Marinus stared at the spinning paper wheels that were on display. They had various drawings on them. He decided to take one with peaches for Mary and one with apples for Theanore.

He paid one silver for his purchase and then stashed his purchase in him dimensional bag. Then, it was onward to the next stand. Alerion had a strong showing. Not that Marinus had ever been to such a fair before. But grandpa Thinker had pulled no stops for this.

“Come one, come all! Helena will tell your fortune, yes!” Came a call from a closed booth. Marinus headed towards it, curious what his future might bring, but was stopped halfway by an excited worker elf.

“Young Marinus! Grandpa Thinker has spoken a lot about you. Let me give you a tour of our best stands. I am Iffy, grandpa Thinker’s personal assistant,” the worker elf extended his hand and Marinus shook it.

“I am just browsing, Iffy. And buying what strikes my fancy. Besides, I want to have my fortune told,” Marinus made to continue towards the booth, but the worker elf stopped him.

“Nothing good comes from knowing your future, young man,” came the ominous warning from the elf. “Come, we have spears for fishing which are 50% off!”

Marinus, send the booth one last glance and shrugged. He could always return here after he did his shopping. He just had to remember to have one gold coin left over.

Iffy skipped along and Marinus looked around. Everything had a Yule theme to it. Green and red dominated all the stands, and there were even some fir trees with toys on them.

They passed by a crowd, and Marinus craned his neck. There, in the middle, sitting on a sled, where grandpa and grandma Thinker. They were giving presents to the gathered children. Hm, they should have thought to give free stuff too, thought Marinus.

Iffy stopped before a weapon’s stand, and Marinus looked around. There were all kinds of sharp objects there, but also shields and even helmets. But no armor. That was weird.

“Iffy, why is there no armor here?”

A blacksmith came from the back of the stand and put a heavy book in front of Marinus.

“Armors are custom-made. Do you want a set? Order what you like,” then the blacksmith returned to the back. Now, Marinus could make out a forge in the back, and he wondered how it got transported.

They had weapons and armor, too, courtesy of Timothy Sylvan and his goblin workers. But they hadn’t the forethought to have custom-made things. Ah, the more Marinus looked at the competition, the more the chances of the Apple Grotto Merchant Union winning looked slimmer and slimmer.

“Iffy, can I ask you a question?” Marinus looked around to see if someone was listening in. But there were only distracted shoppers around.

“Yes, Marinus. What would you like to know?” Iffy had a knowing smile, as if Alerion had already won.

“Do you offer such services and prices throughout the year, or just for the fair?” Marinus doubted that, but he still needed to hear the truth.

“We do not. Alerion’s factories and crafting stations are no charity. And this fair is the only time when someone can order our arms and weapons. We mostly forge for our mobs,” Iffy looked uncomfortable at the admission. Marinus’ brows furrowed.

“So, grandpa Thinker is cheating!” Hissed Marinus. This was an underhanded tactic, if he had ever seen one. Iffy shook his head.

“People do discounts only in certain periods of time. Or else it won’t be a discount, now, would it? Grandpa Thinker takes the trade fairs very seriously. It is always a joy for him when he wins. In fact, it is mostly Alerion and the forest of plenty that win. Your Eomis hadn’t won in a thousand years.”

Marinus paled. Well, that was just dreadful. If they didn’t win, the merchants would take it out on Thea. She will suffer broken contracts and loss of revenue.

“I need to get back to the Eomis stands. Iffy, can you lead me there?” Marinus had gawked all the way to the forge and so had no idea how to navigate the labyrinth that was the trade fair grounds.

“Certainly. But, won’t you buy anything?” Marinus looked at the expertly crafted blades that had for motives on them. There was one with a mistletoe on the handle. A small dagger. It would be perfect for Mary, her being such a tomboy and all.

“I’ll take this one,” said Marinus as he pointed at the shiny blade.

“Oh, perfect. Fifteen gold coins,” Iffy looked satisfied with this. Marinus took a second look at the dagger. It didn’t seem to have any gems on it. Just old-fashioned steel with cloth around the handle.

“Uhm…”

“The ribbons in the shape of a mistletoe are charmed to heal small cuts. Perfect for a beginner rouge,” said Iffy, knowing that the sale will go through with such a pitch.

“Ok, I’ll take it,” with this, Marinus was down to a single gold coin. But he needed to save it for the Eomis stands. They needed all the patronage they could get.

With the dagger safely in his bag, Iffy led him around the winding streets, and then the splendor of Alerion gave way to the mediocrity of Eomis. The Yule cheer gave way to haggling. This just wouldn’t do.

“Thank you, Iffy. I will be sure to come back to your side tomorrow,” to steal more ideas finished in his head, Marinus.

“You are welcome, Marinus. Next time, do say hello to grandpa Thinker. He does talk about you and little Thea all the time,” guilt traveled through Marinus, but he mercilessly crushed it. The better trade of an entire continent laid in his hands. And the better fate of an agreement with his kind, the mermaids, and mermen of the nearby sea, too.

Marinus went to the nearest merchant and saw he was selling colorful silks. That was perfect for what he was planning.