“Maybe,” Crow shook his head when Penelope said the Aeklora statue was just a carving. “But I don’t want to take my chances. Call me paranoid if you want, but that’s how I’ve survived this long on my own.” His eyes swept cautiously over the crowd, but nothing seemed particularly out of place. Perhaps it was nothing after all. Even if the goddess [i]had[/i] been watching him through the statue, why would she waste her time on one lowly thief? What would she do—smite him for taking three coin purses? The longer he thought about it, the less rational his fear seemed.

He slowed his pace slightly, but kept alert. “Food and medicine, huh?” he mused, looking at the vendors around them. “Let’s get the food first. I saw some farmers over here.” He took the lead once again, directing Penelope towards the delicious-smelling stands they had noticed earlier.

When they reached the first one, he finally stopped to look at the merchant’s products. The man was selling plucked chicken, just like the one Olivia had brought to their camp the night before. His mouth watered at the memory of the savory meat, and he turned to Penelope, “We should get one of these for the road. If this is the same vendor Olivia used, the chicken will be delicious.”

Crow glanced over the other farmers’ stands in search of more things to buy, but he paused when his gaze fell on the merchant with the exotic fruits once again. His stand was the fourth one away from where he and Penelope currently stood. Adding to Crow’s temptation, the man was in the middle of a conversation with a customer; his overflowing coin purse lay unwatched at his feet. He glanced at Penelope. It was such a perfect opportunity, and gold in that quantity would help the villagers in his home town pay off the king’s taxes for many seasons to come. He couldn’t pass it up any longer.

“Want to check out that stand over there?” he asked Penelope, pointing to a merchant on the other side of the aisle who was selling a variety of local seeds and nuts. “Those would last a while. They might be useful if we can’t restock our food later on. I’ll look at some of the produce over here.” He tipped his head towards the section of merchants selling fruits and vegetables. “Meet me back here when you’re ready.”

Without waiting for a reply, Crow turned and headed towards a produce farmer that was next to the rich merchant. He pretended to examine some tomatoes while he watched the man out of the corner of his eye. The merchant was still engaged in a heated debate with a customer about the quality of a fruit Crow didn’t recognize. He wasn’t paying any attention to his money.

Crow set down the tomato he had been holding and walked casually into the aisle behind the food vendors, acting like he had found something interesting over there. He did a quick yet thorough sweep of the crowd. No one was looking at him. Perfect. Moving quietly, he snuck into the space between the stands that lined each of the aisles, crouching beneath the wagon of the rich merchant. He checked his surroundings once more, but it seemed like nothing had changed. No one had seen him duck below the cart. He eyed the coin purse hungrily. It was now within his reach.

Crow reached towards the glittering bag with one hand, chewing on the inside of his lip as he focused on keeping silent. Just a little further and the gold would be his…

“It’s the thief!” a voice cried out, making Crow freeze in his tracks. He hurriedly retracted his hand and crawled deeper below the wagon, his heart pounding against his chest. Boots were already surrounding his hiding place. He had to move fast or he wouldn’t be able to get away. He swore under his breath. [i]I shouldn’t have let my guard down… Not with that cursed goddess breathing down my neck.[/i]

Crow shot out from beneath the wagon, aiming for an opening between two Younisian knights. The men dove for him, but they were too slow. He danced just out of their reach and sprinted towards the crowd, hoping to lose them amongst the other people. To his surprise, however, the peasants in the crowd didn’t make way for him as they would have in Brerra. As he reached the edge of the human sea, he felt three different sets of arms catch hold of him. His breath caught in his throat as he was knocked off his feet by a small group of peasant men. They proceeded to pin him down as the knights approached.

“Why…” Crow groaned beneath their weight. “Why are you helping the knights?”

“You think we’d just let a criminal like you get away?” one of the men scoffed. He turned to his companions. “I think he must’ve hit his head pretty hard on the way down.” They all laughed while the knights apprehended him.

“I have to admit, you gave us a run for our money,” a knight said. “It took a while, but we finally caught you, Hartley.”

Crow shot him a glare, “[i]Hartley[/i]? Who the hell is Hartley?”

“You really think we’d buy that?” another knight rolled his eyes. “Come on; don’t play dumb. We know you’re the thief who’s been stealing from the innocent people at this market.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Crow snapped, struggling against his captor’s grip. “I’ve never been to this market before, and I’ve never heard of this ‘Hartley’ guy you keep going on about.”

“Oh, really?” the first knight drawled. “Then what’s this?” He reached into Crow’s pocket and revealed the three coin purses the thief had stolen earlier. “I’ve never met a man who carries this much money on an errand.”

“Okay, I may have taken a few things,” Crow admitted, shifting his weight. “But I’m [i]not[/i] Hartley. My name is Crow.”

“Like the bird?” the knights laughed. “That’s a weak lie, Hartley. You must be pretty desperate to stay out of prison.”

“You have no idea,” Crow muttered under his breath. He went on audibly, “I’m telling you idiots the truth. My name is [i]Crow[/i], and I’m just passing through.” He sighed in exasperation. “Look, you can keep the money. I don’t care. Just let me go, and I promise I’ll leave this market and never come back.”