After he had left the three laborers behind, Jack didn’t need to search for long before he came upon a skinny young boy sitting on the street, begging.

“Are you hungry,” Jack asked the boy.

The tired youngling gave him a single nod.

“Where are your parents?”

The boy hesitated before giving Jack his answer. “I don’t know.”

“When was the last time you saw them?”

The boy shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Whether they were taken from him or they had abandoned him, it didn’t matter to Jack. “Are you willing to work?” he asked.

The boy nodded and Jack smiled.

“Good,” Jack said. “Nothing in this world is truly free, after all. It's just the amount of work you need to get things that varies.”

Jack took out a sparkling green bean from his pocket and gave it to the boy. The boy barely gave the bean one look over before popping it in his mouth. Jack couldn’t blame him for his lacking skepticism, the boy was hungry and the bean had practically told him to eat it.

Once he had the bean finished, the boy stood up in a hurry and said, “Wow!” He’d barely had the strength to hold his hand up to beg, but now he looked about ready to jump up and down.

“Feeling better now?” Jack asked.

“Yes, Mister,” the boy said. “Thank you.”

“There’s more where that came from. Work for me and you won’t go hungry again.”

— — — — — — — —

When we arrived at Milaway, the main street was packed. Compared to the market days I’d been to in the summer the harvest market was busier by far. As we got closer to the crowds, I could feel the heat radiating from all the people that were gathered there.

“It’s pretty crowded,” I said.

“That’s harvest season for you,” Joyce said, taking the lead. “Come on, let’s take the backstreet.”

We got onto the next road over from the main road leading into Milaway. There were a few people there avoiding crowds on the main street like us, but they were still few enough that I could count them reliably as we passed by.

“How much for the cow?” someone asked me along the way.

“How much are you willing to offer?” I replied. He gave me an offer in coin and I told him I’d see if the butcher could beat him. I wasn’t actually considering it, though. Jack the Influencer and Jack the Inspiration, both had offers in beans, after all, and I knew it would be the same for me.

“Fight for what’s been taken and fight for what you still have!” I heard a man shout from the main square as we passed it by on the other side of a building. Sounded like the army had finally decided it was worth their time to send some recruiters down to Milaway from Dearing.

“The war no longer lingers in the east, but now comes knocking at your door!” the man continued. “You and your neighbors who sit here along the border have been robbed and have found your fields maimed by the giants. And while you go hungry, they shall feast on your hard work.

“Those who they have yet to harm, what your suffering neighbors are experiencing now, that is the future that awaits you if you do not stand up and fight! Those who have suffered and those who will suffer, every man of able body, come forth! Join hands with the king’s army in ridding this land of the giant's tyranny and right the injustice they have wrought.”

He went on for a little longer telling every able man to come forth and fight for our lands before stopping. I thought that would be it, but now it was the inquisitor's turn.

“Those who offer their service to the king, we praise you, but those who deny his decrees, we admonish,” the inquisitor said. “Tell me, what man may have the right to refuse the king when he calls upon you? I speak now to any such fool who thought himself greater than the words of the king. If there is any shame left within your heart, you shall present yourself to me. The repentant defiers who come to me in such a way, you have my word that you shall not be punished for your actions up until now. All that shall be required of you is your execution of the duty that you have so sorely neglected up until now.

“For those who continue to deny their king, however, I promise you, the king’s justice is righteous and it is also fierce. If the woman widowed by the giants presents you to me, I shall pay her for her loss and ask what punishment you deserve. If her only wish is that you complete your service, then so be it, but if she instead wishes the punishment befitting your crime, I tell you now, whatever torture you think the giants shall perform upon you shall not match what you shall receive at your fellows’ hands!” His speech continued after that, but we were far enough away at that point that I could tune him out.

“Looks like we’re here,” Joyce said as we arrived at the house the matchmaker was staying at. You could tell it was the right place from the crowd standing in front. “Thank you for escorting us, Jack.”

Hailee thanked me as well.

“No problem,” I said.

“Let’s meet up back here after noon?” Joyce asked.

“Sounds good to me.”

I told them I’d see them later and went on my way to the butcher. His shop was on the opposite side of the main road, so I had to do a bit of maneuvering with the cow through the crowd to get there. He noticed me stepping up as he was handing off a chunk of meat to a customer.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” the butcher said. “You're Grant’s son, right?”

“Yep, that’s me,” I said. Since the place was right and he recognized me, I assumed this was Keith.

“You lot weren’t feeling so hungry this summer?”

“What?”

“Haven’t seen you three all summer. Must have not been hungry.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess.”

“Had me worried that your father and the two of you had been snatched up by one of those giants. Heh, that or another butcher.”

“Yeah, about that giant part...”

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The butcher’s face dropped. “You’re kidding right?”

I shook my head.

“Your father?”

“Yep.”

“And your brother?”

“Everyone except for my mother.”

The butcher threw back his head with a groan and then swore. If my goal coming here had been to ruin his mood, I think I was doing a pretty good job at it.

“Sorry for your loss,” he said, straightening back his head.

“It’s fine.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Can you tell me what I can get for this cow?” I raised the cow’s rope.

“Let me take a look at her.” He left his counter and came out of his shop to give my cow an inspection. “How old is she?”

“About three years.”

From horn to hoof and snout to utter he looked at her. “She’s got at least a couple more good milking years in her then. I’d probably end up reselling her.”

“How much are you thinking she’s worth then?”

He told me a price that was much better than what Agatha had told me to expect. Far too much better, in fact, based on my lessons on currency with Mr. Edward. “You don’t need to give us charity, Mr. Keith,” I said.

“Your father had been coming to my shop since before you could even remember, son,” he responded. I was sure that was the truth. “I’ve seen you and your brother grow up. After all these years, it’s fine if I want to pay your father back for all the business he’s given me isn’t it?”

“I can’t bring myself to tell you that it’s not.”

“Good. I’ll go get the money,” he turned around. “Give me a second.”

“Wait.” I stopped him before he’d taken three steps. “Is there something you can pay me in other than coin?”

“I could pay ya in meat,” he said, “But I don’t think you’ll be able to carry all of that back without a cart.”

“Do you have something smaller?”

“I’ve got knives. Hooks too, but I don’t want to be selling those.”

“No, I mean really small.” I made a pinching gesture.

“About as small as a coin?”

“Yes.”

“But not a coin?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t think so,” he said.

I gave up on being subtle. “You don’t have any beans?”

“Oh, for—” He slapped his forehead and muttered something that was probably another swear. I guess that about confirmed that he didn’t have any.

“What’s your name again, boy?” he asked me.

“Jacob,” I said. The look he gave me didn’t have me confident that he believed that.

“Listen, don’t go around telling people you want to be trading your cow for some beans. You’ll get yourself in trouble.”

“It’s fine. I know what I’m doing.”

Keith shook his head. “Didn’t think your father would end up raising a gambler.” He reached over the counter and put his hand on my shoulder. I was now very glad that he had wiped them after handing the meat off to his last customer. “You still have your mother right? You have to take care of her now, you know that. Is this your last cow?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re gambling your last cow on the chance that you get some magic beans?”

“It’s not gambling if I know I’m going to win.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” he asked. “What then?”

“Then I’ll sell off the wood that I cut down this summer,” I said.

“And you’ll have enough money with just that?”

“More than enough.”

He shook his head one more time, before letting go of my shoulder. “Fine then. Tell whoever you end up selling that cow to that I’m willing to buy it off of them.”

“Same price?”

“No.” This time he told me the price that Agatha was expecting. “I’ll pay you the difference between that and what I told you if they end up selling her to me off of your word.”

“Thanks, Mr. Keith.”

“Don’t thank me for letting you be an idiot.”

After that, Keith returned to his shop’s counter and I set off down the nearest backstreet. I had hoped Keith would have been my bean dealer, but it was fine that he wasn’t.

“And to all others, let it be known that you shall receive the same treatment as the widow and the same reward.” The inquisitor said as I passed by the main square again. It looked like enough time had passed that a repeat was necessary. Like most others, I only took a quick glance at the inquisitor and the recruiter as I passed by the crossroads and continued down on the way.

“If your words lead to the capture of the fool, it shall be treated the same as you having brought him to us. If a loved one of yours is the sort of fool that I have mentioned and you have kept silent for fear of their safety, I beg of you to turn them in. Not only shall you be rewarded, but your loved ones shall be protected from any scorn that another will have felt for them when turning them in.

“For the good of all the kingdom, we must each do our part. That is why I say to those fools who have rejected their duty, submit or be submitted.”

At last, the inquisitor’s tirade came to an end. Since there were plenty of people I’d consider desperate who knew me, I would have been very worried hearing all of that talk of rewards for turning me in if I wasn’t already planning to ditch this place with Agatha.

Once I got to the other side of the village, I came back onto the main street and headed straight to the nearest butcher. There were a couple butchers other than Keith in Milaway, but I didn’t want to give him any sour feelings by going to one in sight of his shop. Even though I wasn’t planning to stay in the area for much longer, I still wanted to make sure I didn’t mess with any of the previous Jack’s relationships.

“You looking to have me handle that cow for you or are you looking to sell her?” Butcher #2 asked me. I told him that I was looking to sell her and he gave me a fair offer.

“Can you pay me in beans instead?” I asked, but he shook his head, told me I was out of luck, and said I’d have to go somewhere else if I wanted to gamble.

Since I wasn’t going back to the other side of the village to visit the last butcher, it looked like I wasn’t meant to be getting my beans from one of them. But that was okay. Jack the Noble had gotten his beans from a butcher, but Jack the Commoner and Jack the King had gotten theirs from a stranger who happened to know their name. A stranger had already asked about buying my cow today, so it was probably just a matter of time until I encountered my mysterious bean merchant.

With that in mind, I turned back around and began to walk towards the town square at a leisurely pace. I’d skipped over it going both ways now, but it wasn’t like I was avoiding it on purpose. The recruiter and the inquisitor were probably there with a few more personnel, but it’s not like they had any reason to pick the guy with a cow out of the crowd. Unless…

Wait. Could one of them tell names at a glance? Did they have that kind of magic?

“Woo!” As I was thinking that, the crowd I was walking by let out a cheer.

Well, I’m already in the square, I decided. There wasn’t much to be done now that I was already there. If they found me they found me.

Giving it some more thought, though, they probably wouldn’t waste their resources sending magic users to some out of the way village with less than one thousand people. I just had to keep walk past like nothing—

Someone gasped, then grabbed my sleeve saying, “It’s Jack.” I swung my neck back almost fast enough to hurt myself. “Your Jack.” The little girl holding my sleeve said.

I looked back towards where the soldiers were. Through the crowd, I could see them enjoying a late breakfast. Even the inquisitor who had sounded so serious during his speech looked like he was having a good time joking with coworkers.

I looked back down to the little girl and said, “Sorry, I’m Mr. Jacob.”

“No, you’re Jack,” she insisted. I didn’t think the other Jack knew her; I’d usually get a feeling of familiarity if that was the case. Judging by her age—she looked about four or five years old—she probably was thinking that I was a character from a story. The main character of a particular story to be exact.

“Oh,” the little girl’s mother turned around and said after her daughter had tugged her skirt a few times. “Look John, she found Jack.”

The girl’s older brother turned around, then back around and shouted, “Hey, we found Jack!”

I tried moving on, but the little girl practically jumped on my arm telling me to stop when I pulled my sleeve away.

“We found Jack!” Other people from this side of the crowd joined in with the girl’s brother in the family’s attempts to rat me out. Things were definitely escalating into a problem. With all these people shouting my name, there was no way I could just casually walk away.

Like the maw of a monster, the crowd parted itself and pulled me in with cow in tow. At their circle’s center stood a man with a feathered cap on his head and a lute in hand. He had a big smile as he watched his gathered mob bring me before him.

“Well look at that,” he said. “You lot really did find Jack.”