Run: 2026-02-22-01KJ3AAT4BW8FBDCCTSV4SE07G

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 observed, 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.” "Irrelevant," he commented, unwrapping the cloth and holding 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 crossed her arms and stood her ground. “It’s precisely what you ordered,” she stated. “Blue quartz, uncut, from the northern mines. I oversaw their extraction from the rock myself.” Gregor rotated the crystal slowly, examining every facet. He brought it close to his eye, then held it at arm’s length. Elena thought he resembled a jeweler appraising a diamond, though Gregor dealt in stranger things than jewelry. He set the crystal down and emitted a sigh. “Very well. But next time, ensure proper wrapping. The edges are exposed.” He reached beneath the counter and produced a small leather pouch. The coins within clinked as he slid it toward her. Elena gathered the pouch and assessed it in her palm. It felt light. She loosened the drawstring and counted: eight silver crowns. They had stipulated ten. “We’d agreed on ten,” she declared firmly. “That was prior to the bridge fee’s adjustment,” Gregor smiled— a thin, practiced smile that never reached his eyes. “Take it or leave it.” She accepted it. She habitually accepted it. The outer ring offered few choices, and Gregor recognized that as well as she did. Elena exited the market and ventured into the narrow lanes beyond. The sun hung low over the rooftops, and the shadows lengthened across the cobblestones. She tucked the pouch into her satchel and increased her pace. If she pressed on, she would span the bridge before nightfall.