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



Despite now having two of the authors presumably preoccupied, (f/n) wondered why Tarhuinn hadn't taken them out. Sure, the window didn't allow the best of throwing angles, or at least she didn't think that it did, but, knowing him, he could've made both shots. "Is something wrong?" she asked, though; her eyes never left from the authors' room below them.



"Yes, that room is just too well guarded. We may be hidden now, but if I had attacked either of those two, several spies would have seen, and Alpontus would've been alerted. Not to mention that we know nothing about their fighting abilities. They've possibly lived for centuries, so their experience in combat might be well above mine."



"Are you saying that you don't think we have a chance at all at beating them?" she questioned, her voice displaying evident distress.



"No, but we should take out those spies first. There's no way to get around them. With two of the three authors busy, we can go after Alpontus next. They shouldn't even notice judging by how their conversation just went, but we have no idea what Alpontus is doing right now. If we open his room door and he's staring right at us, we might have some trouble."



"I still don't see these spies that you're referring to. Where are they?"



Carefully, he moved her to stand in front of him. His right hand rested on her right shoulder while his left index finger pointed out towards the ceiling of the space. Even though the windows in ceiling illuminated the area well, she could still barely spot the four spies. There were tiny spaces in the stone close to the ceiling, and these spaces were designed to merely look like a decorative wall pattern. Within four of them, though, were the spies.



The shadows of the spaces concealed them nearly to perfection, and if Tarhuinn had never pointed them out to her, she would've never noticed. It was relief that he had such stellar eyesight. "How do you plan to take them out? Is there anything that you would like me to do?"



"I want you to stay close for now. From here, I can't hit them. This room is much to low from their location. We need to get to higher ground. To our right, there is a path. It might lead upwards towards them. We'll take that slowly, and when we reach them, be ready for a fight. We don't need another situation like the one in the water, but you still did well."



A small smile did grace her lips at the compliment, but she pouted in a playful way afterwards. She crossed her arms over her chest and met his gaze. "May I suggest that you don't run off with my only weapon next time, though?"



Realizing what he had accidentally done, he looked like he might fall over and faint. If they weren't in such a hostile environment, she might've started to laugh. It was truly a hilarious expression that befell his countenance. To correct his past mistake, he reached into his pack and removed her dagger from her boot.



Holding it out to her, he apologized. "I could've gotten you killed by my foolishness. I'm so sorry, (f/n)." She smiled just a bit more and shook her head before she signaled to the blades around her waist.



"You were thinking about taking out the spies in this area quickly. You didn't desire for them to sound an alarm, which would've ended badly for both of us. Your actions were probably the best to take given our situation at the time. Besides, we both had forgotten about my dagger. If it was anyone's fault, it was both of ours. For now, let's keep that blade hidden." She received a nod from him before he put it away once more.



"Thank you." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. With his lips still ghosting over her skin, he mentioned, "Let's continue forward." As he pulled back, she nodded and started down the right path with him.



This path was narrow, like the path where those five kelremm had been. Thankfully, there were walls on both sides of them. They had to advance slowly and walk sideways, but it was better than the possibility of falling off a ledge and impacting stone below. It just meant that if they did come across a hostile while on the path, they would be nearly defenseless. Their daggers wouldn't be able to deflect too many blows.



Luckily, none came their way. Instead, at the end of the path, they were greeted by a stairwell, which traveled upwards. It wound itself around a stone pillar, and they could only guess that it went to where the spies were. If it didn't lead there, they would have to find another path to take.



Cautiously, they made their ascent. (F/n) had to be even more careful since water traveled down every step. Slipping would be rather easy for her to achieve, but Tarhuinn remained close and had his right fingers intertwined with her left. This made the water-covered steps more travelable.



As they continued upwards, she constantly would search the higher steps for a spy. She was worried that one was just waiting for them on the steps. It didn't help that there were light splashes of water every time that they took another step. If the spies were already alerted of their presence, she wouldn't be surprised. With this in mind, she increased her grip on two of the daggers in her belt.



He seemed to have similar thoughts as he unsheathed one of his daggers and held onto it tightly. His gaze indicated that he would strike at anything coming down the stairs even if it was a human partner to one of the spies, but it would be unlikely that they would be up here. When they reached the top, they both pressed themselves to wall next to the opening.



Steadily, Tarhuinn peeked out. He motioned for her to stay back before he took a slow step out into the open. His fingers left hers, and she was tempted to latch her hand back onto his. She resisted the urge, but she did look around the corner herself.



Tarhuinn was advancing towards a spy, which had their back turned to him. To keep his movement quiet, he had stepped out of the water. The spy was close enough that he should make it, but she felt nervous about the situation regardless. He would need to kill the spy in one hit; otherwise, the spy would have the clear advantage.



Right behind the spy, Tarhuinn spun the blade in his hand so that it was a modified saber grip. Before the spy could react, he had the blade to their neck and sliced. The spy dead, he walked back into the water as silently as he could. A quiet sigh of relief left his lips before he motioned for her to come out. Maintaining her slow pace, she eventually reached him.



Once she was next to him, he pointed towards the next two spies. Both of them were close to each other, and one of them was starting to face their direction. Tarhuinn and she ducked and hid behind the rocks that were in front of them. Due to his height, he had to practically submerge himself entirely into the water to hide behind one of the rocks. His long hair began to fan out around him. Swiftly, she reached over and grabbed it to prevent it from being seen.



She received a nod of thanks from him to which she gave him a small smile. Their focus shifted back to the two spies out ahead. They both peered out from behind the rocks. The spy's attention was directed a bit above them, but their gaze remained towards them. Going back behind the rock, they waited some more. No conversation occurred between the two spies, which was most likely because they were the ones most responsible for guarding their masters.



Moments later, they checked again. This time, the spy was facing the other way. Tarhuinn took this opportunity and submerged himself completely in the water, which was deeper than before, and he swam out towards the spy. She quietly started to head out on the dry land to attack the other one.



Silently, Tarhuinn rose from the water. Like before, he brought the blade to the spy's neck. This time, however, someone else noticed his action. The second spy was about to shout, but she darted out and tackled them. She raised her dagger and brought it down. Blocking her attack with their left hand, they pulled their hand back and went to punch her with their uninjured hand.



(F/n) ducked, but the kelremm suspected this. They went to bite into her left shoulder, and she had nowhere to go. Cursing, she went to bring her dagger down again on them, but their injured hand gripped her wrist hard and prevented such an action. Their grip wouldn't last for long due to the blood there, but it would be enough for them to bite her.



Before their teeth could sink into her skin, Tarhuinn came and stabbed his dagger through their heart. Their grip left her completely, and she thanked him. That had been too close for her liking. She got off of the deceased kelremm and looked back. The other spy was in a similar condition to the first one.



There was one problem, though. Tarhuinn was soaked from head to toe, and water was dripping from his form. The drip-drop sound echoed in the space. He noticed this issue as well and went back into the water, but the last spy's attention had already been caught. Not only had the water drawn their attention but also the previous struggle had done so. Both of them heard splashes of water coming their way. (F/n) hid herself behind some rocks while Tarhuinn remained low in the water. They still had the element of surprise on their side, and they would keep it that way.