Description
He’s a fey thing dressed up like a vaudeville undertaker—no taller than a child, with skin like smoldering coal and eyes like cloudy glass marbles. His garish pinstripe suit is always immaculate, sewn with too many buttons, none of them the same. A tall, bent top hat rides his head at a crooked angle but never falls. He appears suddenly—always when someone is desperate—and he only stays for thirty-seven minutes. Long enough to talk. Long enough to deal. Long enough to ruin a life.Personality
The Trader is polite, charming, and utterly inhuman. He speaks with a slight drawl and old-world cadence, using words like “gumption” and “precious” with alarming sincerity. He never raises his voice, never breaks his smile, and never gives you exactly what you asked for. He doesn’t lie—he just doesn’t help you understand the cost.Habits
Always checks a fob watch that doesn’t tick Winks with both eyes at once Smells like burned cinnamon and hot metal Sings old spirituals under his breath as the deal closesHooks & Angles
Appears to those at their breaking point, offering a solution that sounds just right Trades in “regrets, secrets, and soft parts of the soul”—whatever that means Can grant love, wealth, power… but always at a hidden cost that hits later Some say he’s bound by old rules and can be tricked—but no one's seen it done
Date of Birth
When the first promise was broken
Birthplace
Under a river, behind a door
Children
Eyes
Milky glass-white, no pupils, reflect nothing
Hair
None visible—hat never leaves his head
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Black as furnace coal, faintly cracked and warm to the touch
Height
4'11"
Weight
93 lbs.
Belief/Deity
God is the competitor
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