Gawain looked up at the moon as he walked. It was late enough now that the white crescent was clearly visible against the dark blue sky. He frowned and dropped his gaze back to the road before him. He still had a ways to go before he made it back to the farm. That cursed slow horse had kept him out far longer than he had expected, and now he risked being spotted by a patrol of knights. The night guards had little patience for anyone wandering the city past curfew and they would make no exceptions for him, even if he was only completing a job for the royal family. So, as he had no desire to spend the night in a cell, the farmhand quickened his pace and prayed that he wouldn’t run into any knights on his way home.

Unfortunately it seemed that fate was not on his side, however, because just a mere instant after Gawain began moving with haste he caught sight of a group of armored men stepping onto the main road from an adjoining path. In his surprise, he stumbled to a halt and then turned to duck into a nearby alley where he stayed still with his back pressed to the wall, listening for any signs that the patrol had seen him. Everything stayed quiet, and he let out an inward sigh of relief. It seemed that the knights hadn’t noticed him after all. He was safe… but now he needed to find another way back to the farm. With the main road being guarded, he couldn’t use it without getting caught. He peered down the far end of the alleyway, which opened up to another, smaller path. Perhaps he could use it to get past the patrol.

Gawain cast one more furtive glance over his shoulder and then headed down the alley towards the other road. When he got close, however, he heard something that made him slow to a stop. It sounded like a number of feminine voices speaking in hushed tones. He knit his brow and crept forward just enough that he was able to look around the corner and find out who the voices belonged to. As he did this, he was able to see a small group of young women standing on the side of the road. His breath caught in his throat and he quickly moved deeper into the alley again when he recalled Simon’s warning about witches. If these girls were magic-users, they would be far more dangerous than the knights on the other side of the alley... Gawain paused as another thought crossed his mind.

If he reported the strange women to the knights, then maybe they would be too distracted to question why he was out so late. He could turn in a few probable witches and get back to the farm without a hassle. Besides, the royal family was offering a reward for the capture of any witches, so if the girls really [i]were[/i] magic-users, he could earn a profit off of their imprisonment. His lip tugged upward in a smirk. The prospect was too tempting to resist.

Gawain turned around to go back through the alley and find the knights.