With the situation turning to his favor, Crow had to bite the inside of his lip to stifle the victorious smile that threatened to take over his lips. Even though he still felt guilty for operating against his companions, he couldn’t help the swell of pride that came with successfully putting his plan into motion. As long as everything else went just as smoothly that night, he would be well on his way to hindering their mission and keeping Penelope safe from harm.

“Unfortunately, Wheldrake doesn’t have an inn,” Crow said, feigning a thoughtful expression as he gave his input on where they could spend the night. “We also haven’t visited this village quite as much as some of the others, so I don’t know of anyone we could spend the night with. How about you two?” He turned to the other thieves expectantly, although he already knew they wouldn’t have any better suggestions. The only time any of them ever came to this village was when they needed to sell or trade goods in the local marketplace.

“I can’t think of anywhere to stay,” Rikki said.

“Me either,” Alistair shook his head and gave a sheepish grin. “At least, I can’t think of anyone who likes me enough to let me stay the night at their house here.”

“That’s fine,” Gavin spoke up again quickly, as if he wanted to make the decision before the thieves tried to come up with another idea he wouldn’t be fond of. “We can just camp at the town edge. I’m sure no one has a problem with that?” His eyes swept over them tensely, seeming like he was preparing himself for opposition.

“No complaints here,” Crow shrugged. He uncrossed his arms to reach for Penelope’s hand again, shooting Gavin a wry smirk. “Lead the way, captain.”

The knight rolled his eyes at the thief’s sobriquet but said nothing as he turned to head the group back into the surrounding forest. It wasn’t long before they found a clearing on the outskirts of Wheldrake, where Gavin announced that they would be setting up camp. Crow dropped his bag on the ground and yawned tiredly as he took some time to look over the area.

Off to one side, he spotted Alistair and Olivia grinning and speaking in hushed voices before they slipped off into the woods. Crow snorted and leaned closer to Penelope, gesturing discreetly towards the couple as they escaped together, “They certainly didn’t waste any time, huh?”