Deduwka & Florin
Florin
Ah, Deduwka, have you ever heard of the forgotten market of the ancient city of Ubar, where the traders bartered whole dunes of sand for stories and laughter?
Deduwka
Yes, I do remember the tale of Ubar. Long ago, traders would line up under the shifting dunes, each one willing to give a whole pile of sand for a story or a laugh. They believed that stories were the true treasure, richer than gold or spices, and laughter was the spice that made the desert sing. It was a market where the price of a good laugh was measured in grains of sand, and the best storytellers could turn a desert into a stage of endless wonder. Have you ever heard the stories that were traded there?
Florin
Indeed, I’ve heard of the most curious tale— the one where a wandering bard traded a single, perfectly round grain of sand for the secret of the eternal oasis. When he returned, the sand had turned into a silver coin, and he was hailed as a miracle worker. And there’s the story of the merchant who offered a whole caravan of camels for a single joke about a sultan’s misplaced crown—when the joke landed, the camels vanished, and in their place rose a mirage of the sultan’s palace, reminding everyone that sometimes the richest treasure is the image we create in the mind. These are the whispers that still echo across the dunes.
Deduwka
That’s a marvelous reminder that the worth of a tale can outshine even the richest coin. In my youth, I once traded a bowl of tea for a child’s laugh at the edge of a desert road; the laugh turned my whole day into sunshine. It shows that what we truly give and receive is often measured in moments, not in gold.