A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Both of her arms were exhausted when they completed the training. Tarhuinn had her practice the strikes countless times to guarantee that she would know what to do when she had the knife in a certain grip. She had never fought against him even though she tried to convince him that it would be good practice for her. He had merely answered that he could never strike a blade at his wife.

Instead, he had gone through the strikes, had given various scenarios and had asked her to perform the proper grip and strike. Once he had been satisfied with her results, they had stopped. She had attempted to persuade him that an enemy would probably not follow a formulaic scenario, but one warning glance had told her to be satisfied.

Personally, she thought that he was refusing to teach her more because he didn't wish for her to learn his exact fighting moves. He didn't desire her to be able fight against him if he were to claim that it were too dangerous to move on ahead. Maybe, it really was because he didn't wish to strike at her, but she just had a feeling that it was more than that. He might desire to have the upper hand over her. Not like he already did with that nickname.

He took his dagger back and sheathed it while she picked up her pack. With it resting on her back, she turned to face the tunnel ahead. Tarhuinn stepped up beside her before he intertwined his right fingers with her left. The two of them started to walk ahead, but (f/n) wanted to train just a little bit more even with sore muscles all around. She supposed, though, that some training was better than no training.

As they went on ahead, only some morning light shone through the hole at the top. It barely broke through the thick storm clouds, which were releasing snow down onto the mountains. The pile of it in the room had grown more. With the continuation of autumn, it would only increase more.

They passed from the room and into the tunnel, where the light decreased as they made their way down it. Eventually, Tarhuinn had to guide them both down since she could no longer see in the darkness. Her grip on him strengthened in fear that something might come out of the shadows. Thankfully, no such thing happened.

Up ahead, she could hear voices, however, but it sounded as though trade was occurring. Light began to fill the tunnel again as the third complex unveiled itself to them. She pulled up her hood before she stepped out of the tunnel. Glancing around, she noted how this complex had fewer floors, but there were more homes on each floor.

Several stone pillars were spread throughout the center space. The market tents gathered around these. Beyond the marketplace, there was the huge body of water that Tarhuinn mentioned. Nothing lay beyond it except the mountain wall. Despite the light coming in through the windows at the top of the complex, the water was like the darkness in the tunnel. There was no hope of seeing beyond the surface. They might not have to travel down there, however. Tergii and Bimaa might be here today, or there might be another way to reach their homes.

Focusing back on the kelremm in the area and seeing no humans about, she noted how much warmer everyone was dressed here. They wore thick cloaks and more leather. Compared to them, Tarhuinn and she looked like they were dressed for summer. "Do you think that we'll be able to trade for some of those clothes?" she asked since the thicker cloak look quite nice.

"We might be able to swap our current clothes for them, but I doubt it. Even when it's warmer up here, they'll still need thick clothes to stay warm. All of our clothes might fetch us one cloak. So, we'll most likely have to wear multiple layers from now on. Now, let's go search for these two authors. I don't see anyone standing at the doors of any of the houses, so they're probably not here at the moment."

(F/n) glanced over the area again. No one looked out of the ordinary. Perhaps, they would have to ask around, which would raise suspicion. "Are you going to be asking around, then?"

"Yes, we'll need to trade to draw less attention to us. We could trade some of the dried fish for dried meat and fruits. Let's hope that the trader will know something."

Going over to them, Tarhuinn pulled out the fish and began the transaction with the female kelremm. After it, he asked about the two authors' last names. Both of them noticed that a frightened expression appeared on her countenance. "Why, would you two wish to know about them? You're from another complex; you shouldn't involve yourselves since they never visit the other ones."

"We have some questions for them. That is all. Why are you so terrified of them?" Tarhuinn inquired, his hand tightening around hers.

"I've never talked to them personally, but others have. All of those kelremm have partners that are close to dying. That's concerning in its own right. The two also usually ask about the population, making sure that there are no anomalies. They always walk away after that or so I've been told."

"Wouldn't they need to visit other complexes to know the true population?"

"That's the odd part. Those that they have spoken with have asked the same question, but both of them state that they have it covered. Rumors have spread that they have spies in the other complexes or that they have some quicker way to get to the other two complexes."

"Do you think that they'll be coming today for a visit?"

"No, they came a few weeks ago. So, they probably won't come back for awhile now."

"What about their appearances? Or, where do they go when they leave?"

"Both of them have white cloaks that blend in with the snow outside. Tergii has a shaven head and eyes that are a very light blue. As for Bimaa, she has long straight locks that descend to her knees. Her eyes are a medium blue. Both of them are about your height. Granted, they always look the same, like it's been the same people all along, not their descendents who happen to look identical.

"As for where they go, there's an abandoned home on the first level and is closest to the pool of water. The doors aren't locked, and almost all of us have searched the place. We can never find how they get out, but there's a secret passage somewhere in there."

"Thank you. It has been most kind of you to share this information with us. It must be odd, though, that we're asking. I'm curious to know why you're being so accommodating to us."

"It is strange, especially since it concerns those two, but someone needs to have the courage to talk to those two when it's not on their terms. All of us here are scared of them, and we wish that they would stop coming. It's also strange that they don't live in the complexes, and if they did, their location has never been learned."

"Well, thank you again. We'll be on our way," Tarhuinn stated, clasping his left hand with her left. He pulled away and started to walk towards the house with her. When they stood before the door, neither of them entered

"Do you think that it's a trap?" (f/n) questioned quietly as she found the kelremm's eagerness to tell them information suspect.

"It could be. The two authors might have told everyone here to lead curious travelers to this place. We could be ambushed upon entering. Everything she told us could be questionable, but if the part about the spies is true, we'll need to be extra careful. Before we even came here, they might have been on our tails or still are."

"Do you think that she tampered with the food that she traded with us?"

"No, I asked her about them after we already traded goods. Besides, she looked genuinely terrified at my question. Unless she's good at acting, we should be fine on the food. And, I picked out the food from her stand. So, she would either have to be a mind reader, which isn't possible among our kind, or she would have had to poison all of her food.

"Also, her expression would tell us that no one had informed her about us. That is again if she wasn't acting. Overall, we were given a lot of information, and we shouldn't let fear of not knowing what is true and what isn't consume our minds.

"Still, it would seem that your theory about possibly being able to replenish one's life energy might be true if these two are the original authors and not their descendents. For right now, we'll go into this home and search for that secret passage. If we get attacked, I'll defend us to the best of my ability."

(F/n) took a deep breath in and exhaled as he slowly opened the double doors. The home was rather dark, but the light from the center of the complex flooded down the hallway some. She could easily see the dust floating in the air. They both walked in further, and Tarhuinn closed the doors behind them. It became dark in the passage, and she moved closer to the water path that he was on. He probably had closed the doors so that they would know if anyone came in from behind them. Regardless, she hoped that they could find a light source soon.