Crow held eye contact with Gavin as the knight didn’t agree to his condition right away. Considering how the knight was acting, he was glad he had brought up his need for secrecy before jumping into telling them all about what he knew. It was starting to look like Gavin wasn’t as willing to keep information from his comrades as the Penelope and Olivia were. He narrowed his eyes, noticing the knight’s jaw clench slightly as if he was preparing to refuse the condition. If he did, it would be much more difficult for the thief to offer any assistance to the others, because he wouldn’t be able to explain the thought processes of criminals in his trade. He simply couldn’t afford to let that information get back to the other knights because it would just end up hurting him and his companions in the long run.

After a tense moment of silence, Penelope spoke up and managed to convince her former suitor to accept Crow’s terms. While he still didn’t know if Gavin would keep his word, he relaxed slightly. Now that the knight had verbally agreed to keep quiet, he trusted that he could count on Penelope to make sure he didn’t spill anything to the others in their camp. After all, he was certain that Gavin still had feelings for her. He was stubborn, but he likely wouldn’t do anything to turn her against him.

[i]I suppose there is one perk of his infatuation,[/i] Crow mused, sweeping his gaze over the three knights as he readied himself to speak.

“Your idea was good,” he said to Penelope. “But if we do that, we should limit ourselves to the villages closest to the Younisian border. For them to have taken so many of your supplies, those thieves are out for a profit, and the Younisians pay a high price for Brerratic weaponry. I’d bet anything they’re on their way right now to sell everything off.”

“And exactly how would you know that?” Gavin growled accusatively. He seemed to have already made the connection and just wanted to hear the thief confess to it, himself.

“Because I’ve done it too,” Crow shrugged apathetically. He couldn’t have cared less what Gavin thought about what he did with their stolen supplies. In fact, he even felt a twinge of satisfaction watching him squirm under the discomfort of knowing his battalion’s weapons had been handed over to the enemy kingdom. “It’s good money,” he explained simply. “Any halfway decent thief would be a fool to pass it up.”

“So, all it takes to convince you to sabotage your homeland is a few gold coins?” Gavin went on angrily.

“No, not sabotage,” Crow shook his head. “We steal from you, yes, but never enough to greatly hinder your efforts in the war. We just need money, and you all just happen to be the richest targets in the outer villages. It’s as simple as that.” He waved a hand dismissively. “But you’re missing my point. I only brought this up because I know these thieves. They’re greedy, and they have little to no stake in this war. They probably saw this as an opportunity to secure a handsome pay from the Younisians in exchange for all of your stolen supplies.”

“Alright,” Olivia spoke up, crossing her arms. “If they are going to Younis, which path would they take?”

“If they’re headed to the same baron who’s been paying me and my thieves, the fastest route is through the forest between Aramoor and Whitebridge,” Crow said thoughtfully. “I can’t say exactly which way they would have gone, since that all depends on where they’ve been camping. It’s also a vast area to cover, so it could take some time to narrow down exactly where they are.”

“What I’m hearing is that we should leave now,” Olivia smirked, turning to Penelope with a mischievous glint in her eye. “It was your idea to interrogate the villagers, so what do you say? Which one should we try first? You’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. No pressure, or anything.”