Merchants are curious by nature. It’s in their best interest to question everything and anything. And when a vast quantity of precious stones began appearing on the market one merchant in particular questioned it on many angles.

Perhaps a noble family preparing for bankruptcy? But most are coming onto the market via the gem cutters. So, either they are masking their identity by altering the cuts, or these are newly unearthed stones.

New stones imply a mine, but if that were the case why are so many different gems appearing. Not simply Sapphires or rubies, but diamonds, emeralds, and even a few unidentifiable gems have appeared on the auctions.

Something big is happening.

The merchant would have concluded it was an old miner coming to town for the first time in years but the frequency they have appeared told him it was something different.

Eventually the merchant realized sitting around and watching markets would only tell him so much about the person. It was time to act.

Hiring a team of adventurers, and paying the orphans collectively a high sum for information, they began to piece together clues. Raw gems were being carried from the local church once every three to four weeks according to the numerous ears he had hired. The question became who was giving them to the church, and where was the money from the sales going?

Both of those lines of the complex chain were linked by a single group of orphans who called themselves ‘the bugs’. Their only demand in exchange for the answers the merchant seeked was his testimonial to any colleagues looking for similar information services. The merchant couldn’t help but commend their marketing strategy and readily agreed to the boy’s terms.

The money was never leaving the church. And funnily enough they got that answer by simply asking the nun’s nicely.

A child’s smile can open a lot of doors.

As for the second answer, it came from the same source and methodology. A former employee of the church was donating them in the offering tray during mass.

These answers, while gratefully received, didn’t satisfy the merchant’s questions though. It didn’t answer the question of source.

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How was a former nun or priest capable of finding so many different gemstones?

Divine magic of some sort?

The merchant had never heard of such a use, and if there was one the church would have been a lot richer by now.

Finally, it was time for him to find the answers himself.

It was time to face the gods.

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The following morning the merchant awoke early and prepared his finest clothes as well as an ample bag of coins as offering.

Walking into the brisk cold of the morning he walked amongst the crowd on the way to the church.

Riding a horse or arriving on carriage are taboo for attending church so you will even sometimes see the royals when walking like this. It’s probably the only day safe enough for the royalty to do something as bold as that.

Remembering his purpose, the merchant began scanning all the faces entering the church with him.

Choosing a seat near the back in order to observe the entire congregation using the offering tray the man sat with eyes alert.

Soon after he and the rest of the group settled a bell rang once indicating the start of mass. Today the priest in charge was covering the formation of the faith. A story told seemingly once a month, even the merchant who now rarely made it to mass knew the story of the holy mother’s codex.

With story winding on, the tray emerged, only for a late arrival to block his sight of the first few offerings. The merchant swore if he missed something important because of that interruption he would curse this man till the day he died.

With a subtle glare the merchant continued watching the tray weave its way towards him. But no one seemed particularly suspicious when receiving it. Perhaps they wouldn’t donate today? Maybe all the merchants questions had somehow spooked them?

With the tray finally arriving at the merchant’s grumpy frown he hesitantly drops the sizable offering into the tray before passing it to the inconsiderate man seated beside him.

“Almost missed it.” The man chuckles as he drops a similarly ample bag into the tray.

The bag, striking a golden fork someone had donated splits open to reveal a fistful of sparkling stones.

Putting a finger to his lips he glances at the merchant who witnessed the event. “Shh.”

“Ca..!” The merchant begins to shout in excitement before remembering his location and continuing in a guilty whisper. “May I speak with you for a few moments after the service?”

“I suppose we will see won’t we.” The hooded man smiles before passing the tray to the awaiting nun and returning his attention to the speaking priest.

▐◊▌▐◊▌

A mysterious magic bag, and the gift of two magic rods. Those were the only answers the merchant left with.

He wasn’t sure if he was truly satisfied though. He got his answer but now more questions remained. Was this even the truth? What sort of magic bag is this? Why did it give him such an incredible item? Does it truly give them out for free? For what purpose?

The merchant wanted answers to all of those questions. But the faint childishness left in his soul reminded him that some things might be better left as a mystery.

Profit be damned.