It didn’t take long before Crow reached the clearing where the other thieves were sparring. He walked up to the edge of the tree line and stood back to watch as Rikki and Simon fought with short swords. Despite the difference in their sizes, Rikki was overpowering Simon with relentless ferocity. She swung her blade in rapid succession as she beat him towards the edge of the clearing, leaving him little time to do anything more than block her fierce attacks. The sight made Crow cringe slightly. He had never seen her go after anyone so viciously, but he had a few guesses as to why she was acting this way.

“Oh hey, Crow,” Alistair, who was sitting at the base of a nearby tree to watch the match, said as he took notice of his leader’s arrival. “I hope you’re not here to join in. Rikki’s absolutely merciless today.”

“No,” he shook his head, casting a glance towards the sparring thieves before moving to sit down beside Alistair. Settling down against the tree, he crossed his forearm over his knee in a relaxed posture. “I came to tell you all the news about the next battle,” he explained, grimacing as the sound of clashing blades filled the air as Rikki drove her sword into Simon’s yet again. “Although I’m starting to fear this may not be the best time.”

“I don’t know,” Alistair gave a one shouldered shrug. “Something’s got Rikki really mad.” He turned towards Crow with a curious look. “She was fine until she went out to find you last night. Did you do something that upset her?”

Crow shifted his weight and nodded reluctantly, “Yeah.”

“What was it?” Alistair asked and then nudged him teasingly. “Couldn’t finish the job?”

“Of course not,” Crow snorted, punching him in the arm. “I always ‘finish the job.’ Besides,” he looked away uncomfortably. “It has nothing to do with that. We didn’t sleep together last night.”

Alistair eyed him for a moment before looking back to watch the fight. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll bounce back eventually,” he said reassuringly. “She’s a hardy woman, that Rikki.”

“I hope so,” Crow sighed, propping his chin in his palm as he turned to the two thieves’ match as well.

After they sparred for a while longer, Simon eventually conceded to Rikki out of pure exhaustion. The two sheathed their swords, wiping the sweat from their brows as they headed over to the tree where Alistair and Crow were still sitting. As she caught sight of him, Rikki visibly stiffened and averted her gaze, glaring angrily at a tree off to the side. “I’m going to go get some water,” she muttered, turning to leave. However, before she could take more than three steps, Crow spoke up to stop her.

“Actually,” he said, rising to his feet. “I need everyone to stay here.” He crossed his arms over his chest and met her gaze tenaciously, gesturing with a subtle tilt of his head for her to come back to the group. She clenched her jaw at him in defiance for a moment but then reluctantly took a small step back towards Simon and Alistair. He felt himself relax, relieved that she wasn’t outwardly rebelling against his authority. He didn’t want to involve any of the others in their personal issues.

Once they were all ready to listen, he went on to relay everything Penelope had told him the night before: “The next battle is going to be happening tomorrow in Whitebridge. Supposedly the knights are trying to take advantage of the supplies they took back from us last week. They intend to strike while they have the upper hand over Younis and work their way north toward the captured village of Grimsby. If they succeed, there will be two consecutive battles this time.

“It will be harder for us to keep up with them for sure,” Crow acknowledged as he noticed his companions exchange concerned looks. “But I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it. And if not, we can always fall back to save ourselves if two battles prove to be too much. I don’t want anyone here to lose their lives over this.”

There was a short moment of silence before Simon cleared his throat awkwardly. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” he said tentatively. “But we were all under the impression that you wouldn’t be coming with us until your illness is healed.”

“Yeah,” Alistair frowned. “You said you were going to stay out of battles.”

“I’m not going to get involved in the thick of the fighting,” Crow said, a bit surprised by their concerned reactions. “But I’m still coming with you.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Simon knitted his brow.

“I’ll be fine,” Crow snapped, speaking a bit more harshly than he had intended to. Taking a moment to collect himself, he went on in a calmer tone, “I’m going to find a way to get involved without putting myself in danger. You’ll see. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

“If you’re sure, then I trust you,” Alistair shrugged.

Simon hesitated for a moment before nodding, “I, as well.”

Rikki simply raised her shoulders in wordless apathy.

“Alright then,” Crow stood up a bit straighter, feeling renewed confidence now that they weren’t trying to stop him from joining them. “If we’re all on the same page, then let’s go pack our supplies. We’ve got a battle to prepare for.”

--

The four thieves finished gathering everything they needed for the trip to Whitebridge relatively quickly. With the next battle happening in less than a day, none of them wanted to waste any time getting ready for it. Even Hazel filled a bag with herbs and other medical supplies to bring, as she insisted on tagging along to keep working on Crow’s medicine and help treat their wounds if any of them got injured during the battle.

As he packed his own gear, Crow armed himself with his usual weaponry, but this time he added a war bow to the collection. Intending to honor his promise to Penelope, he decided he should bring the long-ranged weapon so that he would have a way to fight without getting close to his enemies. Preferring the flexibility and versatility of daggers and other short blades, he didn’t often use bows and arrows anymore, but he still practiced with them on occasion to keep his skills sharp. He found that he improved quickly whenever he picked the weapon up. Having come quite far from when Penelope had first taught him two years ago, he was much faster at taking aim now, and he could hit a moving target with ease. If he could find a way to use it during the next two battles, he was sure he would be safe from harm.

Once everyone was ready to go, the five headed north for the village. The sun was still high in the sky when they departed, so they managed to reach their usual campsite by dusk. As was his routine, Crow went ahead to warn the villagers about the coming fight, accompanied by Alistair this time. Once word had spread, the two thieves headed the evacuation of the people who were not going to stay and fight for their homes.

Now back in his camp with the others, Crow felt the full weight of the dismal mood in the air. The forest was silent apart from the quiet cries of distressed women and children who feared for the lives of their family members who had stayed behind. With the last battle that took place in Whitebridge still fresh in everyone’s minds, he was sure they were probably expecting the worst. He didn’t blame them. The dirt on the graves of the last battle’s fallen hadn’t even finished settling, yet now they had to face the nightmare all over again. It was an unfair thing to expect any of them to feel confident in such a situation.

With such a sorrowful atmosphere about them, the thieves were in no mood to talk with each other. They finished a tasteless dinner and went straight to bed, hoping to get as much sleep as they could before the battle tomorrow.

As his companions settled down around him, Crow laid down on his mat and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to muffle the sounds of the villagers’ distressed murmurs. It was a task that was easier said than done, but eventually, he managed to drift off into a restless sleep filled with unsettling dreams about the upcoming fight.