Chapter 220: Third Watch
The party made camp in a small hollow off the side of the road. There was a cold bed of charred ashes in a loose circle of stones, and the plants were pressed into the ground. Dyson immediately started pulling cooking supplies from his spatial ring and gestured at the firepit.
Rasce began arranging kindling while Sorrin used his supernatural strength to tear nearby useable logs. Without missing a beat, Tana chanted a few words and shot a small gout of flame, and within seconds, a bright, cheery fire rose toward the darkening sky. Dyson threw a pot of water over the fire and began sorting through seasonings.
Venturing closer to the black-clothed human, I carefully sat behind him. "You can cook?"
He flashed me a smile. "Merely one of my many skills. I’m no match for some of the restaurants in Heartland, but I’ve got some good recipes."
"Adding him to the party was the best decision we ever made," Sorrin said, taking a seat on a nearby stump. "Or rather, adding your cooking skills was. Your thief skills have a long way to go."
"I’m not a thief," Dyson muttered. He sounded tired and worn, as though he’d had this conversation many times. "I simply excel in practices useful for infiltrating dungeons. Things like lockpicking, searching for traps, and scouting from the shadows."
"All things needed for thievery, no?" Rasce jabbed.
Sorrin chuckled, a rare thing from the serious Wolfkin, and glanced at me. "’Thief’ is the common word in the adventuring guild used to describe people of his trade. Some of them live up to the title, but Dyson’s as honest as they come." he hesitated, giving the thief a second look, "with us at least. I can’t say the same for those he bluffs or swindles in the marketplace."
"Admit it: we’ve made way more money since I became designated negotiator," Dyson said. "It’s their fault for not studying the art of persuasion."
"And that shopkeeper in the western quarter?" Sorrin asked, eyebrow raised.
"Lack of preparation," he replied smugly, "Anyone should have been able to see that move. It was old before I even heard of pickpocketing."