Jasper led the way forwards, he shielded his eyes and peered into the gloom. “Ah,” he said.

“What?”

“I think I see something ahead.”

Tia made a face. “Can you be more specific than just saying something?” She tried. “Because that could just mean anything.”

“Um,” he began and moved a little closer. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s some kind of random vendor,” he said as they headed towards it.

Tia put her head on one side. “A vendor? You mean out here?” She looked around. “Why would there be a vendor out here?”

Jasper pulled a face. “Well, in some computer games like this one there would occasionally be random vendors in the middle of nowhere, bloody stupid by the way.”

Tia looked slightly annoyed by this. “But why? It isn’t like they’re going to get people coming by to shop.”

“There ain’t exactly any reason for them to be there if we’re talking about real world stuff, usually they are only put in these weird places so you have somewhere in game you could sell the loot you’ve picked up, you know so you don’t run out of room and have to drop things on the floor.”

Tia put her head on one side pulling a face. “So there’ll be random people around just so you sell things?”

Jasper nodded. “Sometimes these people have really unique items, fantastic stuff, that’s how it’s designed in game.”

“Then why aren’t they in a city where everyone can buy them?”

He shrugged. “Because they’re supposed to be pretty unique so only a few people have the items and can show them off.”

“That’s just…stupid,” she said shaking her head.

“Games,” he said with another shrug.
“That’s not an explanation!” She snapped.

“Well either way we can ask him where the hell we are,” he said looking around. “As right now we have nothing.”

She sighed angrily. “I’m going to ask how Wisht is,” she said turning to send him a message.

“Alright,” Jasper said as they neared the vendor, and it was a vendor, in the middle of a forest, off the paths with a small wagon pulled by a horse, on the back of which were what were presumably goods of some kind. Otherwise though he was alone, surrounded by nothing but undead animals and a wilderness of trees.

Jasper stared at him for a moment as he regarded them with a careful smile. “Good evening,” he said. “Nice weather for the time of year.”

Even for game experienced Jasper this was a bit much. “Um, yes, I suppose,” he hazarded.

“What are you doing here?” Tia asked.

“I’m a vendor, I’m here to sell and buy things to and from levellers.”

Tia looked to the left and then to the right. “There’s no-one here, it looks like there’s almost no-one ever here.”

“You’re here,” he said earnestly.

“Well yes,” Tia conceded. “But we’re only two people.”

He held his hands out. “I provide a service, people come through here every now and again and I’m here to help out.”

“You know you’re in a forest filled with undead wildlife right?” Said Jasper.

“Yes, but they seem to not bother me,” he looked a little concerned, possibly about how silly that sounded himself.

“Oh so you mean that they just leave you randomly alone?” Jasper asked in his patient voice.

“Weeell, they seem to just not come near me,” he said as doubt crept into his voice.

Jasper nodded. “Right and that doesn’t seem weird at all?”
“Maybe I have some kind of repellent,” he suggested.

They looked at each other for a moment, Tia shook her head. “This is stupid,” she said.

“I bet you have some unique items to sell don’t you?” Jasper asked.

The man smiled. “I do as it happens,” he turned towards the cart. “Won’t find these anywhere else.”
“Really unusual and exceptional?”

“Absolutely,” he said grinning as he trod on firmer ground.

“Ok,” Tia began. “Then why are you selling them here and not in a city where you could get more customers?”

He sighed. “Want me to be honest with you?”

“I really wish you would be,” said Jasper.

The man now spoke a little more normally. “This is a remote part of the Dead Hinterlands right?”

“I have to assume it is,” said Jasper.

“The questing centres are all miles away from here.”

“Are they?” Jasper asked, seeing as they still had no clue where the hell they even were.
The man frowned. “Yes…Look, people come here infrequently but regularly enough, there’s the quest to come here and kill some animals right?”
“We don’t know,” Tia said honestly.

“Really? Well ok, there is anyway so people have to come here and often they will see me and go, oh hey a vendor, how awesome that means I can get rid of some.”

“Shit they don’t want without having to drop it?” Jasper finished.

The man waved a finger. “Absolutely, but someone’s shit is someone else’s gold, they were going to drop it on the floor but seeing me they’ll sell it,” he grinned. “For any price going, I can then resell the stuff at its proper price and make a good profit,” he shrugged. “So I have to stand alone in a creepy forest with weird things. No problem.”

Jasper nodded, annoyingly this man was talking a lot of sense, it wasn’t very pleasant, but it was good business sense, taking advantage of lazy levellers and making a profit, the bags they had, had lots of slots, but eventually they would fill, just like in any game, this would mean you’d be destroying or dropping items on the floor instead of making money. If you came across a vendor you’d just click and sell whatever price he was offering because anything is better than dropping it…no-one ever thought to ask why the vendor was there, did they? Turns out they might be onto something. “I presume you periodically go and sell the ordinary stuff to a vendor in one of the towns?” said Jasper.

“It is as if you can read my mind sir.”

“I had an inkling.”

“Every sale is a profit, then after a while I can just leave and I’m set for life.”

Jasper sighed. “Ok, so I’ve never stopped to ask a vendor before why there were where they were, suppose I’ve never really treated vendors as people,” he didn’t add. ‘Because back on earth they were just game sprite versions of a vending machine.'

“Every vendor has a story,” he said smiling. “We’re real people you know, not just some sort of box you put things in and get money out or vice versa.”

Jasper smiled weakly in response while Tia did find a hole in this logic. “That still doesn’t explain how you got these unique items.”

“Looting,” he replied waving a finger.

“Looting...”
“Oh yes big ruined city just over there,” he pointed vaguely though from here all you could see was more trees. “Wroxter is over there beyond the forest, all sorts of abandoned buildings and stuff,” he smiled again. “Found all kinds of abandoned items, in there.”

Jasper breathed deeply, it appeared that the game had answered his question quite happily, it was probably being smug about it now, bastard thing. “Ok, well I’d like to ask a few things if you don’t mind.”

“Nah, fire away chief.”

“Ok first of all, where the fuck are we?”

The man frowned “You mean you don’t know?”

“We were at Holdgate,” Tia began “And then there was this orb thing and we seem to have been sent somewhere different around the place, we haven’t a clue where this is.”

“Ah well you’re still in the Dead Hinterlands.”
“We gathered that much,” said Jasper.

“Right, well this is Spoonhill Wood, it lies directly between the drowned fields of More and the city of Wroxter.”

Tia suddenly looked excited. “Wisht’s at More,” she said. “How far?”
“Five to ten minutes depending on enemies,” he pointed. “Just through there is a path, take the path that way,” he pointed. “That’ll take you north to a crossroads, straight over takes you to Wattlesborough, right is Wroxter, left is More got it?”

“Yes,” Jasper said nodding then looked at Tia. “Tell Wisht to come our way.”

“How will he know which way?”

The vendor was helpful again. “Tell him to take the road through the drowned field marsh thing away from the village, then follow it towards the crossroads.”

“Ok,” Tia said nodding.

“Thank you,” Jasper said to the vendor. “Life saver.”

“No worries,” he said waving a hand.

Jasper looked at Tia, she seemed to be talking to Wisht so he had at least one moment. “What unique items do you have?”
The man smiled. “Step this way.”