It wasn’t a lizard they found but a large, silver-furred wolf curled up against a tree. Rodrick was the first to spot it, but by the time he’d pointed the resting monster out, Arwin had already located it himself.
There were probably a number of things he could do with a wolf pelt or its claws, but none of them were anything he knew much about yet. Still, it would have been rude to refuse to fight something purely because he didn’t need to.
Besides, maybe I could make a rug out of it or something. Or a bed. Now that I think about it, I could definitely use it.
Rodrick gestured to the wolf, then raised his sword and nodded to Arwin, indicating that he’d attack first and that Arwin could follow up behind him. Arwin inclined his head in agreement, and Rodrick crept forward.
He moved with surprising grace, avoiding most of the dry foliage on the ground as he advanced. Whether by accident or on purpose, they were downwind of the monster, so it wasn’t going to pick up on their smell.
Rodrick’s sword shimmered with light as he lifted it into the air and brought it down with a sharp chop. The monster’s eyes snapped open at the motion, but it was too late. It barely even got a second to react before the blade struck home, carving through its neck and killing it in a single blow.
That was well executed.
“Clean,” Arwin said with an approving nod. “Have you been an adventurer for a long time?”
“Nah,” Rodrick replied with a shake of his head. “My dad was a woodsman. Taught me a bunch of stuff before he retired. I only became an adventurer after I met Anna. It’s just that a lot of the skills overlap.”
I can’t wait to see what I can make with all this extra material.
“You look more energetic than normal today,” Lillia said as she stepped out of her kitchen with a plate of what she was fairly sure were pancakes. She’d learned the recipe by spying through the window of another tavern the previous night and had memorized the majority of the ingredients that went into them.
Getting her hands on the ingredients had been considerably harder, but she’d managed to scrounge up enough coin from what Reya had been paying her to splurge. She set the pancakes on the table and Reya’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. What do you think?” Lillia asked, taking a step back.
“Well, it’s kind of hard to see in the darkness,” Reya hedged. “I do see a stack of stuff, though. That’s probably a good thing.”
Damn it. I really need to do something about the environment if I ever want to get more customers.
“It’s fine!” Reya said hurriedly. “I’m sure it tastes great! I can’t wait to eat!”
Lillia stepped to the side and Reya shifted. A small frown flitted across Lillia’s face. “What are you doing?”
“Doing? What do you mean?”
“You’re hiding something.”
“What? How’d you know?” Reya demanded, glaring in Lillia’s direction. She missed by a few inches, but she was just a human, so Lillia didn’t blame her.
“I know a lot of things. What do you have? Ingredients?”
“Something better,” Reya said. She lifted her hands, setting a package on the table. It had been wrapped in discarded brown paper and had an odd, oblong shape. “It’s for you.”
Lillia pulled the papers apart, her nose picking up the faint scent of blood. She was pretty sure Reya had found the paper discarded at the butchery, but the package didn’t smell nearly enough of meat to be –
Her eyes widened. Before her eyes, which were adapted perfectly to see in the dark, was a beautifully made pan. She ran her hands over its surface, feeling the individual hammer strokes that had molded the metal.
“Where’d you find this?” Lillia asked in awe. “It’s incredible. Did you steal it?”
“Nope! Arwin made it for you! I did steal the paper, though. You should probably wash the pan before you use it. The paper was lying crumpled out back of a butchery when I found it, and I think a few people might have stepped on it. Still, some wrapping is better than none.”
“Arwin made this?” Lillia asked, tearing her gaze away from the pan and looking to Reya.
“Yeah. Last night. He said he’d try to get some utensils as well at some point.”
I didn’t think he’d actually make me anything. Is he expecting pay? I barely have enough money to keep cooking right now. Or is this a trick? It’s not magical is it?
Lillia squinted at the pan, but it appeared to just be a normal pan. There was always the chance it was Unique and could hide its properties, but that felt like a little too much to do. Besides, they had called a truce.
“I – oh. That was… kind of him,” Lillia said, the words feeling strange in her mouth. “Was there something he wanted in return?”
“It’s a gift, as far as I know,” Reya said. “He just said to give it to you.”
Why didn’t he bring it himself then?
“Oh!” Reya exclaimed, cutting off Lillia’s thoughts. “We also talked about your tavern.”
“Yeah! Arwin thinks you should make it scarier.”
Lillia stared at Reya. “He thinks I should make my already inhospitable tavern… worse? Is he trying to make sure I never get a customer?”
Reya shook her head hurriedly, holding up a hand as her brow creased in thought. “Wait, I got too excited and ended up misspeaking. Not just scarier. He thinks you should lean into the stuff about you more, and I think he’s right. It’s really hard to change yourself into something you think will attract people, so you should focus on the things that you already do and make those better instead.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” Lillia said. “You’re saying I should make it even darker in here?”
“Not darker. Scarier. Make it more like the lair of a monster, and then sell it as a monster inn or something. The rest of the alley already fits that motif anyway. I was thinking you could dress up as the Demon Queen! It would be hilarious. People would love the atmosphere because of how ridiculous it was.”
Lillia choked, coughing as her saliva went down the wrong pipe. She pounded a fist against her chest and cleared her throat, staring at Reya through squinted eyes. The girl looked completely sincere.
What in the Nine Underlands, Arwin? I thought we had a bloody unspoken agreement!
“That was Arwin’s suggestion?” Lillia asked in disbelief.
“No, I came up with that myself. He just said you should dress yourself and the other waiters – when you get them – like monsters. Don’t you think that would be pretty unique?”