They appear in the most unlikely places. You cannot escape these spirits of commerce and coin. They always have something to sell.

the basket man

A mound of baskets rises from his back like a tortoise shell. He wears one on his head. A tinny voice, “Care for a basket?”

He’s proud to tell you his baskets hold twice as much as they ought to for their size. It’ll only cost you a few scraps of copper to upgrade. He holds one out like a newborn child. How generous!

After you put something in your new basket, you might hear a titillated sigh. He only looks, sometimes touches, but never takes.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t tell the wrong person what he finds there.

the lost dream

You’ve seen her face before in dreams. She could make those dreams real, for tonight, for a price.

The waking world has caught her, a fish wriggling in a net, drowning in air, hungry for water. This is the fastest way back.

It will be the best night of your life. You will remember none of it. She will slip away, a forgotten dream, leaving you behind with an empty night and emptier purse. Even dreams need silver, it seems.

She’ll freely tell you all of this. Dreams are terrible liars.

It might still be worth it though.

the writer’s friend

His beard gets tangled up with the box he holds out. He eyes you, to see if you’re made of the right stuff, before opening it.

Inside, a single pen, subtle and beautiful, battle-hardened.

Once the nib touches the paper, it will yank you along for as long as it takes, through the days and weeks and months, not giving you a moment’s rest until your work is done.

You lose something along the way…

  1. A dear friend.
  2. A religion.
  3. A possession.
  4. A hobby.
  5. A memory.
  6. An enemy.

the little barnacle that could

They pull themselves along, inch by inch, by inch. This how they escaped the briny clutches of the sea. Helpless, hopeful.

They have nothing to give you. But the next time the world tries to break you, you’ll remember the barnacle. Maybe you’ll find the strength to keep going.

It will die in d10 days, unless you help it find a new home.

Leave them to struggle, and the memories turn sour. A fellow adventurer, left behind.