"Take a look at my wares. Best in the Kingdom!"
The ranger looks around in silence, perusing my shelves, searching through the bows and specialty arrows. I wait, hopeful as ever, that perhaps this time he'll say something to me.
"I don't know..." He begins, and my heart flutters in my chest. Finally, after all those visits, one of them was speaking to me!
"...Saleh, I don't know." He turned around and addressed himself to his companion, a sorceress, also a frequent customer, also completely oblivious that he even existed.
She bent down and looked at the bow, considering it carefully. "I think it's worth it. I mean, it'll give you life drain, and an extra twenty points of fire damage. Plus it's a short bow, so you're gonna get at least a 5% attack speed increase."
I know the Ranger's name to be Lora, but only from dozens of opportunities to eavesdrop his conversations, occurring as they always do, right in front of me, as if I don't exist. Lora is not convinced. "Perhaps we ought to wait."
Saleh takes the money out of her coin purse. "No, we're gonna need it in the Dragonlord's dungeon. Here." Without even glancing up at me she placed the cash on the counter and he took the bow.
"Alright, let's go." Lora said, and the two of them left without another word.
"Come back soon now, always gettin' more goods." I say to an empty store.
And then I'm left alone with my thoughts, as ever. The interminable in between, when nothing at all is happening. I am a merchant, through and through. I live for my store, for my customers. It almost feels to me that I do not exist when they are not in need of me, as if I am a figment of their imagination. It is a painful life, but it's the only one I've ever known.
But as time passes, I resolve myself to make a change. Why do I always act the same way, do the same things? How can I expect to be happy when I won't step in to change my own life for the better?
No, it's about time I made myself heard. I told myself, the moment those two came back into this store, this time I would really speak to them. Force them to acknowledge me, not just wait for it happen. I was done being a passive observer in my life.
Right then, the door to the store opened and the there they were, Lora and Saleh, the ranger and the sorcerer. As they approached the cabinet, I opened my mouth to say hello.
"Take a look at my wares. Best in the Kingdom!"
Lora took out the bow he'd bought, hours ago? Days? I couldn't remember. But he takes out that bow, whenever he bought it from me, and places it back on the cabinet. In silence I hand him back a gold piece, about a quarter of what I'd sold it to him for. Then he turns to Saleh. "Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have bought it. God, I hate this shop. Everything is totally overpriced. Is it really the only one in this zone?"
Saleh frowned. "The only one with anything useful. But don't worry about it, a couple of more runs and you'll be level 20. Then we can get to Kaldarun." Saleh looked down at the cabinet and picked up a healing potion. "We should stock up on potions before the next raid."
Lora nodded, and put some silver pieces down on the table. I reached out in silence and put them in my till. "Yeah, makes sense. Ready?"
"Yeah," Saleh said, halfway out the door already.
Lora followed and as they passed the threshold to my store, I called after them.
"Come back soon now, always gettin' more goods."
In the dark interim between visits, I bemoaned my poor state.
But as time passes, I resolve myself to make a change. Why do I always act the same way, do the same things? How can I expect to be happy when I won't step in to change my own life for the better?
Yes, next time would be different at last. Next time.