The next day, the thieves woke up early to prepare for their trip to Whitebridge. They each packed a bag of supplies for camping and armed themselves with as many weapons as they could carry. Having been through quite a few battles now, they wanted to be as prepared as they could for the one they would be entering into the next morning.

Once everyone was ready to go, Crow lead the way eastward towards Norcrest, where they would be looping around to continue north. Remembering Penelope’s warning about the extra patrols in the area, he warned his companions to stay alert as they made their way through the area that was closest to the knights’ camp.

Unfortunately, the journey wasn’t as uneventful as Crow had hoped it would be.

Not long after midday, the thieves reached a small valley in the woods that laid about halfway between Myrefall and Norcrest. They were just about to begin climbing back out of it when they heard the sound of footsteps to the north. Crow looked up just in time to see a pair of Brerratic scouts running back in the direction of their camp now that their cover had been blown. He clenched his jaw in frustration. They couldn’t let the knights get away or they would just send better-equipped reinforcements to catch the thieves before they could get to safety.

He turned to Alistair, the best fighter in the group, and tipped his head towards the scouts, “Get them.”

“You got it,” the thief grinned cruelly as he drew his short sword.

Crow thought for a moment and then spoke up again before Alistair could leave, “But don’t kill them. We just need to delay them long enough to get out of here.”

Alistair frowned, seeming disappointed with the additional instructions, but he nodded nonetheless, “If you say so.” He turned back towards the retreating knights. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll meet up with you when I’m finished here.” Without waiting for a reply, he took off after the scouts with his sword poised to attack.

Not wanting to wait around any longer, Crow and the other two thieves took off at a jog up the far side of the hill.

--

It was early evening when Alistair finally caught up with the group a little north of Norcrest village. As he ran over to them, Crow turned to greet him, “Did you stop them?”

“Of course,” Alistair smirked.

“And you didn’t kill them?” Crow inquired with a hint of accusation.

“No, I didn’t kill them,” Alistair rolled his eyes. “I just broke their legs a little. Those knights won’t be going anywhere until someone else finds them.”

“Good,” Crow relaxed. He was glad the hotheaded knight hadn’t done anything rash. If Penelope got word of one of her comrades dying in a fight with a thief, she probably wouldn’t trust him anymore. He didn’t want to lose the valuable information she would be able to give them, and—if he was honest with himself—he didn’t want to lose their private meetings either.

Glad that everything had been settled somewhat peacefully, he grinned teasingly at Alistair and clapped him on the back, “Looks like you’re finally figuring out how to hold back in a fight, huh? Maybe we should steal some liquor to celebrate.”

“Ha ha,” Alistair snorted. “I always knew how to hold back. It’s just not as fun.” He paused and then broke out in a grin. “But… I wouldn’t be opposed to celebrating two knights getting their knees bashed in with my flail.”

“Hear hear,” Rikki laughed, raising her hand in agreement.

“Even I might have a glass for that,” Simon muttered, wrinkling his nose with dislike for nobles.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Crow nodded. “Once this battle is over, let’s raid the knights’ liquor stores and drink to our victory.”

The thieves continued to banter with each other as they walked, heading to their planned campsite near Whitebridge, where they hoped to arrive before nightfall.