Crow’s eyes widened in disbelief when Penelope said he could steal the money. He had been expecting her to say that nothing justified committing a crime or that he should find other ways to practice thievery that wouldn’t hurt anyone. For her to agree with him that this was a good opportunity to rehearse for the king’s palace was shocking to him.

He grinned and, before he had time to think, reached out to gather Penelope in a tight embrace. “Thank you!” he said, his voice straining slightly with hushed excitement. “You won’t regret this. I’ll be back before you know it, love.” Realizing he was still holding her, he let his arms drop and took a step back. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to side with me on this.”

Wanting to move on from the embarrassing moment as quickly as possible, Crow turned away from Penelope and began examining the house. He walked around the outside of it with light-footed steps, crouching down when he passed by windows so he wouldn’t cast a shadow on the inside. From what he could see, the interior of the first level was laid out similarly to Malcolm and Lorelle’s home. There was a kitchen and a parlor, with no lower bed chambers that the thief could see—those were probably upstairs.

When he completed his once-around, Crow moved on to evaluate the door. He stooped down and took the lock in his hand, turning it over to see what kind of security it provided. For a peasant home, the lock was surprisingly well-designed—nothing he couldn’t get past, but unexpected for the home of a commoner. He could already feel his heart pounding with excitement at the thought of breaking in.

He reached down to his left boot and gripped the sole of the shoe, giving it a sharp tug. It came loose and a small object fell to the ground: a pick lock key. He held it up and looked at it fondly. He had gone through quite a bit of trouble to keep the little piece of metal hidden from his prison guards for so long. It had been fortunate for him that they had only ever thought to search the insides of his boots. He wished he could have used it to get out of his cell back then, but the king had reinforced the locks because of his reputation, and there had always been a guard or two looking in his direction to keep him in line.

[i]No one is around to stop me now,[/i] he thought eagerly as he gently slid the key into the lock on the door. He closed his eyes, focusing intently as he listened to the tumblers click into place. [i]One… two… three… and four.[/i] The lock popped open, granting him access. He got up and dusted himself off, retrieving his key and hiding it away in his boot once again.

Crow glanced back at Penelope, casting her a haughty wink before he stepped soundlessly into the parlor of the house. Once inside, he performed another quick sweep of his surroundings, making sure his presence hadn’t been noticed. There were no noises to indicate that someone had woken up. So far, so good. He crept towards the table where he had seen the sack of coins, moving agilely to get out as fast as he could.

Now came the real challenge. Many of the coins were laid in stacks outside of the bag. He needed to find a way to move them back into it without causing them to clank against each other loudly enough to disturb the residents. He looked around them room until his eyes fell on a thick, woolen blanket draped over the back of a chair. He snatched it and laid it out on the table beside the money. Next, he delicately picked up the sack of coins and set it down on the blanket. He wrapped the bag up in the thick cloth and started transferring the rest of the coins into it, using the wool to mask the sound as they clattered against each other in the exchange.

As per Penelope’s request, Crow didn’t take all of the money. He left one stack of ten gold coins on the table. Having attained his target, he carefully picked up the fat sack of coins, waiting until all of the metal pieces had settled before he removed it from the wool blanket. Still, no one stirred in the house. He crept back to the door, shutting it behind him as he stepped back out onto the road.

He found Penelope and walked up to her, leaning forward in a pompous bow as he held out the bag with a flourish. “This is enough money to last us throughout the rest of this trip, and then some,” he smirked at her teasingly. “So, are you impressed yet?”