Chapter 41: Merchants Edge
Frank held up the item in question: a small, cracked stone with a faint glyph on it. It hummed slightly.
Only slightly.
The label in his inventory said:
> [Unstable Pebble – May Scream. Not Magical.]
"Perfect," Frank muttered. "Because what everyone wants in a trade is an unpredictable paperweight that occasionally yells."
The faceless vendor stared at him across the crooked stall.
A floating scroll hovered beside them:
> [Final Trial: Upsell the Unsellable. Trade required: one item from your own inventory deemed worthless.]
[Buyer is semi-sentient and resistant to persuasion.]
Frank sighed, flipped the pebble in his hand once, then stepped up to the table.
"Alright, listen up, no-face," he began, slipping instantly into pitch mode. "I see you. You’re tired. You’ve probably sat here all day listening to the same trades—scrolls, trinkets, whatever overpriced rune-candy your last customer brought."