when trying to combine the salt into the coal, both items would disappear on me
When you combine items, the original items disappear and form a new object. Did this object end up in another character's inventory or under another inventory tab?
The other day, when I tried it, I tried it about 2-3 times, quickloaded each time, and looked EVERYWHERE for the combined object, but just couldn't find it. Finally, I exited the game, re-entered, did it again, and had no problem finding the object.
Last night, I was doing the same combining again, and I thought it disappeared again. But I was able to find the combined object in the other character's inventory.
So now I'm not so sure what exactly is going on...
