I smiled at the groundhog. It was my very best smile. The one I reserve for suckers. The Big Oonch played big, but he was no match for my charm. He’d follow me across the Irascible Sea and back. I’d settle for him watching my back.
I knew what I was planning was crazy. Those wolves were no pushovers. If they caught us, we’d be in serious trouble.
I peeked through the window one last time. Funny, furs putting windows in a building underground. I guess they like looking out into pitch darkness.
The wolves were deep in their cups. It was time to move.
“Just act natural,” I told my new partner as I pulled my cloak up to hide my face. Oonch followed suit.
We walked into the inn and made our way to the stairs leading up to the rooms acting as though we were just another couple heading to our room for the night. The common room was busy enough with patrons and staff that we didn’t immediately seem out of place. The wolves didn’t pay any attention to us at least.
Once upstairs, I shed my cloak and pawed it over to Oonch. “You stay back over there in the shadows,” I told him before repeating the plan. “If anybody comes up, I’ll need you to have my back. Think you can handle that?” The groundhog nodded, but he didn’t look any happier about it than he had when I first told him what I had in mind. It wasn’t much of a plan. We were counting on nobody coming up while I was working, which admittedly was asking for a lot.
The rooms weren’t locked. They never are in inns like these. Quietly I slipped into the first room. A cursory look was all it took to figure out this wasn’t the right one. The clothes strewn about indicated a fur had been using this room for at least a couple of days.
The next room was luckier. I recognized the lead wolf’s cloak hanging on the post. I hurriedly started my search. The sooner I found the scroll, the sooner we could get out of here. Fortunately, the wolves weren’t carrying much on them. I was able to rummage through their rucksacks quickly. Problem was, no scroll!
“Looking for this?” The raspy voice surprised me. I spun around to see the wolves standing there. And standing in front of his pack, the lead wolf had the scroll in his paw! Where was the Big Oonch?
“Yoink!” That’s when things went crazy.