He reached the trading post a little after midnight. Banging on the door to the post brought no response. So the Mystic decided to make a fire near a lone oak tree, twenty yards from the post. “First I gather the wood, then I burn the wood, ” said the Mystic to himself as he began looking for fuel for his fire,

After the fire was burning and a circle of light reached the post, the Mystic pulled dinner out of his saddle bag. A rabbit he had caught lingering in the middle of the road.

Once the rabbit was on the spit, the Mystic began to get warm from the heat of the fire.

“What do you want?” asked a voice from the shadows.

“Warmth from the cold, ” said the Mystic. “At the moment I’m comfortably numb.”

“You will be comfortably numb as you lie in your grave, ” said the voice. After a short pause an arrow came flying out of the dark toward the Mystic’s heart. At the last moment He snatched the arrow from the air. Beads of sweat trickled down the Mystic’s back.

Just then a man rushed out of the dark carrying a broad sword in the position to decapitate. The Mystic new he had to strike first. He drew his stiletto and just before the stranger was upon him the Mystic shoved the knife into the mans liver. He froze on contact, then was still before he finally fell face first into the ground. The Mystic dragged the body into the darkness beyond the fire light. On returning he first ate his dinner. He wold settle up with the post operator tomorrow and be on his way, leaving a solitary grave under the massive oak.