"What's this meeting about? It better be important." grumbled Edward. 

It was the afternoon now. Penelope had spent most of her morning in the company of Gavin and Olivia, going over how she was going to convince the barons that they needed to send a large patrol down near Wheldrake. The work and constant discussion helped to keep her mind off of Crow but she did notice Gavin and Olivia both treated her with a bit more care than usual. She wasn't sure if she was grateful or a little frustrated by it but she said nothing to them anyways. They were both likely just trying to look out for her in her current state and that wasn't something she could hold against them. 

Once they had formulated a solid plan, she went to Mia and requested her to get a meeting together. Luckily the baroness listened to her and didn't refuse her request. It took a bit to gather everyone together due to how busy the camp still was but eventually, all the barons and lieutenants had made their way to the main tent in the middle of camp and were all looking to her to explain her reasoning for it. 

"It is, I assure you." Penelope said as she glanced around the group. She felt a twinge of nervousness, worried that they might not listen to her. "It's about the thieves we've been after... I've learned new information and this time it's not just a small lead, I know where their camp is."

"What?" Layth questioned as he narrowed his gaze on her. "How could you possibly know that! You haven't even been on a patrol in a week and the last one you were on was a failure!"

"I'm aware." Penelope muttered with an edge of bitterness before she shifted her gaze to meet Mia's. The baroness eyed her with interest but said nothing as she waited for her lieutenant to explain further. "I've kept in contact with the herbalist in Myrefall just in case she or her apprentice managed to hear anything more on the thieves. It turns out they did. I.. I met with her yesterday and she told me that a few peasants from Wheldrake had discovered that their camp is located between there and Aramoor."

"Between Wheldrake and Aramoor?" Edward snorted and eyed her critically. "Both of your patrols were right around there and you didn't managed to catch a trace of them. Why would you believe the words of this peasant woman?"

"The thieves likely threatened the peasants to throw us off track. My patrols were close and this woman has confirmed it." Penelope stated firmly as she held her uncle's gaze. 

"You truly trust that this woman is telling the truth?" Mia asked as she looked over at Penelope. 

The young lieutenant felt her stomach churn slightly as she thought of Crow. She still couldn't let go of the small chance that this lead was fake like the others and if she convinced her barons, only to find that it was a dead end, she wasn't sure she'd be able to recover from it. Mia might lose all faith in her. It was a risk she was going to have to take though. They had no other leads and Gavin's life was on the line. [i]I'm putting my trust in you, Crow.. Please don't let me down again..[/i]

"I do." she replied to Mia with a certainty that she didn't actually feel. "I've worked with her before and I know she wouldn't be lying about this."

"I see... Then we might actually be close to ending this." Mia mused with a pleased tone. 

"We'll make sure those bastards pay for what they took from us." Bennet spoke up now with a victorious gleam in his gaze. 

"Yes... But it won't be easy." Penelope warned, glad that her words seemed to be accepted by the others. "She also told me that there are around thirty of them. This group is bigger than what we originally thought and it's going to take more than just a small patrol to bring them down."

"Thirty?" Edward scoffed. "We've only seen a few at the most. How can you be so certain about this lead?"

"Because there's no reason for me not to." Penelope said crossing her arms and met his gaze challengingly. "Do you really want to risk the thieves getting away just because you're afraid to trust a peasant woman's words?"

"Watch it. " Edward growled warningly. 

"Penelope." Mia mumbled. Penelope blinked, realizing that she had gotten a bit too heated with Edward, who was of a higher rank than her. She lowered her gaze, slightly feeling a hint of shame for not being able to reign in her emotions very well. Luckily, Mia didn't seem to dwell on her lack of control and merely moved on with the meeting. "We have to take this risk to end them for what they have done." Mia agreed and looked over at Edward. "I say we send out a large patrol to Wheldrake to put an end to this madness before they strike again."

"I agree." Bennet jumped in quickly. "Any chance to get vengeance for our supplies and guards is worth it."

"I'll lead the patrol." Layth pitched in. 

"You're still injured." Penelope pointed out shaking her head. She looked back to the barons with determination in her gaze. "If you approve, I'd like to lead it."

"I see no reason why you shouldn't." Mia agreed and glanced at the other two barons. Bennet gave an easy nod of agreement while Edward curled his lip before finally giving in and agreeing as well. With that settled, the meeting continued on as Penelope began to discuss the specifics of how big of a patrol and how soon they would leave. She wanted to leave as soon as possible but since already the afternoon, it looked like she'd have to wait until the following day before they could depart.