Alice, having trained herself to be a light sleeper, awoke to the sound of someone moving about the group’s rooms. She didn’t change her breathing, and she didn’t move. If there was an assassin or thief in the room, she didn’t want to give them any sign she was aware of their presence and lose her one chance at surprising them. She just opened her eyes a crack and carefully scanned the room, her hand gripping the hilt of her knife. When it was revealed to be nothing more than Blake exercising in the predawn hours, she relaxed and opened her eyes all the way. Sleep long since banished she decided to simply lay there and watch him. Maybe if she did that long enough, she’d be able to go to sleep. Alas, at the end of twenty minutes sleep was no closer than it had been when she woke up. Alice got up soon after Blake had left, and stretched. She glanced speculatively at the cold bathtubs, but decided against it. There would be plenty of time to have cold baths later. Right now, she just wanted to remember the warm bath, rather than ruin the memory with a cold one. She moved through the room as quietly as she was able, though she doubted any of her remaining allies were truly asleep, and collected her gear before heading down to the main room of the inn.

Once there, she sat down and waited. There wasn’t much else to do, as the barkeep and the waitresses were all asleep. So Alice sat down and waited, letting her mind idly wander. Her spear was leaning against the table, and her knife was on her hip again. Mercenaries, she had noted, never went anywhere unarmed and never assumed any situation was safe. Which was a private relief. Before noticing this little habit, she had just thought she was being unnaturally paranoid wherever she went. It was good to know that her paranoia wasn’t limited to just herself. One of the serving girls woke up early and, seeing Alice sitting alone at a table, seized her opportunity to talk to one of the female soldiers she had seen. Alice was happy to oblige, amused at the awed tone the girl had. She was called away to work before too much conversation could happen, however.

When the Baron’s retainer walked in, she had to hide her smile with a hand. After the man had left, she idly noted, “If that was the best the Baron had to offer, it’s no wonder he hired mercenaries rather than using his own men. That poor fellow looked like he could have possibly died of exhaustion before ever leaving the inn. As for horse, I only know enough to ride without getting thrown off. Truth be told, I prefer walking. But, I suppose we won’t be catching this thief on foot, will we?” She shrugged. She had never had any riding training beyond a short crash course once, long ago. Alice personally thought it a small miracle every time she didn’t die when riding a horse. Reading the information handed to her, she gave it to the next person down the table. “After we’ve finished reading what little there is to know about this thief, shall we go? I know Mustafa wants to leave as soon as possible, but what do the rest of you say?”