Bait

"I am curious," she asked, prying another scale out of my chest, "you claim the skills to be a decent highwayman, or a mounted guard. Why a meager pharmacist? And an apprentice at that?"

"Oh, I tried to be a Lumberjack and Carpenter first." I said. "I get the impression that I lack the skills to compete in that field."

"Oh, of course not." she said, already working on the next. "The guilders were just making it seem harder in order to keep jobs open for their own children and nephews."

[You have taken 3 points of Thermal damage; after ability activation, you have received none.]

She splashed a candle against my exposed chest.

"Well, that certainly looks anti-climactic." she said. She poked it with a sharp fingernail. "Some slug that lives on the side of a volcano, perhaps?"

"[Boil, Boil]." I said. "Originally got it through Alchemist, but it turns out that Cook class also grants access."