Unknown Market Thief [1]

7th day of the month of the Winter Wolf

With night approaching quickly, Samuel hurried out of the forest, hoping to reach Nasdaim before it got too dark. Samuel was happy with what he got from hunting in the woods that day. Entering the forest with only a bow and a quiver of arrows, he came back with three hares, a wild rooster and even a young deer.

Samuel walked as fast as he possibly could, holding the hares and rooster in one hand and dragging the deer with the other. Soon, the moon was high up in the sky. Samuel knew he wouldn't reach Nasdaim in time. It simply wasn't possible, at least not with the extra weight.

"The night sky isn't so bad," Samuel told himself, "I don't understand why mum wouldn't let me stay out this late." Then he started to hum a little tune as he continued walked down the trail that leads to town.

As Samuel was nearing the outskirts of Nasdaim, he heard a rustle in the bushes to his right. Samuel stopped and looked towards the origin of the sound and stared for a moment. It was too dark too see much, mainly because it's night and the clouds were blocking some of the little moonlight there was. Just as Samuel was about to continue his trip to town, a voice came from the bushes.

"Wait! You young'ins have no patience nowadays." said the voice.

Startled, Samuel replied, "Who's there?" Just as Samuel completed his sentence, an old man in pitch black robes stepped out slowly, as if making sure he wouldn't step on any ants as he revealed himself.

"There is no need to tell you who I am," the old man replied, "We'll probably never meet again. But I have a deal for you. You see, I am famished. I don't know how long I have gone without solid food in my mouth. You, I can see, have a considerable amount on you. Why don't we trade? Here I have a sword," the old man said, bringing out a large sword, "Its name? The Zweihander. So what do you say? Shall we trade?"

Samuel has never seen such a sword in his life. He stood there, awestruck, at the sword. The old man, filled with nothing hunger, got impatient. He threw the sword at the boy's feet and took his hunted prey then disappearing quickly, going back into the shadows he came from.

It was only after the old man left, that Samuel began to regain his senses and gather his thoughts. Never like this has happened before so he had no idea what to do. He peered around, as if looking for signs of what to do. Then he remembered, he was supposed to be in town by now. So he quickly grabbed onto the hilt of the sword and headed towards town.

It was well past midnight when he stepped into town. He knew his mum would be furious, since he was supposed to get home before dark. But before he goes home, he has one more thing to do.

Samuel walked towards the warehouse, lugging his sword. Upon reaching the warehouse, he saw the warehouse keeper, Lemmy, standing at the entrance.

"Hey! Well isn't it Samuel? What are you doing out so late? asked Lemmy.

"Hey Lemmy." Samuel responded, "I have something to put in the market, check this out."

"Woah! Where did you get that? That's one fine looking sword you got there. I bet it weighs a bundle too."

" Yeah, it does. It's really heavy. So Lemmy, how much can I sell this for?"

"Well, it depends on what you want to sell it for Samuel. Here in the market, you set the price. If someones comes and likes it, they'll buy it and the money will go into our deposit in which you can come and pick up later. Oh yes, you must also select how long you want to put it up in the market and you'll have to pay a fee accordingly."

"I see. Let's put this sword up for 500,000 gold for 12 hours then!" exclaimed Samuel happily.

"You're the boss." Lemmy responded as he took the sword from Samuel.

After the sword was handed over to Lemmy, Samuel headed towards home. He didn't know what his mum would do to him, but he didn't care. He was sure that his mum would be happy once the sword was sold and he brought home the money. Thinking about the large sum of gold he would receive, he skipped the rest of the way back home.

That night, after getting scolded by his mum, Samuel slept soundly in his bed, waiting for the morning to arrive so he could go back and check on the market.