Honeyland | Lore
An Interdimensional Department Store
(Chapter 10: A Cocarro Tale)
Trader B was deep in the store room when he heard the sound of the door opening. *ding-a-ling-a-ling* He put the box he was working from back on the shelf and stood up. It had been a long and busy few days. As he made his way to the front desk, he heard the bell again. *ding-ding-a-ling-a-ling* Strange, it sounded a bit different than usual, he’d have to have a look at that too.
As he walked through the doorway, he began his usual salesman’s patter. “Come on down to Trader B’s…” he faltered, then stopped. In front of him were two customers, nothing particularly unusual about that of course. The first customer was a Bee, a regular called Gryph, usually in the store to buy some Sonar Buzz. In fact, that’s exactly what they were holding today. However, the Bee didn’t seem to be aware of the other customer.
The other customer was what had made Trader B stop in his tracks. He’d never seen anyone like it before, but at the same time, he felt sure it was familiar. It was a robot dog, and it appeared to ripple in the air, as did the items it was holding. In fact, they were almost ghost-like! He wasn’t sure the dog knew he was there just yet, it was still browsing while the Bee was staring at him and wondering why he looked so stunned. Trader B shook it off.
“Hello hello! Welcome to Trader B’s Emporium! Good to see you again Gryph, can I interest you in a subscription service for Sonar Buzz? Set your schedule and never run out of Land info! Not this time? Not a problem. That’ll be 75 HXD for the Sonar Buzz, and 30 Zzubs for the gnome statue.” he rattled off at his usual speed. Strangely, the dog still took no notice of him. “Thank you for shopping at Trader B’s, see you again soon!”
As soon as Gryph had paid for his items, Trader B felt a charge go through him, like a wave of energy from the ground up. Weird, that had never happened before. He looked up as Gryph walked out the door. “Huh, that’s strange,” he thought. “Gryph looked like they were rippling just like that robot dog.”
Trader B looked at the dog again. He stopped and stared. He looked harder. The dog was now NOT rippling and no longer see through. It also seemed to see him for the first time. “Ah shopkeeper, I was wondering if you could help me find some Lanterns of Hope? I’m heading underground shortly and could use both the light and the hope.”
Still a little confused, Trader B knew how to provide his customers with top service. He could focus on that while he figured out what was going on. “Of course, of course! Lanterns of Hope, right this way! Did you want to look at any of the other lanterns as well? I have a few of each in stock at any one time, surely a Lantern of Light would come in handy?” He led the dog to the lantern section and handed one over.
As he helped the dog, Trader B knew he had to get some answers. He asked the dog, “I’ve not seen you in here before. What’s your name and where are you from?”
“Oh, I’m Robodog,” the dog replied. “I live under the foosball table, just west of the sewing lands.”
Trader B was very confused now, “I don’t know that area very well, I must say. And, I have to ask, is that on Earth?”
“Earth?! Where’s Earth? I’m from Cocarro. This shop has been here for years. Everyone knows of Trader B’s Emporium. What are you saying?” Robodog looked a little worried now. “Are you feeling ok? Maybe you need to lie down. I can choose the lanterns I need, I’ll ring the bell when I’m ready to pay, ok?”
“A lie down sounds like a good idea actually. Thank you, I’ll go and do that.” Trader B wandered away from Robodog a bit unsteadily, thinking to himself. “What was going on?” He’d just helped Gryph, who was DEFINITELY from Earth, and now he was helping Robodog from Cocarro? He knew that the Cocarro universe had just been discovered, but his shop was already known to the Cocarrans. Very strange indeed.
He stumbled into his little room behind the counter and sat on his bed. His mind was whirring, trying to figure out what he’d just experienced. As he sat there, a ball of light appeared through the doorway and floated towards him. Trader B didn’t notice it until it was directly in front of his face. He looked up at the light, and thought he should be worried about this light. But he felt calm and at peace. The light seemed familiar, like an old friend.
He reached up to touch it. As he did, the light moved into his hand and disappeared! He suddenly had a flood of knowledge and memories race through his mind. He knew where the foosball table was, he knew about the sewing lands and their leader, Seamstress Eliza V. He knew the citizens of Cocarro who shopped in his Emporium. It was like he’d lived another life and it had all come streaming back to him. But why now? What did it all mean?
Suddenly the bell rang on the counter. *brrrriiinng, brrrriiinng* It must be Robodog, ready to pay for his items. Trader B gathered himself, still a little befuddled at all that was going on, and went to the counter. Sure enough, Robodog was there with a basketful of items. When he saw Trader B, he made a small sympathetic sound, “You still look a little unsteady on your feet there, Trader B. Can I help at all?”
“Well, maybe you can actually. Can you tell me more about my shop from your point of view?” Trader B thought quickly, “I’m interested in hearing my customer’s experiences in order to make improvements. Start by telling me how long you’ve been shopping here, what your favorite items are, and how easily you find things in the shop. Oh, and how about the customer service as well?”
“Oh sure, I can do that.” Robodog was happy to help and his tail wagged as he thought about his answers. “My family and I have been shopping at Trader B’s for about five generations now, ever since it opened. I, personally, come into the store about once a week when I’m home, to make sure I have everything I need. I love the range of lanterns, obviously, but I also really enjoy that you stock Holy Flashlights and Kowhai Pollen. The shop is overwhelming at first impression, but as you move around and become familiar with it, you see that it makes sense. I think the sheer volume of stock adds to the chaos, but that turns into comfort after a few visits.”
Robodog thought for a moment, “The customer service from you and Jemima is excellent. Whenever I haven’t been able to find something, or just want to know more, you’re there immediately. And the raffles from Jemima are so fun! I don’t win often, but when I did win, it was a super cool prize!” He looked at Trader B, “Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, that’s very helpful. Thank you, please grab a Mad Honey Droplet as a reward. Your total purchase today is 500 HXD. Thanks for shopping at Trader B’s, see you again soon!” He waved as Robodog left the store, happy with his purchases and with his free item. Trader B stood there and considered everything that Robodog had told him.
It sounded like he had opened a store here on Cocarro around the same time as opening the one on Earth. But how could that be? He hadn’t been in Cocarro before, and yet evidence suggested that he had. Perhaps a version of him had been sent to Cocarro when the universes split, and that version had done the same things at the same time. It would certainly explain why Jemima was present here and running raffles too.
And the reason he was now experiencing this could be tied to the fact that Earth’s portal to Cocarro had been discovered and activated. If that was the case, then that light that he’d absorbed must have been this other version’s memories and experiences. But why couldn’t Robodog and Gryph see each other, and why could he see them both? Perhaps this split in his being allowed him to exist in both universes, but only in his store. It doesn’t seem to allow anyone else to, so no inter-universe transport was possible.
That must be it, he decided firmly. His store must be inter-dimensional, but only in certain ways. He looked forward to recording record profits with TWO universes to do business in. He rubbed his hands together and did a little dance. For all that he’d been worried at first, this was turning out to be a very good day indeed!
As he went back to the store room to keep restocking, Trader B wondered if he had been split into other universes as well. Only time would tell.
Read the previous story: Chapter 9: A Cocarro Tale — The Battle of the Northern Desert
Read the previous story: Chapter 11: A Cocarro Tale — HBN: Poisonous Gas Fills Cocarro Atmosphere
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