“It was pretty lucky,” Crow agreed with a nod. A small part of him was still apprehensive about relying on a method he had never used before to perform a heist as big as this. He preferred to try out new ideas on much smaller targets while saving his tried and true schemes for palace raids and other such risky endeavors. However, it wasn’t like they had a better option at this point. They would reach the castle in less than a day, and they knew next to nothing about its layout and security. None of his practiced methods would work on a heist with so many unknowns. He would just have to stick to the plan they came up with and hope it would be enough to get them both out safely.

He looked up at Penelope as she went to retrieve the quiver. “I can definitely still feel it, but I think it’s faded enough that I can keep moving,” he answered, stretching his arms to check his mobility again. His body was still responding slower than he would have liked, but they couldn’t waste any more time sitting around while he waited for the poison to wear off completely. Besides, whenever he’d had too much to drink in the past, walking around always helped him sober up more quickly. It wasn’t a far stretch to say that it would probably help him recover from the henbane as well.

When Penelope brought the quiver over to him, he took half of the arrows to start lacing them with the remaining oil. He dipped the first one in and lifted it back out, letting the excess drip back into the pot before he replaced it in the quiver. He repeated the process until he had finished his half of the arrows, and then stood up to stretch his legs. The henbane had worn off enough that he could definitely make the rest of the trip now, albeit a little slower than he could have if he hadn’t tested the poison on himself.

 Gathering his things in preparation to leave, Crow looked up at the castle. [i]This is it,[/i] he thought, his heart racing with a surge of adrenaline. They were finally going to reach the place they had been travelling for over two weeks to find. He turned to Penelope, “Ready to go, love?”