The Traveling Trader

The Traveling Trader appears periodically in the Market Square. He trades items for twinkly wads, or for his strange shiny discs back again.

---

Arnold Benedict, the Traveling Trader You approach a funny looking man behind a large cart. The man sees you, smiles broadly, and says "Unvy gb lbh, cbgragvny phfgbzre! Qb V unir n qrny sbe lbh! V unir geniryrq sne, nyy gur jnl sebz Qvfgnag Ynaqf, gb genqr jvgu lbh naq lbhe fvzcyr crbcyr! V unir n terng arrq sbe gjvaxyl jnqf jurer V yvir, naq V jbhyq or jvyyvat gb genqr lbh gurfr jbaqreshy vgrzf sbe nal gung lbh unir." He looks at you expectantly, then sighs, and explains what he wants from you using interpretive dance. The dance is surprisingly expressive, and after he is finished, you understand the following:

The traveling trader is looking to acquire:

twinkly wads
(You have X on you.)

For your twinkly wads, he will trade you:

Item(s) for trade:

Item:	Price:
something...	Y twinkly wad(s)

Make The Trade

You make a trade with the mysterious trader.

You acquire... something. [[Data:{{{item}}}]]

On July 15, 2008:

Arnold Benedict, the Traveling Trader You approach a funny looking man behind a large cart. The man sees you, smiles broadly, and says "Unvy gb lbh, cbgragvny phfgbzre! Qb V unir n qrny sbe lbh! V unir geniryrq sne, nyy gur jnl sebz Qvfgnag Ynaqf, gb genqr jvgu lbh naq lbhe fvzcyr crbcyr! V unir n terng arrq sbe fgenatr fuval qvfpf jurer V yvir, naq V jbhyq or jvyyvat gb genqr lbh gurfr jbaqreshy vgrzf sbe nal gung lbh unir." He looks at you expectantly, then sighs, and explains what he wants from you using interpretive dance. The dance is surprisingly expressive, and after he is finished, you understand the following:

The traveling trader is looking to acquire:

strange shiny discs
(You have X on you.)

For your strange shiny discs, he will trade you:

Item:		Price:
	Rainbow's Gravity	50 strange shiny discs

Trade History

Date	Item	Cost	Type	Effect
2007-01-03	arse-a'fire elixir	10 twinkly wads	potion	Grants 10 turns of Arse-a'fire
	cosmic lemonade	10 twinkly wads	potion	Grants 10 turns of Lemon Enlightenment
	powdered toad horn	10 twinkly wads	potion	Grants 10 turns of Squirming Like a Toad
2007-02-27	bunch of bananas	10 twinkly wads	usable	Gives 4-6 bananas
2007-04-01	Deactivated O. A. F.	100 twinkly wads	familiar	Becomes an O.A.F.
2007-05-15	jar of swamp gas	1 twinkly wad	combat item	Does 20-30 damage and stuns opponent 2-3 rounds
2008-01-22	strange shiny disc	10 twinkly wads	miscellaneous	None
2008-07-15	Rainbow's Gravity	50 strange shiny discs	usable	Grants the HC-Permanent skill Rainbow Gravitation
2010-01-06	Zu Mannkäse Dienen	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Saucerors the skill Käsesoßesturm
2010-01-28	colorful plastic ball	1 twinkly wad	usable	Adds one ball to your clan's Awesome Ball Pit
2010-02-08	Inigo's Incantation of Inspiration	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Accordion Thieves the skill Inigo's Incantation of Inspiration
2010-03-30	Uncle Romulus	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Turtle Tamers the skill Curiosity of Br'er Tarrypin
2010-04-13	Schrödinger's thermos	5 twinkly wads	booze	Provides the consumption results of a random drink
2010-04-30	A Beginner's Guide to Charming Snakes	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Pastamancers the skill Stringozzi Serpent
2010-06-25	The Art of Slapfighting	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Seal Clubbers the skill Iron Palm Technique
2010-10-07	quantum taco	5 twinkly wads	food	Provides the consumption results of a random food
2011-01-11	The Autobiography Of Dynamite Superman Jones	100 twinkly wads	usable	Grants Disco Bandits the passive skill Kung Fu Hustler
2011-02-24	strange cube	100 twinkly wads		Puzzle
2011-08-23	NPZR chemistry set	50 twinkly wads	usable	Creates a total of 20 potions granting +combat, +noncombat, or +15 ML

Notes

• The trader's foreign language is ROT13. The translation is:

  Hail to you, potential customer! Do I have a deal for you! I have travelled far, all the way from Distant Lands, to trade with you and your simple people! I have a great need for twinkly wads where I live, and I would be willing to trade you these wonderful items for any that you have.

  • On July 15, 2008, he said instead that he had "great need for strange shiny discs".
• The January 15, 2007, Jick and Skullhead radio show suggested that the trader's initial disappearance was because the Trader was meant to sink twinkly wads, when in fact the number of twinkly wads in the economy surged due to people pulverizing equipment quickly to either trade in or sell the wads. On April 1, 2007, the Deactivated O. A. F. succeeded in sinking 2.5 million twinkly wads (according to the April 2, 2007, radio show.)
• If you view the source of the page you can see that the hidden field called "action" has the value of "For Gnomeregan!"
• Failure to select an item for trade will result in the message, "The trader is not trading for that item."
• On January 6, 2010, the Trader began to accept wads directly from Hagnk's, allowing players to trade while in hardcore or ronin. Items purchased with wads from Hagnk's arrive in a foreign box.

References

• Benedict Arnold became famous for being a traitor in the American Revolution.
• The message posted under Announcements for the trader's arrival may be a reference to the Mystery Trader in the game Stars!.
• Gnomeregan is the home city of the gnomes in the online MMORPG World of Warcraft. Conquered by monsters, it is now a World Dungeon or instance.