Hilda's attempts to barter

Hilda's quest to find a merchant willing to buy her dress was going predictably poorly for the destitute former knight. She had long since learned that her bad luck, as rare as it was considering her status, came in bouts and came hard.

Most merchants waved her away, either too busy packing up to care about her offer or too underwhelmed by her goods to consider it. Hilda almost felt offended, though whether it was on behalf of her dress or her body she didn't know.

After about half an hour of maneuvering through the stalls, Hilda's eyes brightened at the sight of a textiles merchant. Surely they'd be interested in her craftsmanship. She sidled up to the stand and said to the merchant packing away his goods, "Pardon me, sir but are you still looking to barter this evening?"

The merchant, a tall human man with a shaggy black beard, looked up and said, "Depends on what you're offering and what you're asking for."

Hilda backed up and did a twirl on one foot, letting the fronds on her dress spin around, once again revealing she had nothing underneath. "All I'm asking for is 3 gold coins for this piece of unique craftsmanship."

The merchant blinked for a few moments, staring at Hilda's grass dress before bursting into laughter. Hilda blushed from a mixture of anger and embarrassment, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for his laughter to abate. "Oh, miss,you must not know much about the value of that coin you want. That bundle of grass you've got is hardly worth 1 silver coin, much less three gold."

"But... This us one of a kind. You won't find this anywhere else."

"Yeah, maybe there's a reason for that." The merchant went back to stacking boxes of silks and tanned leather as he continued talking. "That thing may be unique, but that doesn't mean anyone's going to buy it." He walked around the stand and stroked the hem of the dress. "Yup, it's pretty flimsy."

"People in the capitol wear flimsy clothes all the time, though."

"Yeah, because they can afford to replace them. My clients can't. Plus, it's just a dress. No one's going to buy a dress like this if it doesn't come with a set." The merchant pointed down to Hilda's bare feet. "It doesn't even come with shoes."

Hilda shuffled in place, curling her toes in embarrassment. Then an idea struck. "So the problem is the dress on its own isn't worth much. What if I gave you more?"

"Have you got more? Because I'm closing up shop in an hour."

"Don't worry, I'll be right back." Hilda ran off, her dress fluttering behind her. The merchant, Draek, chuckled as he watched her butt cheeks recede into the crowd, wondering what score he was about to get.

He had not been lying when he said a grass dress wasn't worth much. His customers needed practical clothes, and grass and leaves weren't going to cover it. But he had strategically left out the fact that, were he to sell it as the clothes of Hilda Brandt, who had been left with nothing after his sale, their value would increase tremendously. He had been expecting to get the dress for cheap, but after that eager look on Hilda's face, he was anticipating something more substantial. He couldn't wait.