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Caleb raised his hands, laughing with them. "Don't go callin' me a sorcerer now. I just know how to read people." He said his goodbyes, shook a few hands, and made his way back toward the door.
"Goodnight, Caleb!"
"Come back tomorrow!"
"Don't go gettin' yourself shot in Saint Denis!"
He laughed as he stepped out through the batwing doors again, the noise of the saloon fading behind him into a muffled roar.
The night outside was cooler now, quieter. Stars stretched out above Valentine like scattered diamonds. Lanterns flickered along the boardwalk, and a passing wagon rumbled by toward Downes Ranch with two men half-asleep on the reins.
Caleb walked the familiar street toward the hotel, boots thudding softly against the wooden planks.
Inside the lobby, the lamps were dimmed, and the night clerk barely glanced up before waving in sleepy greeting.
Caleb climbed the stairs to the second floor, reaching his door at the end of the hallway, his room, the room Mr. Dunn kept exclusively for him.
He stepped inside.
It was quiet, warm, and familiar. His hat hung on the wall hook. His coat slid off onto the chair. His boots thudded onto the floor as he pulled them off and placed them neatly by the bed.
The day's work weighed on him now like settling dust.
Caleb lay back, closed his eyes—
—and sleep took him almost instantly.
Sunlight crept in through the curtains, warm and thin. Caleb woke slowly, blinking against the morning glow. The air smelled faintly of wood polish and the rain that must've fallen lightly during the night.
He rose, washed his face with cold water from the basin, and dressed with practiced efficiency. Holster buckled, coat adjusted, hat set on his head.
Today marked a threshold.
Today, ice cream.
A new menu item.
A test run for sweets, desserts, and eventually canned drinks. A step toward the empire he envisioned, one built on innovation, consistency, and sheer will, pushing the frontier forward piece by piece.
He headed downstairs and stepped out into Valentine's early bustle.
Stable hands led horses around the yard. The blacksmith hammered at a fresh horseshoe. The morning train whistled in the distance. Miners, ranchers, travelers, they all drifted through the streets with purpose.
Caleb made his way to the restaurant.
Jasper was already outside waiting, sitting on a crate, eyes bright with excitement.
"Morning, boss!"
"Morning," Caleb replied. "Ready?"
"Ready!" Jasper stood immediately, almost vibrating.
They walked inside together, where the rest of the crew was prepping ingredients for todays business.
Caleb took this chance to tell the new ice block order for the saloon which Mr. Douglas ordered to him last night. Jasper hearing that nodded and took notes.
Caleb watched Jasper scribble the last of his notes about the saloon's new ice order before the young man glanced up, waiting for whatever came next. The morning bustle inside the restaurant was picking up, knives on cutting boards, pots clattering softly, the gentle hum of routine. Caleb took a breath and moved into the next task.
"Alright," Caleb said. "We're gonna need somethin' else today. A few things, actually."
Jasper straightened, pencil already poised.
Caleb continued, "First, a large metal canister. The kind used to store cow milk. Needs a good lid, tight seal. Then we'll need a large wooden tub with a lid, big enough to fit that canister inside. Lastly, we need a tool or somethin' that'll help us spin that canister around. And we'll need a good amount of fresh milk. With all that, plus the ice, sugar, and salt, we can turn it into somethin' else."
Jasper's brows climbed. "And… what would that be?"
"Ice cream," Caleb said simply.
Jasper blinked, jaw slack for a heartbeat. Then he caught himself and scribbled wildly. "A metal milk canister… big wooden tub… tools to spin the canister… milk… ice… coarse salt… sugar… got it, boss." Jasper muttered as he wrote. Then he looked up with a squint, completely baffled and impressed all at once. After a second, he paused and looked back up. "But… how'd you think of this, Caleb? This… uh, whatever this is?"
Caleb froze for half a heartbeat.
He could hardly tell him the truth, that this was common knowledge in the future, something both his original world and the natural progression of this world would eventually figure out. Ice cream wasn't some divine invention. It was simple science and a little elbow grease. But to this era, to these people? It might as well be wizardry.
So he smiled, shrugging with casual confidence.
"Thought of it while on my journey," Caleb said, adjusting his sleeves casually. "Been thinkin' up ways for new menus we can make. Wasn't sure how to get ice at the time, so I kept the idea in mind. But since you found a way to procure ice…" He gestured lightly. "Figured this just made sense to try first before the other ideas."
Jasper accepted the explanation without question, nodding thoughtfully. "That makes sense. You always thinkin' ahead, boss. Alright. I'll have Tommy and Simon go out and buy the items. They're fast, and they know where to find the good hardware."
"Good," Caleb replied with a nod.
Jasper hurried into the kitchen, calling out for the two men before Caleb could even step away. Tommy and Simon immediately perked up at his instructions, wiping their hands on aprons, nodding sharply, and heading out through the front door with purpose.
Caleb, meanwhile, rolled up his sleeves and decided to help Mickey, Jessie, and Nora prepare the chairs, tables, bowls, plates, and cups for the day. It was a familiar rhythm by now, sliding chairs into place, wiping down tabletops, aligning cutlery, checking for chips or cracks in the bowls and plates. The trio worked alongside him, exchanging jokes and gossip about the morning foot traffic, all of them in good spirits as they moved briskly through the routine.
By the time they finished, a full hour had passed.
Caleb was seated in the resting area, catching his breath and going over the mental steps of the ice cream process, when the door swung open.
Tommy and Simon appeared again at the doorway, both carrying armfuls of supplies. The table filled instantly as they unloaded everything, sacks of sugar, a crate of coarse salt, fresh bottles of milk, metal tools, wooden handles, long iron rods, and some miscellaneous parts Jasper suspected Caleb could fashion into the churning mechanism.
The larger items, the big metal canister and the hefty wooden tub, they set on the ground with a heavy thump.
"All here, boss," Tommy said.
Caleb smiled in approval, rising from his seat.
"Good work, both of you."
Tommy waved it off. "Ain't a problem, boss. That's our job."
Simon nodded sharply before the two disappeared back toward the kitchen to resume prep.
Jasper emerged moments later as he replace them doin their work while they go out to get these stuffs.
Caleb clapped his hands lightly. "Alright, Jasper. Come on, let's start makin' the ice cream."
He lifted the metal canister with one hand and set it inside the wooden tub, picking it up with casual strength before grabbing the jug of milk with his other hand. Jasper let out a low whistle.
"Boss… one day you gotta tell me how you get arms like that."
Caleb snorted. "Hard work, Jasper. Hard work."
Jasper gathered the tools they'd bought, the rods, the makeshift handles, the nails, along with the sugar and coarse salt. Together they stepped outside to the back of the restaurant, behind the smoking area and stacked wood, where a wooden shed stood. It was new, sturdy, built under Jasper order.
Its walls were thick, lined with insulation, and the interior stayed remarkably cold for hours at a time. Inside, large blocks of ice with hays lay upon them gleamed faintly in the morning shade.
"Alright," Caleb said. "We'll start by makin' the tool to spin the canister."
"First thing we need is somethin' to spin the canister," he said. "We'll make the tool ourselves."
Using the long iron rods and wooden handles, Caleb guided Jasper in assembling a manual crank. They fitted a rod through a carved wooden brace, attaching a handle at one end and a clasp like locking mechanism at the other to grip the canister firmly. They hammered, bolted, and tightened every part until the makeshift churner was sturdy and smooth.
Jasper stepped back, admiring the contraption.
"Looks like some kinda medieval torture device," he joked.
"Not far off," Caleb replied with a laugh. "Now let's make somethin' sweet with it. Milk first."
He opened the metal canister and poured the fresh milk inside. It sloshed with a cool, rich smell that mixed with the faint scent of sawdust and dirt beneath their boots, filling it to a little more than halfway.
"Gotta leave space for it to fluff up," he explained.
Next, they turned to the ice shed. Jasper cracked open the door, and both men stepped inside, their breaths puffing lightly in the cold air.
Jasper helped Caleb haul out a block of ice, massive, heavy, solid. Together, they set it on the chopping stump, and with an iron mallet and a pick, they smashed it into manageable chunks. Ice shards clattered onto the ground, glistening like cold diamonds. They scooped the pieces into buckets.
Then they also dumped the shards into the wooden tub that held the canister.
"Salt," Caleb instructed.
"Why salt?" Jasper asked.
"Makes the ice colder," Caleb answered simply. "A lot colder. Enough to freeze the milk faster."
Jasper handed him the coarse salt, and Caleb sprinkled it liberally over the ice. The salt would force the ice to melt at a lower temperature, pulling more heat from the canister and chilling the milk faster.
"And the sugar?" Jasper asked.
Caleb nodded. "Right inside the canister."
Caleb put in several scoops of it, and Jasper looked at it with wide eyes, shocked at how much was used.
"That much?!"
"Trust me," Caleb said. "Ice cream's supposed to be sweet."
They added it carefully, stirring lightly with a clean ladle. Once prepared, Caleb sealed the metal canister tightly. Then he placed it fully inside the wooden tub, packing more ice around it until it was nearly buried.
"Ready?" Caleb asked.
Jasper grabbed the handle. "Ready."
They began to spin.
The canister rotated steadily, the ice clinking softly inside the tub. After a few minutes, Jasper frowned.
"This is… kinda fun."
"Don't get too excited," Caleb said with a smirk. "We've got a lot of spinning to do."
They worked in shifts, Jasper turning while Caleb checked the mixture, then Caleb spinning while Jasper repacked ice. The metal grew colder and colder under their hands.
Every so often, Caleb popped open the lid to check the consistency. At first, it was still a chilled liquid milk. A little later, it began thickening. And then —
"Look at that," Caleb murmured, grinning. "It's workin'."
Jasper leaned in close, eyes going wide. "Boss… it's turnin' white and thick! It's, it's happenin'!"
They closed the lid again and continued churning, pushing until the mixture reached a firm, creamy consistency. Caleb finally stopped Jasper after nearly twenty minutes of effort.
"Moment of truth," Caleb said.
He opened the canister.
Inside was smooth, soft, snow white ice cream, the first real ice cream that Valentine, New Hanover, or even most of the damn territory had ever seen.
He dipped a small spoon inside, scooped, and lifted a mound of soft, cold cream.
Jasper's eyes widened.
"No way…"
Caleb tasted it. And there it was, the sweetness, the chill, the smooth texture.
He offered the spoon to Jasper.
Jasper took it, tasted it, and froze, no pun intended. His eyes went comically wide.
"BOSS. WHAT IN THE HOLY—" He grabbed Caleb's sleeve. "This... this... this is... this is some HEAVENLY creation! This is, this is cold, and sweet, and creamy, and, IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?!"
Caleb laughed so hard he had to hold his knee. "Told ya. It'd work."
Jasper took another spoonful, shaking his head in disbelief. "People are gonna lose their MINDS over this. You're gonna make a fortune. A fortune!"
...
Name: Caleb Thorne
Age: 23
Body Attributes:
- Strength: 7/10
- Agility: 7/10
- Perception: 8/10
- Stamina: 7/10
- Charm: 7/10
- Luck: 8/10
Skills:
- Handgun (Lvl 4)
- Rifle (Lvl 4)
- Firearms Knowledge (Lvl 4)
- Past Life Memory (Lvl MAX)
- Knife (Lvl 3)
- Blunt Weapon (Lvl 1)
- Sneaking (Lvl 4)
- Horse Mastery (Lvl 4)
- Poker (Lvl 4)
- Hand to Hand Combat (Lvl 3)
- Eagle Eye (Lvl 1)
- Dead Eye (Lvl 3)
- Bow (Lvl 2)
- Pain Nullifier (Lvl 3)
- Physical Regeneration (Lvl 2)
- Crafting (Lvl 3)
- Persuasion (Lvl 3)
- Mental Fortitude (Lvl MAX)
- Cooking (Lvl 4)
- Teaching (Lvl 2)
- Trilingual Language Proficiency - G, I, & C (Lvl MAX)
- Inventory System (Permanent - 10x10x10)
- Acting (Lvl 4)
- Alcohol Resistance (Lvl MAX)
- Treasure Hunter (Lvl MAX)
- Drugs Resistance (Lvl MAX)
Money: 3,798 dollars and 10 cents
Inventory: 104,669 dollars and 72 cents, 11 gold nuggets, 64 gold bars, 1 Double Action, 1 Schofield, 2 Colm's Schofields, land deed (Parcel), 1 Mauser, 1 Semi Auto Pistol, 1 Lancaster Repeater, 1 Old Wood Jewelry Box, 1 F.F Mausoleum small brass key, & 1 Ruby
Bank: -