u/M_holmes1

The sun was high when the party stopped for lunch at the side of the road. That's when Nix, the goblin rogue, spotted his chance. While the fighter argued over routes with the cleric and the paladin filled his canteen at the creek, the little goblin slipped behind the wagon — ears low, footsteps far too light for such a small creature.

The leather pouch was right there, fat with coin: the gold from three whole quests, earned by blade and spell. Nix licked his lips. With nimble fingers he loosened the knots, felt the sweet weight of the gold pieces, and swapped the pouch for an identical little sack stuffed with river pebbles. A professional's sleight of hand — and Nix was one of the good ones.

He pretended he was off to "gather firewood" and vanished into the brush, snickering to himself. When he reached the tavern at dusk, hungry and pleased with himself, he opened the pouch in front of the innkeeper — and there was the haul, gleaming, every coin in its place. The goblin ordered the finest roast in the house, a tankard filled to the brim, and toasted alone to his own cunning. Somewhere down the road, the rest of the party still hauled, none the wiser, a little sack of river pebbles.