Merchant Crab

After what felt like way too short of a rest, Balthazar had woken up to the noises of pans and grills as the captain and the others moved around the cabin, preparing a meal to soothe their roaring stomachs.

While his body wasn’t aching as much anymore, the crab still felt like he could have slept for another half a day if he was allowed. But just like when he had a trading post to open in the early hours of the morning, duty called him there too, and there was a quest to be finished.

And more importantly, rewards to be claimed once he did.

This crab hadn’t gone totally soft yet. Helping out someone in need and righting some wrongs with new friends might be all nice and good for most adventurers, but Balthazar was still a merchant looking out for a good trade deal—and a glutton looking for free pie.

Reminded of what really motivated him, the crustacean’s stomach grumbled with a furious hunger. As it turns out, leaping, swimming, and climbing were great at working up an appetite, especially after a night’s sleep without some proper supper first.

The smell of cooking fish enveloped the crab as he got up, reminding him that while humans might have a lot of strange habits that baffled his understanding, placing fish over a fire was certainly not one of them.

Golden brown meat sizzled against the grill over the lit coals of the fire pit as white smoke billowed out and filled the cabin with a tantalizing aroma that made Balthazar’s mouth water.

Druma was carefully handling the grill, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while keeping full focus on maintaining a perfectly even heat distribution on both sides. Blue sat on the other side of the pit, helping him by using her nostrils as a bellows, blowing air into the fire whenever the goblin gave her the signal.

Balthazar quietly chuckled with amusement as he watched their teamwork.