The Smallest Compensation

"Here you are, honey!", says the one who appears to be the leader, tossing Hilda a bulging bag of bronze coins.

"Uh-th-thank you?", Hilda asks, confounded, as the second in command cuts the ropes and frees her.

"No trouble, lass, just doing our duty and taking the merest compensation.", the third says as he tosses the remains of a duchess's dress that had been used as a table cloth by the raiders for the better part of three seasons, so stained was it with all kinds of wine and food that it was cheap enough rubbish to throw off to the now naked Hilda.

The three departed before Hilda could look up from the bag in her hand again, so swift had the forests concealed them.

It was numerous coins, but each of such low value that a quarter of them would provide lodging and food from a fine establishment for a single night.

Still, it was overly generous.

But Hilda was so short sighted and greedy that she thought it only so much mud, before she got a grand idea.

"I know, I'll gamble this back into riches!"