some wine before continuing. “Thank you.”

Ogden patted Winston on the shoulder and then cocked his head at Louis. “Don’t think you have to take the world on by yourself. If not for your own sake, then for theirs.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Winston said sincerely. “Your concern is touching.”

The landlord turned to Louis and ruffled his hair. “You look quite at home behind the bar.”

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“Yes, he had a rocky start, but he’s improved tremendously,” Ogden laughed. “But his cooking could use a lot of work.”

Louis felt his face grow hot. “Oh I was just keeping things running until you returned, Mister Weaver.”

He paused before adding. “Do you want to take over?”

Winston smiled and shook his head. “You seem to be doing a fine job.”

He turned his gaze to the inn who were looking at him expectantly and added, “I think I’ll have to spend the afternoon detailing my exploits over the last two weeks.”

“I’d like to hear too,” Louis blurted.

“Then I shall hold court close to the bar,” Winston laughed.

Steph joined Louis behind the bar as Winston regaled his guests with a tale of wild excess in an obscure Estos bar and the pair exchanged uncomfortable looks, knowing not a word of it was true. The guests scarcely noticed as Louis made an excuse to retreat to the kitchen for fear that he would give Winston’s secret away.

At around three in the afternoon, Winston excused himself to prepare for dinner. Upon hearing that, the townspeople were only too happy to leave him to it, and Ogden was happy that his miners were finally willing to get back to work. Winston walked into the kitchen and looked at Louis before taking a deep breath.

“Finally, eh?” he sighed. “Would you like to watch me prepare dinner?”

“More importantly,” Steph said as she rushed into the kitchen. “Why don’t you tell us what really happened with that mob?”

Winston slowly shifted his gaze between Louis and Steph before sitting down with a tired sigh. “I suppose I owe you that much.”

The pair exchange looks before getting comfortable close to their boss. Winston looked at the floor and took a deep breath.

“I suppose I should start at the beginning when I left Chalybe,” he began. “To my alarm, their numbers only grew as we descended the mountain and through the villages on our way to Estos.”

He paused and pressed his lips into a thin line. “It seems that the Goddess still has many hidden followers after all these years. There must have been almost five hundred of them by the time we reached a small town on the outskirts of Estos.”

A chill went down Louis’ spine. “What happened then?”

“It so happened that Carla had people stationed around the mountain and they were tracking our progress. They swooped in and…” Winston paused to take a sip of wine. “And a scuffle broke out.”

“What happened to them?” Steph asked sharply.

Winston looked down at the ground before meeting her gaze. “Well… there’s only one punishment for heresy in the lands of the faithful.”

A bead of sweat rolled down Louis’ cheek. A question burned inside him, but he was too afraid to ask it. Instead, Steph did. “Did you kill anyone?”

Winston glanced at her and smiled wryly. “Would you think differently of me if I did?”

“Yes,” Steph replied at once. “If you had killed my prick of an ex-boss in the streets of Estos, we could have avoided this whole problem altogether.”

“So, did you kill anyone?” Louis managed to ask.

“No, he didn’t,” came a gravelly voice from the stairs leading down to the cellar. “He let Carla and her boys do all the dirty work.”

Louis jumped and turned to see a filthy Nathan standing at the threshold. His arms and face were covered with scrapes, but he shot Steph a triumphant look before turning to Louis. “You have mice down there, by the way.”

“Did you really cram yourself through that tiny cellar window just to make a dramatic entry?” Steph asked incredulously.

Nathan smirked and shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”

“It was a close run thing, alright,” Nathan said, rubbing the back of his head. “I dare say that Carla fumbled things a little.”

“She couldn’t have known there would be so many of them,” Winston remarked.

“She should have,” Nathan replied sharply. “She should have, and the failings of the student are the failings of the master, so I apologize.”

“That’s a first,” Winston blinked. “Do you think we got all of them?”

Nathan’s eyebrows shot up. “We’d be lucky if that was all of them in Hulva. No, we’d hoped that Her believers would die off given enough time, but it seems that has just not been the case.”

“And now they know I’m here,” Winston murmured. “What do we do?”

“You do nothing,” Nathan snapped. “You’re retired.”

“But,” Winston began.

“Trust us,” Nathan winked. “Trust Carla, she’s working hard to make amends. Why, she’s in Aroden right now petitioning the King to place a permanent garrison at the foot of the mountain to protect it from any further incursions.”

Winston’s eyes widened. “So he knows I’m here…”

Nathan broke into a broad smile. “He found out roughly three days after I did.”

“That soon?” Winston asked.

Nathan nodded. “I thought the news important enough to send by bird.”

Winston frowned. “I’d be surprised if he sent anyone. He still blames me for…”

“He blames you for nothing,” Huntsman interrupted as he walked towards the main room. “I am confident he will listen to Carla’s advice. The pair are close.”

“Oh?” Winston asked curiously.

“It’s nothing like that,” Huntsman added quickly. “At least not anymore. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll help myself to a drink.”

“Not without paying, you won’t,” Steph objected as she rushed after him into the main room.