"Stone dungeon today," Bruce said, without turning.
A pause from the direction of Kael's bed. Then: "You've been up for a while again."
"Yes."
"And you've already decided."
"I'm telling you, not asking."
Another pause. "The stone dungeon has mineral-type beasts. Dense cores. Good leather from the carapace types, if you can get it off clean. Bad dungeon for fire." Kael stopped. "Ah."
"You noticed."
"You want to know which essence suits which of us best."
"I want data," Bruce said. "Data before we commit to a long-term hunting pattern. We have a few days before we can afford the spatial rings. We should use them to find out which dungeon types advance us fastest. Then we optimize."
He heard Kael get up. The demon came to the table and looked at the map over Bruce's shoulder for the second morning in a row, and Bruce did not mind the company.
