As they made their way back to the inn, Crow was thankful to have a second set of eyes watching out for knights. Penelope was the first to spot the patrol by the lodge, tapping him subtly to indicate their presence. He nodded and slowed his walk, keeping his head up and eyes fixed straight ahead as if he was just an average peasant with nothing to hide. He stood back as Penelope started to reach for the handle, but before she could open it, the door flung open on its own accord.

[color=fdc68a][b]“There you guys are!”[/b][/color] a very awake Hartley stormed out to confront them. [color=fdc68a][b]“Where have you been? Why didn’t you wake me up?"[/b][/color]

“Calm down,” Crow replied nonchalantly, putting on a show for the knights who were now looking in their direction. “We woke up early and went for a walk, that’s all. Get back inside, kid. We need to pack up and head out to the next town.” He herded Hartley back through the door, casting the patrol a discreet glance. The group of knights were now talking amongst themselves. He needed to hide the money before they wised up and came to question him and Penelope.

Once they were back in their room, Crow turned to Hartley and gave the boy a sharp smack to the back of his head.

“Ow,” Hartley yelped, whirling on him with a glare. “What was that for?”

“[i]That[/i] was for almost getting me caught, dumbass,” Crow opened the satchel, revealing the glittering pile of coins.

“Where did you get all those?” Hartley’s eyes stretched as wide as disks at the sight of the money.

“This was just a little practice run,” Crow smirked. He closed the satchel and stepped over to his pack of supplies, hiding the bag of coins beneath the gear inside of the larger pack. “Come on,” he said, heaving the bag over his shoulder once more. “We need to get out of here before those knights come looking for us.”

“Do they know you stole that?” Hartley asked, scrambling to get his own things in order.

“No, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Crow said, glancing back at the door. He could have sworn he heard voices talking outside. “Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”