Water lapped at the side of our boat as we trudged along. Nora's people had made it clear, abundantly so, that we were not to approach her while traveling, for safety reasons, or so they claimed. For that reason and that reason alone I was grinding my teeth as we moved through the early morning mist.

The swamps were, on the whole, kind of misty, but today we had bona fide pea soup in every direction. I could make out the other members of our little caravan, but anything far away? No, nothing in the distance was clear in the least. That was a shame, because today we were supposed to be approaching our destination, hopefully the last one on this route before we could turn towards home.

As for our other companions, they were keeping their distance. The villagers weren't angry at us, per se, but they weren't totally happy either. That was understandable enough, as we had left them to their fates, but it didn't make the journey any more pleasant. Now there was a clear divide, even in the fires the night before it was obvious that they were setting up well away from us, and we weren't welcome to come nearer to them.

“So, when do you think we'll arrive?” Chien asked as the sun approached its zenith.

“Don't know, but not too much longer since we're supposed to get there today.”

“Can't see anything with all this fog,” Isha complained.

“Well, if we're being honest do you want to see more swamp? I bet there's swamp around us, with swamp to one side, and swamp to the other. Oh, perhaps there's some marsh mixed in, what a refreshing change that would be. Can you even imagine?” Chien offered sarcastically.

“Oh yes, the tepid water, the smell of rotting vegetation, whatever would we do without it?” I added.

She reached forward and pinched my ear a bit like I was a naughty child.

“Ow!” I complained.

“Don't be a jerk then. There's supposed to be hills, with settlements on them, and a lake, I'd love a proper lake after all this stupid...”

“Swamp?” Chien pointed out, only to get his own pinch.

It was shortly after that exchange that I realized the land around us was pulling back, opening up to a wider and wider lane. Soon the land that had surrounded our boats fell away completely, leaving us in open water.

The sun, in its great wisdom, got together with the wind and finally began doing their collective job. A warm gust passed, and bit by bit, the air began to clear.

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We were in the lake, just off the shore to one side and around us stood three massive hills. Each was equidistant from the others, dividing the central lake, which would probably take most of a day to sail around. It didn't look exactly like the rumors I'd heard before entering the swamp, but that man may never have been here, only hearing stories. It was also clear that this was a rather deep formation, with openings along the sides for boats to enter the central area.

“How in the world did this come to be?” Chien asked.

“Someone made it so, look at how they're spaced, how the heights are the same. This isn't natural.”

“An ancient?” Isha chimed in.

“I'd guess so, or a lot of work. Never underestimate the amount you can get done with just time and numbers.”

“Look at that one though,” Isha said, nodding her head in one direction.

Two of the hills were clearly occupied, with obvious dwellings on them and even some visible people moving about here and there. The third though, looked wrecked. Dirt or stone hadn't been removed, the base was still fine, but it was clear to see that on the third hill the structures dotting it had been wrecked. Buildings were destroyed, crumbling and open. It was the second closest to us, but the smoke from fires was clearly far less than the other two hills.

“My guess is that was where our dead competitor was. As for who controls it now... Who knows? Might even be where they're fighting. Shame though, that would give them a whole other place to be, and with all these people coming in they're going to need it.”

“Maybe they're bringing people in for when they need to fill out those places. With how few there are now many must have died,” Isha said, and I had to give it to her, she was probably right there.

I made my lens, expanding the view I could get and focused on each of the hills as we moved slowly along. The two active ones had clear walls, patched, damaged, but being maintained. People moved around in them like ants whose hive had been disturbed, climbing and churning. There had to be thousands and thousands in this little place, even with all the war.

On the deserted hill there were still people, though fewer, and clearly ducking from street to street, hiding, either in their fighting or just trying to survive with their homes. It looked like something from an old war movie, with bombed out homes and shattered places abounding.

Architecture was another thing I noted. Everywhere I'd been built a bit differently and here was no change from that. Unlike the villages, which reminded me of home, these hills were hosting what looked to be mud-brick huts. That wasn't too surprising, given the supplies would dictate what they could use, but I wondered how they were insulating them against rain. The designs were simple though, with mostly squares or circular shaped buildings abounding. Each also supported a sizable dock, which no doubt meant that much of their food came from the lake in one way or another.

Each of the hills also sported what appeared to be a much larger residence atop it. Palaces for the rulers no doubt. I could imagine that in times passed either the one who made this place moved from one to the other, or three ruled together. Perhaps I could find someone to ask about the history, with our long memories someone certainly had to have heard something, even if they didn't see it themselves.

Soon enough though the front of our little column reached the docks, and a wave of cheering went up. It seemed the people here recognized their leader, and while I couldn't hear it fully it was clear she was giving a speech. A small crowd had gathered, kept back by some of her guards, only for most of it to start moving up the hill behind her. Others stayed behind though, helping the newcomers unpack their things and set up where they could.

In time our turn came and we pulled into one of the little berths that someone on shore motioned us to.

“Welcome friend, do you have somewhere you're taking your things to?” he asked.

“No, not currently.”

“Ah, I see, well do you know anybody? Because I'll be honest finding somewhere to stay isn't the easiest right now. All of the places the merchants from the outlying villages were using are quite full up. You can always sleep in your boat if you want though.”

“Is there some charge for keeping it here?” I asked curiously.

“Used to be, but Nora waved them all for now. With all you lot coming in from outside there's nowhere for some folks to stay. Better they sleep somewhere safer than clog up the streets at night right?” he laughed. “No worries though, once the war is over we'll be moving a lot of people to some of the homes from the other hills. Might have to do some repairs, but good dry land isn't easy to come by.”

“Of course, thank you. I hate to ask, but I really need to have a meeting with Nora, her home is at the top isn't it?”

“Where else would it be?” A fair point honestly.

“Just wanted to confirm, and thank you again,” I told him before he left.

I asked Chien and Isha to wait, and I began the climb upwards.