Braithe found himself at a loss for words. Truly, literally, at a loss for words. How presumptuous this human was! All right, perhaps it was true that he wouldn’t be able to stand up against a bear, but he could run fast. And hide in small areas. He would like to see him with his gangly tallness hide in a place small enough to evade a bear! He wouldn’t be able to do it! He’d die!
Of course, the Halfling was a far more refined individual than this brute was, and so, in the face of such insults, especially that thing about the punting, he remained in a stony silence. He was just thinking about whether to punch the gentleman in the nethers and run off with the map while he was bowled over in pain when he lost his chance, and the man walked off and started leaving.
And it was then that Braithe looked down at his map and noticed, yes, he had had the bad fortune not to get the half with the X mark on it. Damn! Since he was too small to tackle the man and forcefully take it, he had to think of something else!
And then he had an idea. This simp was certainly not clever enough to make it on his own, and he would surely run back home to his mop after a few days. So all Braithe needed to do was show him that…
“Fine!” he snapped, walking over to where the human was and striding along with him. “I’ve an idea, why don’t we start off together, then? You think I can’t do it, and I don’t think you can do it, so why don’t we go ahead and do it together? Then if one of us—you—decides to bow out, he can just leave the map with the other—me—and they—I—can contain on their—my—own? Hmm? How does that sound?” He crossed his arms, keeping his piece of the shredded parchment neatly in his grip. “Then there’s no trickery or brute force needed.”
