Alric set the last of the cider to ferment. Mara and Hal watched it be placed, both grateful to be completely done with apples, which had reached the stage where even thinking about them felt like labour. As the cask settled into place, Alric noticed someone he hadn’t seen in a while at the wagon entrance.

  It was Tyke.

  “Hey buddy. What are you doing here?” Alric asked with a grin. Somehow the kid always made him smile, possibly because Tyke was one of the few people in the city who seemed entirely unconcerned about Alric.

  “Ma said there’s someone she wants you to meet. A friend of hers. Are you free?” He asked, eyeing Alric as if suspecting him of goofing off again.

  “Well, I am, but I’ve forgotten where the inn is. Can you guide me?” Alric said, smiling.

  “It’ll cost ya,” Tyke said, holding up a finger.

  Alric scoffed and ruffled his hair before heading off with him, which Tyke accepted as partial payment, having learned early that adults often negotiated badly but enthusiastically.

  It wasn’t long before they entered the inn together. Monica spotted Alric immediately, gave a knowing wink, and pointed toward the dining room with the confidence of someone who believed events were unfolding exactly as she had intended them to.

  Alric paused, then shrugged. He had expected some sort of introduction, but instead he found only one other person seated alone at a corner table.

  A very pretty young woman.

  “Well hail,” Alric said, stopping a few steps away. “I’m Alric. I assume I’m meant to be meeting you?”

  She smiled, a little uncertainly, and gestured to the chair opposite her.

  “I’m Seren,” she said. “And yes, I think so. Though I’ll admit I’m not entirely sure why.”

  That earned a small grin as he sat. Alric immediately noted how well spoken she was, which was something he had learned to notice early, usually before paperwork began to reproduce.

  “Well, at least we’re starting on equal footing,” he said lightly. “So, what brings you here?”

  Seren folded her hands on the table, thinking for a moment before answering.

  “I was working as a maid until recently,” she said. “My employer married, and with that, my position ended. It wasn’t unexpected. Just unfortunate timing.”

  She said it calmly, without bitterness, which Alric noted.

  A maid.

  His mind immediately began rearranging the word into a list. Schedules. Discretion. Records. Routines. Keeping things running without being seen. The sort of person who noticed when things failed before anyone else noticed they had ever worked. Monica it seemed knew him far too well.

  “I see,” he said after a beat. “And what sort of work are you looking to move into?”

  Seren hesitated, then gave a small, honest shrug.

  “I’m open,” she said. “Something stable. I don’t mind long hours, and I’m used to handling correspondence and requests that aren’t always… reasonable.”

  That last part was dry enough that Alric almost laughed. No matter how he turned it over, he needed someone like this. He could read most written language in this world, albeit with headaches, but no one could read his writing. This had not been a problem when he was the only one who needed to read it. It was rapidly becoming one now. Mara and Hal were capable and hardworking, but both were illiterate, which was only an issue once words started mattering more than muscle.

  “Well,” he said, leaning back slightly, “I won’t pretend my work is typical. I run a brewery. Beer, cider, that sort of thing. It’s not especially glamorous, and it isn’t always quiet. What I need isn’t more manual labour, but someone who can keep track of things without needing constant instruction. An assistant.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Seren’s interest sharpened, though she kept her posture composed.

  “I’ve done that before,” she said. “Just in different surroundings.”

  Alric nodded slowly. The rest of the interview passed quickly. However he looked at it, she was a good fit, and he would need skills like hers. The fact that she did not ask a single foolish question helped considerably.

  “I don’t usually make decisions like this across a table,” he said. “If you’re willing, you could come see the place. It might make things clearer for both of us.”

  Her smile returned, more confident this time.

  “I’d like that,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Alric replied. “Take a look. Ask questions. If it’s not a fit, no harm done.”

  Seren stood and reached for her cloak.

  “Let me grab this, then,” she said. “I won’t keep you waiting.”

  That smile again.

  Alric noticed it, registered it, and shut the thought down just as quickly. If she ended up working for him, that line simply did not exist. It wasn’t complicated.

  They left together a short while later.

  Monica appeared from the back just in time to see them go, walking side by side toward the door. She watched them disappear down the street, then gave herself a small, satisfied nod. Things were proceeding nicely. This was how sensible futures were arranged.

  Alric was just wrapping up the tour.

  “Alright, and this is the fermentation section,” he said. “This is where what you saw earlier becomes beer or cider. It’s also where we’d need help, and where you’d be working most of the time. My plan is to number the shelves. Someone needs to record when something is placed here, when it should be ready, and what’s finished. Right now we manage by memory, smell, and taste, but once we move to larger pots and more equipment, that won’t hold.”

  Seren glanced down at the packed earth floor and pushed at it with her foot.

  “Alright, Mister Alric, I really must gripe about this floor.”

  “Believe me, it’s my biggest gripe as well,” he said. “I would have fixed it already, but I think we’ll be moving to larger premises before the end of winter. When we shift to boilers instead of pots, we’ll run out of fermentation space. I want to move before it becomes difficult. It’s much easier to relocate when things still fit through doorways.”

  “Well, it doesn’t do to complain,” Seren said. “I’d be very happy to join.”

  She extended her hand, and Alric shook it.

  “Hal, Mara, come here. Let’s have a meeting.”

  Both glanced at him, then at Seren, giving her a searching look as she offered a small curtsy.

  “Hal, Mara, this is Seren. Seren, this is Hal and Mara. They’re the brewers who keep this place running,” Alric said. “We’re preparing for winter now that we’re done with cider.”

  Mara’s gaze lingered on Seren for a moment longer, the way people looked at change before deciding whether it was a threat or a relief.

  “Mara and Hal will handle the grain, boiling, and pouring,” Alric continued. “Seren, and another hire we don’t have yet, will handle records and moving the casks. Only I can read my own writing, so this has to change. We’re switching from ale and stout to lager soon. It’s excellent beer, but its fermentation is complicated. The casks have to move between warmer and cooler spots over time. Do you want to try tracking that by memory once we’re pushing thirty casks a day?”

  He looked to Mara and Hal.

  Both grinned. “No,” Hal said.

  “Not me either,” Mara added. “Thirty casks a day, though?”

  “The boiler should fill a barrel in one go,” Alric said. “That means bigger grain bags and bigger mistakes when they happen. You both know the work now. Mistakes will happen. Don’t push too hard but also don’t punish yourselves for them when they happen.”

  They nodded.

  “I’ll handle water, charging the stones, and selling to taverns,” he went on. “Seren will have time to learn before things get complicated. And yes, this is also because you don’t want me doing labour, Mara,” he added, giving her a mock glare.

  She smiled back, vindicated.

  “We’ll rearrange a bit. I’ll move my desk to my room. Seren will get one in hers. The office becomes a bathing room. Hot water. Daily. No exceptions.”

  Seren blinked at daily bathing.

  “Mister Alric,” she said carefully, “might I also take over the cooking? I did so for my previous charge, and I enjoy it. Since I won’t be doing heavy labour.”

  Alric paused. This was how systems grew. Quietly, and with sensible suggestions.

  “Objections?” he asked.

  Mara and Hal shook their heads.

  “Alright. I’ll teach you a few dishes. Shall we have a drink?” he said.

  “Later, Mister Alric. I need to return to the inn and collect my things.”

  “Alright. Then that’s it. We need to germinate as much grain as we can while it’s warm. Without the apples, my item box finally has room,” Alric said to Mara, who nodded, already back in her role.

  They parted shortly after. Alric began shifting furniture as the others returned to their stations.

  Monica watched Seren enter the inn, smiling. She grinned to herself. She was a little surprised, though. Alric was odd, and his face was… interesting. It looked best when he didn’t move.

  She caught up to Seren outside her room.

  “So, how did it go? You were out of here quickly,” Monica said, her grin sharp with curiosity.

  “Oh, it went great. I can’t thank you enough,” Seren said as she began packing.

  Seeing her pack, Monica frowned. “Aren’t you moving a bit quickly?”

  “What do you mean? I start tomorrow,” Seren said.

  “Start?” Monica echoed.

  “Yes. My new job. It’s all inside work. Mostly paper stuff.”

  Monica froze. Her grin collapsed. Her hand met her forehead as she closed her eyes.

  That idiot.

  Three days later, Alric sat at his desk, irritated.

  Seren had just started dating an adventurer, and he couldn’t help the small prang of jealousy that followed.