“That bad, huh?”

“No. That’s the name of the dimension. Rinky-dink. I’ll give you directions if you’ll spot me another round.”

* * *

“Really, Spyder, dear,” Pookie said, “You have to be more careful about what you say and who you say it to.”

“But I didn’t say anything!” Spyder protested. “I did what you told me. I kept my mouth shut and let you take the lead.”

“…Except when you mentioned that we had done out last job with Aahz and Skeeve.”

her companion pointed out.

“What’s wrong with that?” Spyder said. “He seemed really impressed. Besides, you were the one who mentioned that we knew them.”

“That we knew them. Not that we had just worked with them.” Pookie pointed out.

“Think about it. The reason he was impressed is that Skeeve’s crew has a rep for drawing the high end, high pay jobs.”

“So?”

“…So if we just worked with them, then it’s not too big of a logic step to figure that we’ve got more than a bit of money on us. Not exactly the wisest thing to mention in front of an adventurer who just botched a job and is admittedly short of cash.”

Spyder stopped short.

“You mean he might have tried to take it away from us?”

“There’s always that chance.” Pookie said with a shrug. “I believe I mentioned that most adventurers are some form of thief. Not to worry, though. I kept an eye behind us when we left the tavern. He doesn’t seem to be following us.”

Spyder threw a quick glance behind them. Obviously, the possibility of them being followed hadn’t occurred to her until just now. Pookie pretended not to notice.

“Well…we probably could have taken him if he tried anything.” she said with firm confidence.

“Probably.” Pookie agreed. “Still, there’s no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily. Remember we’re professionals, dear. We’re not supposed to fight for free. Ah! This should be the place just ahead.”