Pup and Pack

Chapter Four

A couple of rocks fell from the cave ceiling, bringing dust with it. Bryan coughed into his sleeve and carried on searching. Helios was stationed outside the cave entrance, keeping watch. There was always the risk of someone unwelcome sneaking up on them while Bryan was distracted by the jewels.

They didn't like to take chances

Bryan spotted a rock lying on the cavern floor. To most, it was just a rock. To him, it was a possible source of treasure.

He unsheathed his knife and picked the rock up. He raised the knife, and with shocking speed and sureity, split the rock in two.

Any novice at treasure hunting attempting this would've cut his fingers off. But Bryan was no novice. He knew how to apply just the right amount of pressure to split the rock without penetrating his hand.

The rock halves contained small, shining patches of color: tiny gems. Bryan cracked a grin.

He sat down on a boulder and began his least favorite part of the process; removing the jewels from the rocks. It took painstaking precision and hours of hard work. One wrong cut and the jewels could be destroyed.

Finally, he got the gems out of the rock. The majority of them were too small to be of any real value, but about ten of them were decently sized and could make him a profit. He had a human dealer who traded the jewels he collected for gold coins. With these, Bryan bought food in towns, disguised as a human. He was a businessman in every sense of the word.

He put the gems in his belt pocket. They were enough to at least buy himself meals for the next few days, along with a few necessities. He started climbing back out of the cave to meet Helios. They had work to do.

"Well, it took you long enough," Helios said impatiently. 

"We do this every day, give me a break," Bryan complained.

Helios stood up and the two set off for the meeting place. They got there in plenty of time. A wide-open clearing in the middle of the woods, it was practically impossible to miss. The dealer was sitting on a rock, twirling a knife between his fingers. The hood on his cloak was up, but Bryan could see his yellow teeth, bared in a grin. The guy was disgusting, even by werewolf standards.

"'Ey! Divil!" He called out.

"Hello, Bradley," Bryan replied, walking over to him.

Bradly stood up and the two shook hands. Bryan pulled his pocket off his belt and opened it. He tipped it onto his hand. The jewels came spilling out, gleaming in the sunlight. Bradley took them and slipped them into his bag. Then, he took out several coins and gave them to Bryan.

Bryan counted them all up. Then he paused. 

"Twelve coins? That's almost half as much as last week."

"Price went up, my friend. You want more coins? Gotta get me some more jewels."

"Bradley, this is barely enough to buy food for two nights. Why did you raise the price?"

"That's the way business works. I keep it at the same price all the time, I lose money. So, I gotta raise the price sometimes."

Bryan's blood was roaring in his ears. This guy was conning him, plain and simple. But he didn't have a choice.

"Fine. I'll get you more in a few days."

"That's my boy. See you around."

Bradley took the jewels and left, leaving Bryan alone and furious. He hated this dealer. But, life was harsh. He'd have to deal with it.

He missed having a pack.