"He is a good helper with hunting," Cougar agrees, giving the dog a pleased scratch behind its ears to show his pleasure before he peers down to stare at what Thorfinn has found. He has no idea what it is, being without much experience when it comes to finding iron, so he'll take Thorfinn's word for it.

"How much?" he asks, keeping a hand near Baby's scruff in case the dog decides to have a drink of water that ends up lapping up most of what they're staring at.