The woman nodded and murmured a thank you, tucking the shins into a pocket of her apron. "Indeed it can be. I think difficulty will follow anywhere, though. A lot of people are here to escape that."

There was a pause before she answered his question. "Her, no. I don't think she could ever stay still enough for anything like that. She helps with odd jobs when she's around, but mostly she comes and goes. Usually comes back to town covered in dirt with something new to fiddle with. Keeps a lot to herself, like everyone else around here."

She paused again, longer this time. "You knew each other before she came here, didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question. She hadn't missed his stare, far longer than someone just curious about what she could be doing up on that ladder, nor the look on Kari's face when she had left.

---

She should go back, ask him why he left, why he hadn't just said something. Maybe ask him how he was doing, if he was happier now that he had left her.

No, confrontation was not something Kari was interested in. Besides- he had made his choice clear. He knew how much she hated puzzles without answers; maybe it was his turn, if he had even noticed it was her.

Back to her dwelling it was.

She didn't live far from the inn, just by the edge of town in what looked like an oversized doll house. She was fairly certain it was- it had seams where it could be pushed open had she not taken measures to prevent that, two levels with two narrow rooms each, each half designed for a different purpose. She just fit the low ceilings with a few inches to spare.

It wasn't much, but it was hers. No one else had wanted it- it had been in dire need of repairs when she had arrived and supposedly was haunted by the ghost of its previous owner.

She threw herself on the cushions lined up on the floor when she got in. She didn't feel like heading all the way upstairs to the bed, and it was just as comfortable here, anyways. A part of her wanted to sleep, but she was too restless, too fidgety.

Raul. Why were you here? Why did you go?

She got up abruptly. She had spent enough time tossing and turning over him. She was going to the caves, storm be damned.