"Don't you ever get tired of doing the same thing?" That was the first thing Gael said when he came across a skeleton in merchant clothes as he descended to the first level of the second section of the crypt where merchants and nobles rested with some fame in their names.
"Impossible. It is impossible for me to get tired of this in any way, after all, I am a merchant and you are a customer, nyehehehehehe. "The merchant skeleton said, releasing a strange laugh which sounded very irritable.
"...Aren't you ashamed to sell dead people's stuff?" Gael responded, trying to understand how someone could fall so low as to sell the things of someone who had died or been killed a long time ago.
The merchant skeleton pulled his skull out of his neck and checked his teeth momentarily and placed his skull back into his neck.
"Are you an idiot or don't you see we're dead? Human values don't go with us, you fool, do you think undead people respect others? If you like I can exchange objects with you after all this place is a reality that you and many others must abandon. When you reach the end of the trip you will realize what I meant, but until then I hope we can do business,"
The merchant skeleton responded, making all kinds of gestures with his hands, but in a positive way.
Gael had no words to respond to such offensive words that came out of the mouth of the only conscious monster he had known in his life, but in a certain way, he was right human values do not apply to monsters and undead.
"Well, let's do negotiations then," Gael said.
At that moment the skeleton with merchant clothes opened a strange backpack and let see hundreds of objects that covered the section of the room that this skeleton occupied.
"A magic backpack," Gael muttered quietly.
The objects were incredibly varied from new and shiny weapons to old and rusty swords and knives, strange colored potions, military-style food which was preserved with a magic spell and packaged, armor of different types, from leather to steel, but nothing better than that.
"In case you're looking for something of better quality and a higher grade I think I have something you might be interested in hehehehehehe," The merchant said again, laughing strangely.
Gael was curious about what this skeleton might have among its things that it might call "Better quality, and higher grade" but the merchant surprised Gael with something you didn't see every day.
"Here, stones of souls created from the vital essence of creatures of incredible power, these stones are able to increase the attributes of a person or a creature,"
the merchant said taking out a bag of strange precious stones of different colors, sizes, and shapes.
Gael was stunned, but soul stones would surely be extremely expensive simply because of how rare it was to find one of them.
The merchant skeleton easily distinguished that Gael had nothing to trade with, but that did not prevent him from wanting something from someone maybe money is no longer something that this merchant cared about.
"I don't need money, if that's what you're worried about I don't have use for the simple, dirty gold coins, what I need now is the head of an old friend, a particular merchant who loved to use his personal guards to collect a little "Extra" from the other merchants," The merchant skeleton said, explaining what he wanted at the time.
"If you get the head, I'll give you the bag of precious stones and as a small "Extra" I'll give you a weapon and armor of your choice." The merchant skeleton continued talking.
Gael was debating with himself in helping him or following his path, although it would make things much easier to have the sword and armor than the merchant skeleton, but Gael did not wish to break and disrespect the deceased, but it was obvious that with only skeletons not fully awakened, he would be unable to reach a high level to deal with the monster that inhabited the deepest part of the crypt.
"All right, I'll take the job, when I have the skull I'll be back," Gael responded, with no other options to use.
The merchant skeleton seemed very happy to receive help, but strangely there was one of its ribs broken and missing which made Gael feel a strange suspicion of the identity of that skeleton.