Crow’s eyes swept over the village as they walked along the main road. Aramoor was in bad shape, but fortunately, the damage didn’t seem to be too much worse than when he and the other thieves had left it behind long ago. He just hoped the villagers’ luck would continue to hold out, so they wouldn’t follow the same path as the towns to the east that had succumbed to wars past. He felt a pang of sadness as his gaze landed on a fresh graveyard. Part of him wanted to come back and set up camp near the southern village after his mission with the knights, but now that Penelope’s life was on the line, he couldn’t bring himself to travel away from her and go to bed every night wondering if she was still alive. As long as she was on the battlefront, he intended to stay close to her.

Eventually, the group reached the small tavern and stepped inside. Crow lingered by the doorway as he looked over the diminutive crowd that sat around at the tables. Unlike the Wild Lion in Whitebridge, there was a heaviness to the air that weighed of hopelessness and despair. It was clear that the villagers here were not drinking to celebrate the victories of their kingdom, but to escape from the harshness of the war. It was a desolate sight.

The thief glanced at Olivia as she commented on the dullness of the atmosphere. He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely oblivious of the pain in the village, or if she simply didn’t care. He was just about to turn away again to look for a good target to question, but then froze when the knight decidedly said that she would be going with Penelope. Before anyone had a chance to protest, the two were already on their way to a table of peasants, with Olivia dragging her friend along rather mercilessly.

Crow and Gavin exchanged an uncomfortable look, seeming to realize at the same time that with the two women gone, they were now going to have to work together too. The thief was more than capable enough to handle an interrogation of this nature on his own, but the knight wasn’t a skilled enough liar to handle the task. If Gavin was going to get anything done, he was going to need help, and Crow was the only one around who was up for the job.

A tense silence passed before Crow eventually cleared his throat and looked away, busying himself by selecting a table to approach. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” he muttered, taking a step towards a group of three men whom he had chosen as his targets.

“Not so fast,” Gavin narrowed his eyes. “We’re going to talk to them.” He tilted his head to indicate a different table than the one the thief had been eyeing.

Crow shot him a cold look, “If you’re going to fight me on every decision, we’re not going to get anything done.”

“Is there a problem with the group I picked?” Gavin asked accusatively.

“No,” Crow curled his lip. “It doesn’t matter who we speak with. I just don’t like your attitude.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to get used to it, thief, because I’m not as inclined to trust a criminal as my comrades seem to be.”

“It would save us all time if you would just get off your high horse and let me help you,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“You mean; let you lead us on a wild chase of a band of thieves that might not even exist?” Gavin snorted. “Not a chance.”

“You know, you’re infuriating enough that I’m actually feeling tempted to do just that,” Crow snarled, shoving past the knight to walk to the table he’d selected. “Come on. Stop wasting my time, and don’t get in my way.”

“I could say the same to you,” Gavin growled, following after the thief as they headed over to start their interrogation.