Run: 2026-02-22-01KJ37ESVWS4QKT79HGZQE7JTZ

The market square buzzed with the sound of a hundred voices. Elena pushed through the crowd, her satchel clutched against her chest. She knew the merchant would not wait — he never waited for anyone, least of all a girl from the outer ring. “You’re late,” Gregor noted, without looking up from his ledger. He ran a thick finger down a column of numbers and frowned. Elena placed the package on the counter. “The bridge was out. I had to take the long way around.” “Not my concern.” He unfurled the cloth and held the crystal up to the light. It caught the sun and threw tiny rainbows across the stall’s canvas roof. Gregor’s frown deepened. “This isn’t what I ordered.” She had anticipated this. The old man always found something to complain about, whether the goods were perfect or not. Elena folded her arms and stood her ground. “It’s precisely what you ordered,” she stated. “Blue quartz, uncut, from the northern mines. I oversaw them pull it from the rock myself.” Gregor rotated the crystal slowly, scrutinizing every facet. He brought it close to his eye, then held it at arm’s length. Elena thought he resembled a jeweler assessing a diamond, though Gregor dealt in stranger things than jewelry. He set the crystal down and exhaled. “Very well. But next time, wrap it properly. The edges are exposed.” He reached beneath the counter and produced a small leather pouch. The coins within tinkled as he pushed it toward her. Elena gathered the pouch and weighed it in her palm. It felt light. She loosened the drawstring and counted: eight silver crowns. They had negotiated ten. “We’d settled on ten,” she declared plainly. “That was prior to the bridge fee adjustment.” Gregor offered a — a thin, practiced smile that never quite reached his eyes. “Take it or leave it.” She accepted it. She invariably did. The outer ring rarely presented many options, and Gregor understood that as thoroughly as she did. Elena exited the market and traversed the narrow lanes beyond. The sun dipped low over the rooftops, and lengthening shadows stretched across the cobblestones. She deposited the pouch into her satchel and increased her pace. If she pressed on, she’d reach the bridge before nightfall.