“Of course you can trust me,” Crow scoffed. “What? Do you expect me to lie to you and teach you all fake accents so you’ll sound ridiculous to the Younisian locals?” He paused. “Ah… never mind. I would do that. However, since it’s also in my best interest that we keep our heads down, I promise I’ll resist the urge to make fools of you three. So, you don’t have to worry about any hidden motives on my part. I’ll give you real advice, but only until this job is over. After that, everyone here is fair game.”

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, smiling in satisfaction when William gave him an irritated look. The knight’s reluctance to accept his assistance just made his task all the more fun. Whether he liked it or not, their roles had reversed and they now depended on him to move safely through Younis. Naturally, he was going to milk it for all it was worth.

Crow looked up when the wench returned with everyone’s food. As he had done with the girl from the day before, he stopped her when she set down his plate and slipped some of his bread into her pocket. Her eyes widened in surprise, but he hushed her before she could object, “You work in a place that’s filled with food, yet you eat hardly anything yourself, darling. Keep it.” The girl wavered for a moment and then nodded her thanks, moving on to give the others their breakfasts while Crow dug into his own meal of bread and ale.