Over two feet of snow had fallen on the mountain the night before, and Louis mopped his brow as he shovelled the path leading up to the inn. Not that it would do any good. All the streets in town were similarly buried. Mayor Ogden would probably close the mine for the day and get everyone out on the streets to clear them. Still, lunch would probably be fairly quiet at the inn, which suited him. He looked up at the inn’s roof. It was sloped, but snow had built. That would have to be cleared too.

As he shovelled, Louis wondered where Nathan was. He and Mister Weaver had chatted through the night, and he had not seen him that morning. Mister Weaver had been preparing the inn since the break of dawn as he usually did, and Louis was about to go tell him not to bother opening for lunch when he spotted two men walking through the snow. Each carried a deer across their shoulders. As they drew nearer, Louis saw that it was Nathan and Franklin, the hunter.

“Lovely morning isn’t it, my fine fellow?” Nathan called out cheerfully.

“That’s quite the haul you’ve got there, Mister…” Louis’ voice trailed off when realized that he didn’t know the man’s last name.

“Huntsman,” Nathan replied, “Nathan Huntsman, “Though I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve practiced the old trade. It’s been a fruitful day.”

He turned to Franklin and grinned, “Old Franklin here didn’t think there were any deer in those woods.”

“Well I’m happy to be proven wrong,” Franklin replied good naturedly, “I have to admit you have quite the talent for the craft. What have you been doing if not hunting?”

Nathan shrugged. “The same thing as everyone else, I suppose.”

Franklin’s mood turned sober at once. “You fought in the war?”

The lanky man gave him a knowing look. Franklin lowered his head and mumbled, “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Nathan said as he slapped Franklin on the back. “I’ve put that behind me.”

The lanky outsider then turned his attention back to Louis. “Where’s your master, my fine fellow? I’d like to have a word with him.”

“He’s inside getting the place ready for lunch, Mister Huntsman,” Louis called back.

“Diligent sod, isn’t he?” Nathan remarked with a toothy smile. He then looked at the villagers who were hard at work shovelling snow from the streets. “But who is he preparing for? They don’t look like they’re going to break for lunch any time soon.”

Louis shrugged from the rooftop. “As you said, Mister Weaver is a diligent one.”

“I suppose I can join him for lunch before I leave,” Nathan said as he walked towards the inn’s backdoor. “Wouldn’t want all his hard work to go to waste.”

“But the road is snowed in, Mister Huntsman,” Louis pointed out. “No one’s coming up or down the mountain til spring.”

There was a twinkle in Nathan’s eye as he looked up at Louis. “You don’t have to worry about old Huntsman. I spied a few routes down during my jaunt this morning.”

Louis gave the old man a dubious look. He thought he looked frail at first, but to carry a deer out of the woods required a fair bit of strength and he had fought in the war, so perhaps he wasn’t so weak after all. His curiosity piqued, the boy dropped down from the roof onto a snowdrift and hurried after his boss’ mysterious old friend.

“Say, you’re not touchy when it comes to talking about the war, are you?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“That’s a very impolite thing you’re asking,” Nathan remarked good naturedly.

Louis made a face. “That’s what all the adults say. None of them ever talk about the war except Old Mister Weaver, but he only tells boring stories.”

There was a twinkle in Nathan’s eye as he gave Louis a sideways look. “Does he now?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mister Weaver does tell the odd corker, but for the most part, his stories are about the most mundane things ever,” Louis fumed. “And the strangest thing is that those are the stories the punters seem to love the most.”

“Ah young man,” Nathan laughed. “To have youth so pure is truly a blessing brought about by the good Queen Emily, Gods above rest her soul.”

Louis blinked and looked at Nathan who’s smile broadened. “Oh, don’t look at me like I’ve grown a second head. It’s just that stories of heroic battles remind us folk who have seen war first hand of its horrors.”

He paused and smiled whimsically before continuing, “The only good memories most of us crusty old geezers from the war have are the ones of camaraderie, and your master’s are tales of precisely that.”

Louis scowled. “They’re still boring.”

Nathan chuckled and shook his head. “Hey, you’re a strapping young man,” he said at length. “Aren’t you going to help me with this?”

Louis blinked. They were already standing at the doorway of the kitchen by now, and the wiry old man only had three more steps to carry his prize at most.

“Fine, I suppose,” Louis shrugged.

The boy caught a twinkle in the older man’s eye that told him that he had walked head first into a trap just as Nathan dumped the carcass on him. The weight of the creature caught Louis off guard, and he was sent crumpling into a heap. He groaned as the sound of Nathan’s boisterous laughter filled his ears.

“It’s heavier than it looks, lad,” he grinned as he effortlessly hauled the creature back up around his shoulders.

“Are you tormenting my assistant, Nathan?” Winston asked as Nathan opened the kitchen door.

“I think there’s a lesson in what just happened about judging people by their appearances,” Nathan chuckled as he manoeuvred the deer through the door.

“But that wasn’t the intention of what you just did, was it?” Winston ventured as he looked up from the butcher’s block. He brightened when he saw what Nathan had brought. “Ah, that will do splendidly for dinner.”

“I think you’re going to have to call lunch off,” Nathan winked. “Your mayor has everyone shovelling the streets.”

“Yes, I’d gathered as much,” Winston agreed. “However, everyone’s going to be famished come dinner.”

“Do you have anything prepared for lunch, though?” the lanky old man ventured as he placed the carcass carefully on the door.

“Don’t worry Nathan,” Winston replied as he returned to butchering a small rabbit. “I haven’t forgotten about you.”

“I think I’ll take my leave after lunch,” Nathan added abruptly, and Louis held his breath to see what his boss’ reaction would be.

“I’m surprised you’ve stayed as long as you have,” Winston remarked without looking up. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I expected you to slip away in the night. I thought about telling you to make sure you shut the window behind you after you left.”

“Well I’m a little less busy now, you see,” Nathan laughed. “And I had to scout an escape route. No harm in getting a hot meal in before I made the trip down.”

Winston broke into a smile and shook his head. “Escape route.”

“Figure of speech,” Nathan said, also beaming toothily. “Truthfully, this little trip has been a welcome distraction.”

Winston blinked and looked up from his work. “I thought you said things were boring in the wider world.”

“Oh it is,” Nathan said as he washed his hands in a bucket of water. “But I still have people to keep in touch with. You never know when the next crisis is coming.”

Winston stared at the older man for a moment. “You know I thought you had retired.”

“Oh I am,” Nathan laughed. “I’m doing this to keep busy more than anything else. It’s an excuse to travel the world, you know? Otherwise I might go crazy just sitting indoors all day.”

“Oh it’s not so bad once you get used to it,” Winston remarked as he returned to his work.

Louis listened as the pair continued chatting about inconsequential matters over a simple lunch of rabbit stew. Sure enough, the inn was empty that day. Curiously, Ogden had not come round to try and guilt Louis into doing what he called his civic duty and help out on the streets like he often did when such things needed doing. Most of the other men were employees of the mine, which was owned by the mayor, which gave them no such say in the matter. Louis decided he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Perhaps Ogden had simply forgotten.

Once he was done eating, Nathan dabbed his mouth with a napkin and got to his feet. “Thanks for the lovely meal,” he grinned.

“Are you leaving?” Winston ventured.

“That I am,” Nathan grinned as he walked towards the door. “Goodbye.”

And just like that, the lanky man was gone. Louis could scarcely believe it. “Mr Weaver,” he said as Winston began clearing the table. “He didn’t pay for his room or board, did he?”

“He did not,” Winston replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“The least he could do was help clean up,” Louis remarked. “And that goodbye, that was a little cold, wasn’t it?”

“That’s just the way he is,” Winston said as he walked towards the kitchen with a pile of soiled plates in his hands. “Besides, I wouldn’t say we were close, he and I. We were barely acquaintances.”

“But you seemed more cheerful when he was around,” Louis said as he followed the landlord to the kitchen.

“I suppose I was,” Winston admitted and shook his head. “It’s probably because he reminds me of… old friends.”

Louis frowned. “Do you have it so bad now in this town?”

Winston blinked and broke into a smile. “I find my life here very fulfilling, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No,” Louis began and bit his lip. “Do you think we’ll see him again?”

“I don’t know,” Winston said as he began scrubbing the dishes.

“Do you want to see him again?” Louis ventured.

“Not particularly,” Winston replied. His smile broadened when he saw the incredulous look on Louis’ face. “Trouble has a tendency to follow that man around.”