If I was going to find Cuthbert and get the magical snapper rack for my patron, I’d have to track down this window salesman first. What a window salesman would want with a snapper rack, I hadn’t the slightest clue. Now, ideally, the trade hadn’t occurred between the salesman and Cuthbert yet. If that was the case, I could follow the salesman around for a while, then pounce when he met up with Cuthbert.
To do that, though, I’d have to draw out the salesman. So, I returned home, ready to set up my trap. I installed a subtle, special catapult on my door frame, loaded with a tracking device. It would go off whenever the door opened. From there, I went up to the nearest window, holding a sledgehammer in my hand, and smashed it. I broke the glass and smacked the frame until it was horribly damaged.
“Oh no!” I said. “Now I will need to get window frame installation. What do I do?”
The doorbell rang before I could even finish the sentence. I peeked outside through one of my non-broken windows and saw a man in a dark brown cloak. His face was obscured and he held a toolbox in one hand.
I pulled open the door, listening to the flick of the catapult. The tiny tracking device struck the man’s coak, and I tried not to smile. Everything was going according to plan.
“Hello,” said the figure. His voice was oceans-deep and the air made me feel like I was being locked in a chest freezer. “I am a travelling merchant, offering timber window replacement for the Melbourne area. Are you in need of such services?”
“I am,” I said. “Please, come in. Thank goodness you are here. That was great timing, as I only just broke my window. Like, literally seconds ago.”
“I have a knack for being right on time,” the man breathed. “Now, you shall witness the power of my window replacement abilities. I should tell you, however, that it won’t be cheap.”
“How much?” I asked. “I can afford it.”
I still couldn’t see his face, but I got the feeling he smiled at that. “The price is your soul.”
– Gillan Neptune