Crow sat back as Penelope began to dress his wound, closing his eyes again as he focused on breathing through the pain. While he had had many arrow wounds in the past, he would never get used to how badly they hurt during and after the removal of the arrow. He knew from his previous experiences that it wouldn’t be long before the ache subsided though, so at least he had that to look forward to.

When she finished bandaging his injury, he took her hand to stand up and tested his leg by putting weight on it again. The makeshift wrap held up and while it still pained him a bit, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He guessed that as long as he didn’t overexert himself, he wouldn’t have any trouble getting the staff and getting out of the castle.

[i]As long as Aeklora doesn’t smite me on the spot,[/i] he thought dryly. The goddess’s involvement in the heist was still an unknown. [i]There’s nothing either one of us can do about her,[/i] he reminded himself yet again. [i]Just focus on the parts within your control and hope she’s in a good mood tonight.[/i]

He glanced down at Penelope when she informed him about poisoning the staff. “Nice job,” he smiled at her. “That should mean the halls will be much clearer until they recover. As long as none of the palace guards find out what happened, we’ll have an easy time getting out of here.” He looked ahead again, trying to orient himself within the castle. They had started out in the northeastern wing on the third floor, and from what he could tell, they were headed towards the west side.

“I happened to find the queen’s attendant in a marketplace today,” he said with a proud grin. “I managed to get her to tell me where the royal chambers are, and how to find them.” Not wanting to upset her, he pointedly left out the details about how he had acquired such information. “If I remember correctly, she said the stairs that lead to the fifth floor are in the center of the castle.”