This time, Ender went to another side of the market, closer to the place where the rich people lived. He decided to play it safe and not steal near the place where he kind of got caught, earlier in the day.
There was a problem with stealing in that side of the market though, that's why Ender didn't frequent much there. He was standing out!
Most of the people that were shopping in the richer side of the market, obviously had a lot of money. They were what Ender called "rich commoners" and unlike himself, they wore nice clothes.
Currently, Ender was walking in the clothes section of the said market, which was very rare as he stole clothes rarely, because they were a lot harder to nab unnoticed, than food.
Tomorrow however, was a special occasion. It was Ender's 18th birthday and he felt like wearing something nice for a change. He was sure that Catherine would appreciate the gesture as well.
'I could also buy some nice clothes… But that would mean wasting money that I've been saving,' he mused while looking at his money pouch. Curiously, it was the plainest looking but most expensive accessory he had!
It was also one of the only things that Ender actually bought. He bought it two years before, spending most of his savings on it.
The reason why such a stingy person as Ender would buy the pouch was that it was enchanted. It had three simple yet very useful enchantments placed on it.
The first and the most common one was the "expansion" enchantment. It multiplied the pouch's inside space by three, which was a really nifty thing in Ender's humble opinion.
The second reason for the pouch's high price was a weak "feather-light" enchantment that made the pouch substantially lighter. It was a very important to Ender as he almost never took his pouch off, something that a substantial and constant weight wouldn't allow him to do.
The last and least ergonomic enchantment that the pouch had, was called "stalwart". It simply made the pouch very hard to remove from its owner. Ender really didn't want to become a victim of his own activities…
He quickly walked up and down the street to see if there was anything that suited his tastes. Ender had found his target. A men's suit.
The fabric was soft and smooth, with a slight sheen. The tailoring was impeccable, with every stitch perfectly placed. Ender felt that it would fit him like a glove.
It was a bit risky though and he knew it. The suit was located in one of the particularly higher quality stalls. The stall's clothes could be sold in the noble's market and none would think it weird.
Its disappearance surely wouldn't go unnoticed for long if at all.
'The question is, will I be able to leave before it gets noticed?' Ender wasn't sure and he knew that walking the street while holding a suit would make him stand out a lot, after all walking while holding a suit wasn't the same as holding a bread loaf.
It was a gamble and Ender was willing to bet on it!
'Come on. I've got this. There's absolutely no way I get unlucky two times in a row!'
After calming down, he started studying the stall and the vendor closely.
There were more than 20 suits on the table and the one he wanted, was on the utmost right. After waiting a few minutes, Ender finally got his chance.
The vendor was serving another customer that had questions about one of his fares.
'It can't get better than this. It's now or never.'
With a forced calm expression, Ender started walking closer to the stall. He aligned himself so that he would go from left to right and find himself in front of the suit. He would then grab it and make his escape.
Ender continued walking forward as the vendor kept himself busy. He didn't seem to be finishing any time soon. Everything was perfect.
Ender was going to reach the spot, grab the suit and leave. Just like his plan.
It wouldn't even matter if the vendor noticed the disappearance quickly, as Ender would have already left by the time he stopped serving the customer.
Ender smiled. He was next to his soon to be suit. With an experienced precision, as he had done countless time in the past, Ender reached for the suit and grabbed it without ever turning to look at it.
Step.. Clink! Clank!
Suddenly Ender felt a force trying to push him back.
'Shit.'
He had felt it once again. He vividly remembered that day. It was the closest he has ever been to being caught after all.
He was about to successfully steal a pouch, similar to his own, but there was a rope attached to it that he didn't notice. The vendor had been paying attention to another one of his fares at the time but Ender's actions had immediately caught his attention.
He only managed to escape by throwing the pouch back to the vendor's face and never once stopping to look back.
This time though, he was better prepared. He reached inside his pocket and grabbed a knife. He immediately took it out and turned around to slash at the rope.
…Except that this time, it wasn't a rope! It was a chain!! A-thin-metal-chain.
Ender looked at the vendor and couldn't believe his eyes. The vendor was so engrossed with his customer that he didn't notice him yet.
'Small wins I suppose… I could leave now. No one would notice.'
A second passed.
'Ah, fuck it.'
Ender grabbed the chain attached to the suit and pulled. He pulled it with all of his might, yet it didn't break. Not only did it not break, it also attracted the until now clueless stall owner's attention.
Their eyes met.
The vendor was shocked. Ender saw it in his face but even more from his inaction. He should have already started shouting, be he didn't?
Before the stall owner could come back to his senses, Ender pulled the chain again but this time he managed to muster even more strength!
Creak. Creak. Crash.
The force was so strong that Ender was falling in the opposite side. The chain had broken! With a quick roll he managed to negate his fall and move towards his escape.
"H-HAVE YOU GOT NO SHAME?! THIEF!!"
Alas, the vendor took quite a while to get out of his stupor and Ender had already made a few steps towards his escape.
After that, Ender's memory blended into a mush. He just remembered running.
He made a lot of fake turns and retreats so as to escape anyone that may have been following him.
By nighttime when he was sure that no one was still following him, he finally made his way towards his home.
With the absence of light working as his camouflage, Ender quickly reached his shack and slowly opened the door.
A big object rushed to his direction and managed to hit him as Ender didn't expect an ambush laying in his home!