I stayed low, inching a bit closer along the bushes to get a better angle while keeping myself hidden. The men by the fire were talking, their voices low but clear enough for me to catch bits and pieces.
"…telling you, we're pushing it," one of them said, poking at the fire with a stick. "Too close to the city."
"And I'm telling you the game here is worth it," another replied, leaning back on his hands. "You saw those pelts. Clean. No damage. We don't get that kind of quality deeper in."
"Yeah, until a patrol stumbles onto us."
"They won't," a third one cut in. "We keep it quiet, we move fast. Trader's coming tomorrow anyway. We sell, we're gone. Plus, they got elves to worry about."
"Better be," the first one grumbled. "I'm not getting caught over a few extra coins."
I narrowed my eyes slightly, taking it all in.
So they weren't random thugs. Organized enough to run this kind of setup, careful enough to stay just outside the city's reach. Dangerous, but not reckless.
