As Penelope said she hoped they wouldn’t have to use the medicine on him again, Crow nodded faintly in response. Somehow, he doubted the rest of his time in the knights’ camp would be so pleasant. There were too many people who wanted to hurt or even kill him, so he fully expected that as long as he was trapped here, it was just going to be a painful experience. Penelope and her friends couldn’t protect him every time. If Layth or one of the other knights who hated him showed up again, they might not be as willing to back down as he had been the last time and do more damage. He winced at the thought of being “interrogated” throughout the rest of his recovery. If he couldn’t heal properly, he would never escape from this place before the barons reached their decision.

The thief looked between Penelope and Olivia as they went on to mention speaking to someone about Layth. Unsure what they were talking about, he frowned confusedly. Fortunately, Penelope seemed to catch onto his blank expression fairly quickly and explained that Jane had stopped by while he’d been unconscious. [i]That would explain the new bandages,[/i] he thought, glancing down at his torso. If the physician had been that upset, he wondered just how much damage Layth had done to him. He was certainly sorer now than he had been before the hotheaded knights’ visit. He just hoped it wasn’t so serious that his recovery would be delayed yet again.

“I see,” he mused when Penelope concluded by saying that Jane had gone to the barons. “I hope so too… I’ve seen enough of your brother to last a lifetime.” He rested his free arm behind his head to prop it up a little more comfortably. Despite the lingering ache of his wound, his mobility had begun to come back to him a bit more after a few days of healing. He hoped it meant he would be well enough to move on his own soon, but, of course, there was no way to tell for sure.

Suddenly, Crow had another thought and turned to look at Penelope again, “By the way, do you know if that physician has any water flasks around? I’m parched.”