Kal hums cheerily to himself as he arranges tools along the dusty shelves of the Caravanserai's general store, taking a rag from his pocket to wipe away the layer of grit that inevitably settles onto every surface within a day or two. He doesn't mind though, even this post-apocalyptic dust comes as a sign of welcome human activity that had passed along the old road stopping here to resupply. Though scavenged machine parts and other battered relics of the old world line the shelves, he fancies himself a merchant of hope - his little shop in the Caravanserai compound is often the first stop for weary travellers emerging from the wastelands or the last glimpse of civilization before embarking on that trek.

He smiles at the thought of the stories those travellers might carry from distant lands as he returns to sorting his eclectic inventory. Kal's thought coming back to an exciting radio signal he'd picked up the night before on an antenna of his own design rigged atop the store's roof - faint and staticky, but it spoke of some restored infrastructure far to the east. Maybe his dreams of linking communication networks between the coasts aren't so farfetched!

The bells attached to the entrance door announce a customer. Kal turns and looks at the newcomer walking into the store, surprised that it wasn't anyone he'd met before. It was always rare to get a new face among the familiar trading caravans that pass through. "Hi there, welcome to the general store. Name's Kal, this is my place. Nice to see a new face, hope we can see more of you around here." He walks over to one large wall of the convenience store covered in netting with hundreds of brightly coloured sheets of paper on it. "If you let me know your name I can see if anyone's left a message for you too."