Though there was still a week until [Midwinter Festival], the air of celebration had already begun to fill a great city like Water-Drawing City.
The calendar used by Coriel had twelve months and 360 days in a year. The extra five days were specially reserved for festivals, and in nearly every civilized city, they were days for rest and celebration.
Midwinter Festival, also known as the Winter Feast, was traditionally a feast held by the local lord before the year's end, where they formed alliances with other lords, renewed old pacts, and exchanged gifts.
To the common folk of the various nations, it was the "Day of Dead Winter," for the biting winter had just reached its halfway mark.
But from another perspective, that also meant it was the coldest time of the year.
In ordinary years, after getting off work at the port, workshops, shops, and other places during Water-Drawing City's port off-season, most Water-Drawing City residents would take out the meager savings they had amassed over the year to buy ingredients for a decent dinner for the coming Midwinter Festival. Like their lords, they would also prepare a gift for every family member and close friend. This was a common custom among the northern city-states.
But this year was somewhat different.
With the sudden emergence of Hogg Workshop, the fox-fur snow boots it produced had practically become the most affordable, best-value gift in the eyes of every Water-Drawing City resident—without rival!
For just one silver coin, one could become a Black Iron member of Hogg Workshop and receive a pair for free. Then, at the same discounted prices below Water-Drawing City's market rates, they could buy a fur coat for their wives, or reward themselves after a hard year of labor, no longer suffering the assaults of the