That evening, Marvin once again dined with the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad in the hall of the Friendly Arm Inn.
As supplies gradually dwindled, the staple bread on the table had changed from fine white bread to "forest bread" mixed with acorn flour.
Most of the meat was game hunted in the forest, while fish was scarce indeed.
The price of alcohol had also risen steadily, leaving the dwarven warrior fuming with frustration but helpless to do anything about it.
Slicked-back Hair pulled a huge money pouch from his bag of holding and handed it to Marvin. He said rather proudly, "Business is tough in the market these days, and loot won't fetch a good price.
"Luckily, I have connections at Waukeen's temple. I sold all the loot we could move at its original price, for a total of 10,700 gold."
After proudly announcing that astonishing figure, Slicked-back Hair smoothed his gleaming, oil-slicked hair.
This outing had been an unprecedented windfall. Even after setting aside Marvin's share, Slicked-back Hair had earned as much gold as the squad used to make in two whole years.
No wonder he was pleased with himself.
Maybe he had even dreamed of being handsomely rewarded by the goddess Waukeen.
Slicked-back Hair continued, "According to our previous agreement, you should get eighty percent. That's 8,560 gold in total. It's all in here."
Marvin accepted the money pouch.
That brought the cash on hand to 9,232 gold, plus some loose silver and copper coins.
As long as he stayed away from high-level magical equipment, that would be enough to buy consumables and support his daily life for a long time.
"By the way, Marvin, since you're staying at the Friendly Arm Inn, have you met Lady Jaheira?" the bard asked.
Toad immediately sneered from the side, "What,