A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.
Vision poor, (f/n) relied on her ears for the first watch. The sky was thick with clouds, and she could barely see past the two rocks in front of her. Beyond the gap between the two rocks, it was pitch black to her. There was no rainfall, which she was grateful for, but there was a slight breeze. She could hear it travel between the pine branches. Its soft sound didn't hide the movement on the forest floor, however.
She did note that the movement wasn't footsteps. In fact, she was quite certain that it belonged to a haasna. A bird would flap its wings occasionally, and she figured, at another point in time, that some birds had flown overhead. Besides these noises, there was the sound of Tarhuinn's steady breathing. He was fast asleep, and she had to remove his arm from around her. If she hadn't, she would've been pulled to his chest, and her vision would really be useless at that point. Were they not in a dangerous situation, she would've happily accepted his embrace.
(F/n) did glance over to him, though. There were still no signs of any movement down by the lake or around it for that matter. So, she figured that she could admire him. She couldn't look over all the details of his face, but she could gently glide her fingers over them. It was a soothing action, and it was even more so when she pushed back some of his long strands of hair.
Their water-like flow eased her mind. She remained worried about someone spotting them, but her nerves weren't screaming at her to run back and return to the first complex. Her fingers halted, however, when her ears picked up something. Rocks were impacting other rocks. It sounded like small stones hitting the stone path around the lake.
Her hand drew back to her, and she grew still. She distinguished two grunts of effort while the water in the lake was disturbed from its usual gentle pattern of noise. Water falling on the stone followed, and she heard a male voice state, "Thank you." Someone must have pulled another up from the lake. Did that mean that the entrance was under the water? Staying silent, she continued to listen.
"Did you find anything on your watch? Was anyone foolish enough to come up here?"
"No. No one stepped into this area. I honestly don't even know why our masters are so worried about that male kelremm and his wife. They'll most likely be killed before they even make it to the split streams, and the only reason that they managed to get past the pixies was because of that mage."
"From the sounds of it, though, that mage is incredibly deadly. And, for that reason, Alpontus is wondering how the pixies acquired him. Recently, he developed a theory that the mage was brought to the pixies by that male kelremm and his wife. He's certain that the pixies wouldn't have been able to convince him to help otherwise. He says that those two must've done something."
"Well, based on the account of the mage's actions, why would he let that kelremm and his wife go? It's more likely that he would've killed the kelremm and taken the wife for his own amusement."
"That's why it's so troubling. Master Alpontus is considering that he may have underestimated those two. And, he's given new orders on what to do with them. We're not to kill them anymore. If we find them, we're to bring them back alive. He wishes to learn whether they really had a hand in the mage's arrival."
"Did he tell you what he intends to do to them if the answer is positive?"
"No. I received these new orders and this information through word of mouth. Apparently, though, the spy that had reported the pixies' betrayal fainted when he was asked that very same question. It would seem, however, that Master Alpontus has planned a punishment equal to that of what he intends to give the mage. Of course, they'll be quickly disposed of if their answer is negative."
"Well, we'll catch them soon enough." She heard a yawn before a chuckle escaped the other speaker, who she assumed to be female based on their voice. "I'm looking forward to that moment. I want to see these two foolish individuals, who thought it wise to seek out our masters. These two were married right before leaving the first complex, though, right?"
"Yes, that's the information that the spies in the area informed our masters of."
"I wonder if they were daft enough to create a child before setting out."
"If they were, our masters might keep the human around until the child is two. They like maintaining the general kelremm population where it's at. The human will just have to undergo extensive training to do everything that our masters tell her to do and so that the child will go back to the first complex without ever asking any questions."
"Master Rocean will probably try to see to her care, then."
"You shouldn't say such things. You know how jealous Master Amtoma becomes, and she still hasn't recovered from his last human partner, which was supposedly over several generations ago."
"So, what? It's clear that Master Rocean is still interested in taking another human partner. I've seen how his eyes stayed fixed on some of our fellow spies' partners. No matter how committed he says that he is to Master Amtoma, he'll always want some human girl fawning over him since Master Amtoma doesn't give him the compliments that he desires. Regardless, you're just worried that some other spy will report on us talking about our masters in such a way.
"Lighten up, will you? I'll make sure that no one says a word about this, and you better do the same. Otherwise, you might lose your stellar reputation with Master Amtoma. I know that you desire to bed her. Wouldn't want to ruin that, now would you?"
While the female spy continued her teasing of the male spy, she quietly shook Tarhuinn awake. A moan of discomfort left his lips. Instantly, she placed her right hand over his mouth. The two spies continued their conversation, much to her relief, but that had been close. The sound wasn't exactly quiet.
His eyelids blinked open, and she drew her hand back steadily. She placed her index finger over her lips to indicate for him to keep quiet. He nodded in reply, and his attention went towards the two spies. Most likely, he could probably see every detail of them or most of them at least.
They were still discussing who the other wished to have relations with. Despite the awkwardness of the conversation, they were giving the two of them vital information. Already, they had learned some of the layout of the authors' home as well as the personalities of some of them. The spies even discussed a few points of some of the authors' and other spies' schedules.
Apparently, they were so confident in their abilities that they didn't care that anyone in the nearby vicinity could hear them. Were they the only spies in the area around the lake? It seemed like it, but she was surprised that they didn't even consider that trespassers could be listening to them. (F/n) hoped that those two weren't some of the tougher spies and that they just weren't that bright when it came to the task of being spies.
The two stopped talking, and they could hear the spies say their goodbyes to each other. No splash of water sounded, but there was the sound of a few rocks colliding with other ones again. She presumed that the one was taking over the watching spot of the other and that the other was heading back inside the authors' home. (F/n) glanced over to Tarhuinn, but his gaze was still fixed forwards. He was most likely waiting for the spy to enter the home.
Hearing a rock scraping against another, she peered out towards the lake once more. It was frustrating that she couldn't see what was happening, but she was pleased at the same time. Their entrance to the home was probably being revealed, and it didn't involve diving into the lake. The noise halted for a few moments before it retuned and stopped again.
"Could you see how she entered?" (f/n) questioned in a hushed voice.
"Yes, the way in is at the opposite side of the lake from us. She pushed a decently sized rock aside and crawled through a space. She put the rock back into position afterwards, but I could see a pool of water just beyond the rock. We might not have to swim, though, if the ceiling beyond the rock is higher."
"Let's hope that's the case. I'm already at a disadvantage against a kelremm. If I'm shivering, I'll only be more so," she muttered, cuddling into the blankets more. "And, the author, Alpontus, sounds like he has something dreadful in store for us. He knows about the mage back with the pixies, and he's quite certain that it was us who brought the mage there."
"Then, they were talking before you woke me up."
"Yes, and I think that we should try and take out Alpontus first. It sounds like he's the one who guides the actions of the other four, or they at least look to him for making the final calls. If he's gone, chaos may ensue, and we can use that disorder to our advantage."