There's Crows In The Garden | 3rd Life AU

.: From Swamp To City :.

TWs: mentions of the poisoning

***

"There it is," said Ren, beckoning to the hill in the middle of the swamp and the bright white building atop it, "The Fort of The Counts of the Swamp."

"It sure is a sight," I noted. 

Ren laughed. "That it is, that it is."

It was three days after Ren and I had set out from the castle. We'd spent the night at Skizzle Point after the first day of traveling, and while there, we'd given Skizz a Dogwarts banner and explained what we were doing. In the morning, he'd wished us well, and we'd ridden until we reached the border of the swamp, stopped to camp for the night, and then ventured on into the marshland. And now, at what I estimated was around three or four in the afternoon, we could see the fort on the horizon, shining like a beacon.

Ren and I spurred our horses on, galloping through the final stretch (though we had to slow down for a few patches of muddier terrain). Count Etho must've seen us through a window, because he was waiting out front for us when we arrived.

"King Ren, Hand Martyn!" he greeted. "Welcome to The Fort of The Counts of the Swamp! Let me show you to the stables." Etho started to walk away, and Ren and I followed him, still on horseback. "Your steeds will be well-cared for by our stablehands, and they'll be thoroughly groomed before your departure, so long as you give enough warning beforehand."

I wasn't fully sure why Etho was so invested in convincing Ren and I that the Counts' stables were nice, but I just nodded and went along with it.

"Are either of the other Counts here?" Ren asked as we handed off our horses. "We're visiting on account of some very serious business, and if the other Counts are around, I'd like to speak with them as well."

Etho shook his head. "No, they aren't. Impulse is sorting out a trade deal with Crastile, and Tango is off quelling a rebellion in a border village."

"Ah," said Ren. "You'll have to relay my message to them when they get back."

"I can do that." Etho led us out of the stables and toward the fort. "How long will you be staying?"

"Two days."

Etho nodded. "Okay." He guided Ren and I through the fort and to his study, and then left us there while he went to personally curate a platter of food and drink for us.

"How long do you think this'll take?" I asked Ren. 

"What, for Etho to grab food and stuff?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Ren considered for a little while, taking my question more seriously than I thought he would. "I'll say . . . ten minutes."

I kept a vigilant eye on the small clock on the wall of Etho's study. In the end, it took him nearly fifteen minutes to prepare the platter and come back. I whispered the number to Ren when the Count wasn't paying attention, just so he knew how long it had taken too, and he almost made me laugh with how over the top he was when he mouthed, 'Five more minutes than I guessed? Wow!'.

After a few bites cheese with fig jam, Ren began to tell Etho about what we were doing and why we were here. The Count listened quietly and attentively, and seemed to buy our lies about Monopoly Mountain wanting to take over all of the powers in the region. He was appalled that Grian and Scar had poisoned Ren, attempted to poison me, and were threatening Skizz's manor, which I saw to be a pretty good sign that he'd ally with us, but we couldn't be fully sure until he said the words.