Death simply remained silent through the entire exchange. He'd come to the conclusion that talking with this blue man was not unlike talking to a wizard: they tended to speak at great length about nothing, but the bottom line was there if you knew where to look. After decades - centuries - of summons by wizards, Death could pick out a conversational point that was no sharper than your average wheel.

The long and short of this man's words were that he was rather mistaken as to where he was and he was willing to help.

But first things first. THERE ARE NO LIVING TREES IN THIS PLACE, Death intoned, NOR ANY OTHER PLANT LIFE FOR THAT MATTER. WHERE IS IT EXACTLY YOU THINK YOU ARE?