Dave threw an arm over his eyes to block out the sun beating down on him, but his could still hear Sam walking towards him. The footsteps stopped near him and then Dave felt a soft nudge, probably from the toe of Sam's shoe, in his side.

"You gonna just lie there? If we don't get going all the good stuff is going to be gone."

Dave groaned and lifted his arm for Sam to help pull him up. Once he was back on his feet, Dave dusted himself off as Sam clapped him on the shoulder.

"Seriously, are you alright? I thought you were looking forward to this?" Sam asked, with a genuine look of concern on his face.

"No, no, I am," Dave reassured. "I was just thinking about some stuff, you know."

"Hmm, anything in particular?" Sam asked.

"Nah," Dave said, brushing off his friend's concerns, knowing he probably wouldn't understand anyway. "Let's get going. My folks gave me this whole list of stuff they want me to get for them from the merchants and I want to make sure I still have some time to look around for myself."

If Sam noticed Dave's quick change of subject he didn't say anything about it, instead starting a story about how he'd been working some extra time at The Dog and Stallion, the local tavern, in order to save up money to buy some personal items when the merchants arrived. "I remember when they came through last autumn they had some really fancy, silk scarves. I couldn't afford one then, but I think I might have just enough money now," Sam finished.

"Seriously?" Dave questioned. "I remember those and, yeah, they were pretty, but they're also ridiculously expensive. What do you even want one for?"

He actually already had a fairly good idea what could prompt his friend to shell out so much cash, so he wasn't surprised when Sam's face flushed at the question.

"Well, you know," Sam stuttered. "It's been a while since Santana and I broke up and we've been talking a lot lately and we danced at the spring festival. I've been thinking maybe we could get back together."

Dave sighed, "Really, what is it with you and that girl? I honestly don't know why you're so hung up on her, she was nothing but mean to you when you were together and she hasn't been that much better since you broke up."

"Hey," Sam protested. "Santana's really great. Sure, she's not as sweet as some of the other village girls, but why does that have to be a bad thing?"

"I'm not saying it is a bad thing, but there's a difference between being a little feisty and being actually mean to people. Did you hear what she said to Rachel last night?"

"Oh come on, Rachel is kind of annoying."

"Yeah, she is, but those aren't the words Santana used and you know it."

Sam fell silent, his shoulders slumped and his face sullen. Dave didn't want to fight with the guy who was his only real friend, so he bumped shoulders with the blonde. "Hey, if you really want to get back with Santana, then of course I'll be happy for you. I'm just saying maybe you should wait until you two are actually back together before you spend a ton of money on her."

Sam wrinkled his nose; his tell that he was thinking hard. "You think? I really just wanted to show her that I was serious about having another go at it."

"Trust me; waiting is definitely the way to go."

By then the village was just coming into sight and by unspoken agreement, Sam and Dave ended their conversation so they could take in all the sights and sounds that signaled the traveling merchants. Since their village was small and a fair distance from any larger cities, the merchants only came through a couple times a year and whenever they did, it was like a celebration throughout the whole village.

Colorful tents and stalls would be set up to sell the goods and what a wide selection of goods there were. You could get anything you could possibly want from the merchants including tools, cloths, exotic foods, and so much more. But easily the best commodity on offer from the merchants was the news. Because the merchants spent all their lives traveling from one village to the next, they knew what was happening all around the kingdom. Often after a long day of selling goods, the merchants would head to a tavern or inn and the people of the village would buy them drinks in exchange for a story or two about what was going on outside the small sphere that made up the village.

The villagers would soak these stories up and then, after the merchants had moved on, would retell these stories again and again until the merchants returned and gave them something new to talk about. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but it worked, and Dave especially looked forward to these gatherings since each story told helped to fuel his own imagination about the outside word.

As they walked into the main center of the village where most of the merchants had set up shop, both men were a little overwhelmed by the noise all around them, being used to the general hush that usually blanketed the village. All around them there were loud voices haggling over prices and bartering, children screaming excitedly about everything they saw.

"I'm going to go make the purchases for my parents," Dave said over the noise. "Do you want to meet at the tavern later tonight?"

Sam nodded his agreement and the two parted company. Dave headed first to a distinct red and white tent that he knew belonged to Sue Sylvester, a shrewed woman who never made easy bargains, but who nonetheless sold only the finest blades, so Dave's father refused to purchase from anyone else.

Before Dave entered the tent, he schooled his expression into one he thought would give him an air of worldly knowledge. He had only been given so much money to spend and he could not allow Sylvester to talk him out of paying too much for a knife like she had last time. Dave's father had made him make up the difference with his personal savings and Dave had too many things he wanted to buy for himself to let that happen again.

Inside the tent, Sylvester was in the middle of helping another customer so while he waited, Dave perused the selection of skinning blades she had laid out. They all looked great and Dave picked up a couple to test the weight of them in his hands. By the time Sylvester had closed a deal with the other customer, Dave knew exactly which blade he wanted and how much he could afford to pay for it.

"Always good to see a returning customer," Sylvester greeted, moving in front of him.

Dave didn't reply right away, instead pretended to still be considering the pieces before him. "You've got some fine blades here this year," he finally said.

Sylvester shrugged like it was no big deal, but Dave could see the proud gleam in her eyes. "I was able to get some especially good materials from the dealers in the east this year," she said.

Dave nodded, picking up the blade he had his eye on. "I want this one." Direct and to the point, Sylvester wasn't a woman who took any pleasure out of exchanging social niceties. Sure enough, Sylvester got right down to brass tacks. "That one'll be 45 shkilds."

Dave allowed himself a quick breath, this was where he'd gone wrong last time. He hadn't even tried to barter, instead simply assuming Sylvester was giving him a good deal. He's father had been quite upset when he found out Dave had spent such an outrageous amount on that blade. Dave wouldn't make that mistake again.

"I'll give you 25," Dave countered.

Sylvester's eyes widened slightly and then she smirked, "I see someone's learned something since I last saw him. 35."

Dave licked his lips nervously, he really didn't want to go over 30 shkilds, which he thought was an appropriate price for such a blade, but he could tell Sylvester wasn't that happy about having to negotiate over the price.

"My father only gave me 30 shkilds for the blade," he finally bluffed. "But if you give me that price, I'll treat you to a couple pints at The Dog and Stallion tonight."

Sylvester cocked her head and Dave could tell she was considering it, "They have an exceptionally good brew this year," Dave hastened to add, hoping to tempt her.

It worked because Sylvester quirked a smile and said, "I do remember like their dark ale," she said. "You've got yourself a deal."

Dave did a little mental victory dance as Sylvester wrapped up the blade, congratulating himself on a job well done. A few beers might cost 2 or 3 shkilds, but since Dave was pretty close with the owners, he could probably get them for free. Not that Sylvester needed to know that. He took the wrapped package and passed over the money. After finalizing their plans to meet later, Dave headed out of the tent to finish his shopping.