Bright morning sunlight flooded the room, gently rousing Crow from his slumber. He sat up, still only half-awake, and looked about his surroundings as he struggled to remember where he was. Suddenly, he sucked in his breath and lifted a hand to his head as he was assaulted by an intense headache. It pounded relentlessly, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut until the wave of pain was over. [i]Where am I?[/i] he thought in a daze. [i]What happened last night?[/i]

He mentally retraced his steps. They had left the inn to go to the next town, and then they were attacked by Younisian knights… He, Hartley, and Penelope had escaped and run into that man—Malcolm, was it?—who had taken them to his house. After that, Malcolm had brought them ale, and… Crow paled as the rest of the day came back to him at once.

[i]Oh gods.[/i] His heart pounded almost as fiercely as the hangover that wracked his head. [i]Oh gods, oh gods. What did I do?[/i] He groaned, laying back down and throwing his blanket over his head. [i]This[/i] was why he didn’t make a habit of getting drunk. Drunken men were stupid and impulsive. He raked his fingers through his hair, wishing he could go back to the previous day and take it all back.

Crow stayed beneath the blanket, nursing his hangover and cursing himself for being such a fool, until he heard someone else stir in the room. He peeked out to see Penelope getting up and going to wake Hartley. She didn’t even look in his direction. He wanted to punch himself. [i]She probably hates me now,[/i] he thought sullenly. [i]Why wouldn’t she? I acted like a complete idiot. We’re supposed to be friends, and I tried to sleep with her. She has every right to be mad.[/i]

He stayed beneath the blanket a little while longer, until he was the only one who hadn’t gotten up yet. Bracing himself for another headache, he forced himself to sit up, gritting his teeth as the expected wave of pain struck.

“Ugh,” Hartley groaned from the other side of the room, clutching his head like Crow was. “I feel terrible. Anybody have some water?”

“If you find any, let me know,” Crow winced.

“Sounds like you’re all awake,” Lorelle poked her head into the room. “Come to the kitchen before you leave today. You slept through dinner last night, so I prepared some food for you all to take on your trip.”