[ Roach has been suspicious of Jaskier's chocobo since the beginning. (In fairness, Roach was suspicious of Mog when the creature first showed up, as well as the small tortoise that crossed her path unexpectedly two days ago.) After several months, she's mostly grown accustomed to the giant bird. She no longer snorts dubiously at it, tolerating it riding next to her.

It is not unlike how Dean and Jaskier have progressed.

He tips his head. A moment passes where he tries to determine if Dean actually has eaten a wyvern before he moves on. Meat is meat. As they say. ]

Marek Cresthill complained that something swallowed his horse whole last week, saddlebags and all. Says if anyone can cut his mistress's jewel out of the beast, he'll return the cost of it double. He won't tell her the truth that he lost it, and she won't stop hounding him.

[ A worm big enough to eat a horse alive? Can't be too many of that size out there. And, if he can't find the man's precious gem for the woman, then he can sell the teeth to the apothecary down the street. He'll earn his coin one way or another. ]