One More Silver Coin
The little Yunni were tough traders. It seemed like part ritual and part sport for them. "Oi, you're killing me! I won't be able to feed my five babies," the Yunni tentmaker exclaimed with elaborate hand gestures. "Do you want them to starve?" Gar One-eye snorted. "Come on, Fal, they're trying to rob us." But neither man made a move to leave the negotiation. Both were sitting on low Yunni stools, their butts only two hands off the ground. The tentmaker was standing, and he barely matched the men's eye-level. "Look at this stitching," the Yunni declared, holding up a canvas seam and running a tiny finger along the edge. "Many nights I toiled by candlelight, my fingers aching, my stomach empty." Fal ran his own finger down the seam. "It gives credit to your skill, my friend. I can go up to nine, but no more." He held out nine silver pieces, then shook his purse to show it was empty. "Yes, nine i