As the adrenaline from the fight started to fade, Crow was beginning to feel the dagger in his chest more prominently. He grimaced as the pain set in. It was sharp, but surprisingly not quite as terrible as he expected it to be. Honestly, the worst part was that he could feel the metal scrape against the bone of one of his ribs whenever he shifted slightly. It was an unnerving sensation that made him shiver whenever he noticed it. He hoped that they would find somewhere to stop soon so he could have the cursed blade removed and the discomfort would go away.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long before they ran into Penelope again. At her urgent mention that they needed to find somewhere to stop, William nodded in agreement, “Let’s move on to the next town and rest there. If I recall the map correctly, it isn’t much farther from where we are now.”

“Less talking, more moving, please,” Crow said with a wince. “I don’t want this thing in my side any longer than it has to be.”

“Understandably,” William grunted with uncharacteristic compliance. The thief eyed him curiously, wondering why he was suddenly being agreeable. The knight ignored him without bothering to give an explanation, and he turned away again as another wave of pain drew his attention back to the dagger in his chest.

Once Penelope was on the stallion again, they continued on down the road. Crow covered the dagger with his cloak, concealing it from view so he wouldn’t stand out if any of the passing people happened to look up at him.

It seemed that William had been right about the next town not being very far away, because it wasn’t long before they found a place to stop along the edge of an open road near a marketplace. Crow guessed the knight had chosen the spot because the high traffic and numerous other travelers would help them blend in.

He climbed down from the mare’s back, moving carefully to avoid hitting the dagger on the animal’s body on his way down, and immediately sought out a place to sit beneath a tree. It was starting to get more difficult to breathe, as every time he inhaled, the blade caused a small burst of pain in his chest. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree trunk. He would be glad when it was removed and he could breathe easy again.

“We’ll need to get a few supplies to treat that,” William’s stern voice drew the thief’s attention, and he looked up. The knight was gazing down at him critically as he seemed to think out loud about how to approach the problem of Crow’s stab wound. “Ale, catgut, a needle, and bandaging specifically.” He turned to Penelope. “I will accompany you to the market if we need to buy any of these things, though you will need to do all of the talking, of course.” He hesitated for a moment, averting his gaze before going on to say something that caught Crow by surprise: “Also… I will be the one to treat the thief’s injury. He obtained it by assisting me in battle, so it is my duty to return the favor.”

He glanced briefly at Crow and then turned to Penelope again, clearing his throat uncomfortably, “Come on then. Let’s get going so we don’t waste any more time here than we have to.”