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I’m not knitting with these.”
    “What then?” I asked. “Five kilos is a lot of mass.”
    “Yeah,” he agreed, “but I’ve got a lot to spare. I unloaded almost everything I had between Margary and here. I’m going to use this stuff to make afghans!”
    Brill laughed delightedly. “Afghans?”
    “Yeah, I’ve had a bunch of patterns for crocheted afghans for nearly a stanyer. This is the first time I’ve had enough creds and mass allotment to actually get enough yarn to try them out.”
    “So? This is good yarn?” I asked.
    “There’s just about anything you want here. It ranges from good to excellent. It really depends on what you want to do with it. You looking for trade goods?”
    “Thinking about it. Any suggestions?”
    He pointed down the aisle in the direction we were heading. “Second booth from the end on the left side. Middle aged couple there has big bundles of really good, general purpose wool yarn. The best deals are in the hundred gram, worsted wool skeins. Excellent texture and she dyes it herself with local dyes. Real artisan class work. You can probably buy it for about two creds a skein.”
    “Thanks, Sean,” I said.
    “No problem. Thank you for getting the co-op going. If it hadn’t been for you and Pip, I wouldn’t be able to afford this.” He hefted his big bundle of yarn.
    I did my best, aw shucks ’tweren’t nuthin’ impression.
    “Well, I gotta get this stuff stowed. See you guys on the ship,” Sean said and he headed out.
    “Thanks for the tips, Sean,” I called to his back.
    As we wended our way onward through the crowd, Brill asked, “So, how are you going to handle this?”
    “I’m gonna grab a digital and flash it over to Pip. Sean knows his yarn, so if he says this is good, I’ll take his word for it. Pip and I will put our heads together between now and tomorrow to decide if we want to buy it and, if so, how much. We don’t have any other good prospects right now, and since our mass allotments went up we’ll probably pick up at least a few kilos.”
    The couple was, indeed, amenable to bulk purchases and I made arrangements for Pip to visit the next day. I bought a few skeins to take back to show him and the man put them in a carry-sack for me. Brill fell in love with some extremely soft yarns in warm earthy colors. I excused myself while she dickered. “I’ll be right back,” I told her.
    I left the booth and headed in the direction of the head, but at the end of the aisle, I doubled back. It took me just a few ticks to find the booth with the carvings again, and the man beamed when he saw me coming back.
    “You thought it over, young sir?”
    “Yes, I don’t know what these are, but I’d like to buy some to take with me to Dunsany as trade goods,” I confessed. “Would that be acceptable?”
    “The price is still ten creds,” he said, without changing the expression on his face. “They are what they are, and you may do with them as you see fit.”
    I quickly selected ten of them. I let my hand choose without worrying about picking any particular piece. I sorted my selections onto a corner of the table.
    As I picked them out, the man nodded with each piece as if he was pleased with my choices. When I finished, he wrapped each in a small piece of soft cloth and placed them gently into a carry-sack for me. I started to transfer the credits but he gave me an odd look with a raised eyebrow. “Are you certain you are done, young sir?” he asked.
    I started to nod, but one figure caught my eye. With a smile, I gave a small bow to the man. “Thank you for reminding me, good sir. I seem to have missed the most important piece.” I picked up the heron and handed it to him to wrap.
    As I left the booth, I stashed the sack of figures in the bundle of yarn.
    When I got back, Brill was waiting for me, her purchases complete. “I was just about to send out the search dogs,” she said playfully.
    “I got sidetracked,” I told her. “There’s a lot