Children of the Water (Yandere M. x F. Reader)

Warmth before the Storm

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

Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, they were greeted by a long hallway; however, they could see a wooden door at the end of it. Pale light peeked through the cracks, and a cool breeze broke through as well. (F/n) hugged her cloak tighter around her and made a mental note to put on a second layer if they were to go outside. Thankfully, though, her feet were no longer in the cold water. She didn't know how Tarhuinn could tolerate it so well, but she supposed that kelremm might be less sensitive to the cold since they had to be in water all of the time.

As they made their way down the path, they noted that there was a small room off to the side. There was a slanted bed for a kelremm, and there was a regular bed as well. A wooden table and chairs were in the middle of the room while a small kitchen area and fireplace were against the back wall. The only strange part about the room was that it was covered in dust and cobwebs. "Why would they leave the room in this state? Wouldn't it be useful to utilize?" she asked, stepping in a little further.

"They might have better accommodations nearby, or they use this room as a trap if someone manages to find the secret entrance. I don't know the extents of magic, so this room could very well be laced with many traps for intruders. I say that we leave this room alone and camp somewhere else for the night. Right here, we're quite exposed, and I'd rather have the upper hand when we confront them."

Despite his plan sounding like the wiser choice, it was hard to give up a bed and warm fire when it was freezing. Maybe, that's what Tergii and Bimaa suspected, though. She reluctantly agreed. "Just let me put on another layer first. It's too cold for me to just be wearing this." In the end, they both pulled out dry clothes from their packs and put them over the ones that they were wearing.

Already, she felt warmer but not by much. She really wished that they would've been able to get one of those warmer cloaks, but it was no use dwelling on them. After she put on her socks and tied up her boots, she glanced around the room another time. "Even if it's enchanted, do you think that they left something in here that might give us a clue to their homes?"

"I doubt it, and I don't think that we should try to open any of those cabinets or drawers. We'll just need to hope that whatever lies beyond that door will give us a clue. Otherwise, we're going to have to decide our next direction on guessing work, and we have a limited food supply unless we can find more along the way. So, wandering around might just ensure us an early death."

"We'll figure it out. We made it this far, and I already made a promise with you. So, I intend not to break it. We'll survive the journey and the encounter with these authors. If we worry about all of the negatives, we'll be weighed down by them and not find the answers."

A small smile touched his lips. "I suppose that you're right." He took up her right hand in his left and headed towards the door with her. He reached for the door handle and pulled. When that didn't work, he pushed. This still did nothing. There was no keyhole for the door, but the door seemed to be locked. Frustrated, Tarhuinn released her hand and put more of his weight into it. Unfortunately, this achieved fruitless results. "It looks like we might have to force the door down."

"But it might be enchanted. There's no place for a lock, yet it won't budge. I think that forcing it open would bode very ill for us. There has to be another way to open it. We might have to search that room after all," she mentioned as her eyes looked for anything that might help them. When she peered downwards, she squinted some and moved back her feet. There was something carved into the stone.