>>16416317Trubbish blinks, hit square in the face with the discovery that they've arrived at Shalour station. The garbage bag quickly rounds up his things and hops out of the truck, "Hey, thanks again for the lift, !....Oh wait, I'm sorry, I didn't even get your name!...Who are you again?"
"It's on the sign, kid."
Trubbish looks over to the sign of the truck.
>HAL'S HOT LINKS"Hal....?"
"Halberd. Halberd Hippo.""Oh... Well then bud, thanks for the lift! Now I'll be able to get a jump start on my new career! What do you do for a living?"
"I sell hot dogs."
"Golly, well good luck with that! See ya!"
"Mm."
Halberd stares at the garbage bag as he heads into the station, only to head back onto the road once Trubbish disappears out of sight.
"I haven't sold a sausage in ages."
"I can't remember the last time I've ever made a decent profit, or any profit. How do I stay afloat? Why haven't I gone bankrupt yet? How come no one's hammered me in custody for tax evasion yet?"
Halberd removes the cigarette from his mouth and blows a few puffs out of the window, "Perhaps it's just the llama's way of telling me my purpose. My way in my life, it's just his way of saying that this is what I'm going to do, and that I better start getting used to it."
"Out of all the people I've ever picked up. That guy was the strangest, and it wasn't because he was a talking trash bag either. Something about him struck me as odd, maybe it was how he wished me good luck. It was almost as if he was subtly mocking me."
"I don't know, don't think I'll ever know. All I can do is wander. Wander the roads of the region until I die, it's a purpose, not a good purpose, but still a purpose. I know I won't be able to travel through it all, too vast, too much to take in. But I can sure try. And as I enter Shalour City, I get the faint sensation that the weather's colder."
"Winter is coming,
and Halberd Hippo is coming to town. . . ">TO BE CONTINUED... 