Something Missing from the Street Market

Pay what you want, even if that's nothing. :)

Genre: Fantasy short story (2,897 words).

Attending the most prestigious university in his world's largest metropolis is, if anything, more pressure than Tei-heng can take. His much-feared comprehensive exams loom overhead, and after three years spent studying spellcraft and lore far away from home, he's still not certain he fits in. His search for relief takes him through the street market outside his dormitory—and on an urban misadventure with a suspicious character.