Palitar emerged from the water, panting and dripping, with a wide grin on his face. He held out his small handful of gold to Jaqueline, who just couldn't get her eyes off the stuff.
"Gold!" She cried, spinning in a happy little circle. "Thing of all the stuff we could buy! I could get a new pair of bamboo sandals, you know how expensive those things are?..."
"Alright now!!! What's goin on here? Trespassers?!" Somebody shouted.
Palitar swung around in surprise and rapidly stuffed the gold in his pocket, looking startled. A slog ran up to them, barking and snarling, followed by a slig with a crossbow. Jaqueline put her hands on her hips.
"You can't own a river, so technically, we aren't trespassers!" She snarled. Iris sprang into the air and landed in a nearby tree, shrieking angrily. Palitar gripped his walking-stick-spear and tensed, ready for a fight.
"Rivers are free!" He agreed, throwing his hands in the air. "You can't own a river! So get your fat butt back to your coal mine and leave us alone!"
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