The door swung open, and the winter wind was almost enough to extinguish the torch in the sconce.\u00a0 That biting cold brought with it the heavy snow that had been falling all night.\u00a0 The wind carried some of it, but most was tracked in beneath the stranger\u2019s boots.<\/p>\n
Several of the patrons at the bar turned about, their hands navigating toward the weapons on their hips.\u00a0 Their looks weren\u2019t lost on the man by the door, who peered back at them beneath an old, worn helmet.\u00a0 A shabby feather, bent along the top, was fixed to its one side, plucked from the tail of one of Cracius\u2019 many winged raptors.<\/p>\n
The group of men at the bar and the mysterious stranger stared at one another for some time before he shut the door, and the sound of the shrieking wind dulled to a low moan against the windows.\u00a0 Seeing the man was intent on staying, the bartender gave a glass a quick wipe and set it down on the counter.\u00a0 Leather boots tapped against the floor as the stranger made his way across the hunting lodge and removed his helmet, revealing a disarming grin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019ll it be?\u201d the bartender asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever will warm these old bones,\u201d the stranger remarked.\u00a0 While the barkeep bent down to fetch a bottle, the stranger slammed his helmet down upon the counter, the noise echoing throughout the lodge.\u00a0 The bartender nearly sprang up but offered only a quick glance as he reined in his nerves.\u00a0 The stranger faced the barbute, noticing every dent and scratch upon it.\u00a0 \u201cActually, I could use some information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lost?\u201d one of the other men at the bar asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just where I want to be,\u201d the stranger said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis place isn\u2019t exactly on a map.\u00a0 And we don\u2019t know you either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can call me Devlin,\u201d he offered.\u00a0 \u201cNow that we\u2019ve been properly acquainted, perhaps you can help me find who I\u2019m looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the middle of the night, and the village is at least ten miles away.\u00a0 We wouldn\u2019t turn you out in fair weather, let alone this awful blizzard.\u201d<\/p>\n
That grin on Devlin\u2019s face only grew wider.\u00a0 \u201cThe snow doesn\u2019t bother me in the least.\u00a0 But I suspect I won\u2019t be leaving just yet.\u00a0 I\u2019m looking for a hunter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we\u2019re all hunters here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Devlin looked at the ragged bunch and arched an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cQuite.\u00a0 But you see, I\u2019m looking for someone in particular.\u00a0 According to those in the village, he hasn\u2019t missed a shot in some twenty years.\u00a0 And while he hunts alone, they know this to be the case because he only leaves the town with one arrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure a great lot of us would like to boast that kind of talent,\u201d the bartender said, pushing a filled glass of dark whisky in front of the recent arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one has a name.\u00a0 Ancel Greyholm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Devlin was met with a slight pause before the bartender shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, don\u2019t know any Ancels or Greyholms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it would appear my journey here has been for naught.\u201d\u00a0 He lifted the glass into the air and looked through its murky contents.\u00a0 \u201cThis\u2019ll put a few hairs on your chest, won\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAye, that it will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got plenty,\u201d Devlin said, setting the glass back down.\u00a0 \u201cBut you\u2019re right; this weather isn\u2019t great for traveling in.\u00a0 I\u2019ll nurse this until I\u2019m warm enough to leave, and then I\u2019ll search for the great hunter in some other town.\u00a0 Perhaps he had moved on from this place some time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame you came all this way in that mess,\u201d another patron said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter,\u201d the stranger insisted.\u00a0 \u201cMy horse gets restless if I stay in any place for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good horse that makes his way through the snow for his rider.\u00a0 You\u2019re a lucky man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost as soon as the patron spoke those words, the door echoed as it shut.\u00a0 Devlin raised his glass and peered off to the other side of the lodge.\u00a0 Another hunter came into sight, cleaning his hands with a dirty washrag.\u00a0 The blood of a fresh kill was upon his fingers and clothes, but he seemed not to care, a wide smile clear upon his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lucky man, indeed,\u201d the stranger muttered.\u00a0 \u201cAncel Greyholm?\u201d<\/p>\n
When the fellow looked up, all the patrons at the counter groaned, and the bartender took a step back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a foolish thing you all did,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d appreciate it if that was your only mistake this evening.\u201d\u00a0 Devlin stood up quickly, sending his stool tumbling to the floor.\u00a0 He took his time situating his helmet back upon his head before looking at the man he had come for.\u00a0 \u201cI need you to come with me, Ancel.\u00a0 How easy your journey is depends on you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The door swung open, and the winter wind was almost enough to extinguish the torch in the sconce.\u00a0 That biting cold brought with it the heavy snow that had been falling all night.\u00a0 The wind carried some of it, but most was tracked in beneath the stranger\u2019s boots. Several of the patrons at the bar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Short-Story-Panel.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-14F","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4134,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4133\/revisions\/4134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}