By the end of the day, things have improved greatly. Since making the deal for the jacket, I’ve actually managed to sell a lot of the pelts I brought and practically all of the herbs. It seems the same misfortune that caused me to have so few in the first place has also driven up the demand, so when the larger stands began to run out, people began to actually check out my stall seriously.

Now, as I pack up to begin my journey home, my wallet jingles nicely from the coins within. It’s not as much as I would like, barely as much as the tax collectors took last time and they have been known to raise the amount without warning in the past, but it’s the best I could have hoped for since I lost the sale of the wolf pelt.

Speaking of the wolf pelt, my new jacket is now hanging loosely off my skinny frame. The mystery man from earlier was much larger than me and as I stand up to sling my pack onto my back the ends of the jacket hang down low around my thighs. Despite the looseness that should be letting the cold winter air slip in-between me and the jacket, I feel warmer than ever. Why that man would give me such a thing, especially with the weather only getting colder this time of year, is beyond me.

I push aside the thoughts, questions, and theories swirling around in my head as to who that man was and why he would do such a thing and start walking back towards the gate I entered this morning.

As I walk I fell something bumping into my left leg with every step. I stop and reach into the pocket and pull out a flat, round object rapped in an old piece of canvas. I lift the canvas to peak at the object inside. What I see inside leaves me gaping in awe. I quickly rap the canvas back around it and shove it back in my pocket, hoping no one else saw what was inside, even though I barely saw it myself. All I know is that it looked very expensive, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to advertise that I have it.

I start walking again, this time much faster in the hopes of getting somewhere away from other people, where I can get a proper look at what I just found.