Chapter 2: Chapter 2
“As I was riding into town I saw a large tree in the middle of a field of wheat. There was a man, a young man, and he seemed to be…talking to the tree.”
The barman’s expression remained unchanged.
Undeterred, Nathaniel continued. “I was wondering if you might know of the young man, or rather, if you could tell me the reason he might be talking to the tree. I imagine there must have been a great tragedy, perhaps a loved one died there or….”
The barman grunted. He rested his knuckles on the bar and leaned across to Nathaniel.
“Around these parts, if we want to know somethin’ about a man, we ask the man himself.” He removed his hands from the bar and stood back. “A man’s business is his own and not for others to concern themselves with.”
Nathaniel nodded once and drank the remainder of his ale in silence. Only when he’d swallowed the final drop did he speak again.
“Thank you for the ale,” he said, managing an uncomfortable smile. “Could I see my room?”
The barman whistled shrilly, drawing not only an amply proportioned woman from a back room, but also the attention of every eye in the inn.
“Agnes, show this man to his room,” he said gruffly. “Then you’d better get back there and fix him some dinner.”
Agnes nodded, and with a flick of her head indicated that Nathaniel should follow her to a short flight of stairs between the bar and the fireplace.
“Where ye headed?” she asked.
“Nowhere in particular,” Nathaniel replied in all honesty.
“I ain’t never been there,” Agnes replied with a giggle.
Nathaniel smiled. At last. A sense of humour.
They arrived at one of four doors on the second floor.
“This is yer room,” said Agnes, pushing the door open. “I’ll send the boy up with some water. Ye can open the window, though I wouldn’t. There’s rats about, ‘specially at night.” She folded down the bedding and fluffed up the pillow. “Will ye be wantin’ yer supper up here or down in the bar?”
Nathaniel didn’t need to think twice. He was tired and in no mood to have every mouthful he ate collectively scrutinized by the villagers.
“Up here, I think.” He smiled at Agnes. “As you can imagine, I’m rather tired.”
Agnes nodded and returned his smile, her cheeks rubicund beneath a thin veneer of grime.
“I would,” she said. “Quieter up here.”
She did a small curtsey and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her. He was pleased to see a brace on each side of the door and a beam leaning against the wall. It was security that would guarantee a peaceful night’s rest.
Dinner arrived a short time later. It wasn’t much, least of all, appetising—a watery stew of grey meat and the odd bit of potato and carrot, accompanied by some bread that looked to have been torn from the loaf.
“Just leave the tray outside yer room,” said the boy, who was as thin and bony as the barman, and couldn’t have been more than eleven or twelve.
After dinner, and after placing his tray outside his room, Nathaniel removed his clothing and climbed into bed. Settling into the lumpy mattress, his body felt heavy, as if even the effort to roll over was now beyond him. The noise from below had been steadily increasing over the course of the evening and he wondered if, despite his exhaustion, he’d ever manage to fall asleep. It turned out not to be a problem. No sooner had the thought faded than the voices became silent and he was dead to the world.
* * * *
The following morning, Nathaniel awoke with one goal in mind: to talk to the man at the tree. The barman had said that folks who had questions went straight to the source, so that’s what he would do.
A sharp knock on the door startled him.
“One moment,” he called.
Completely naked, he hurried to the door and removed the beam from the braces, then returned to bed.
“Come,” he said.
It was the boy, carrying a tray with his breakfast.
“Where would ye like it?” he asked.
Nathaniel gestured for him to approach the bed. “Bring it here.”
The boy walked slowly towards the bed.
“Don’t be afraid,” said Nathaniel with a note of impatience.
If the boy had quickened his pace, it wasn’t perceptible, though eventually Nathaniel got his breakfast.
“Thank you,” he said, and as the boy turned to leave, Nathaniel called him back. “Please have my horse fed and watered and ready to ride as soon as you’re able. I’ll be riding out the minute I finish this.”
The boy nodded and left in silence, his pace a little faster leaving than it had been arriving.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone