A Thief's Tale

The punt noses into a cramped channel between ancient pilings and stone foundations. Here, the barge's lanterns become dim smears behind dripping timber and river fog.

Above the channel, Alleria crouches on a narrow maintenance ledge, copper hair damp beneath her hood. One hand grips a concealed mooring line trailing from the quay.

Alleria points beneath the ledge. A half-submerged service gate blocks a low passage in the stone foundation, its rusted hinges just above the black water.

The mooring line creaks as Alleria tests it, holding the punt steady against the sluggish current. Somewhere beyond the foundations, crates knock together on the barge.

Water laps over the gate's lower bars. The narrow channel offers concealment, but the barge continues downstream, and the opening may not remain within reach for long.

L'Sara plants both boots in the rocking punt and grips the service gate's bars. She wrenches hard, muscles tightening as rust shrieks beneath her hands.

The corroded hinges tear free from the stone with a splash. The gate swings inward, revealing a low, flooded passage beneath the foundation and the barge's shadow beyond.

Alleria releases the concealed mooring line and drops from the maintenance ledge into the punt, catching the side rail as the current nudges them toward the passage.

Together, the punt slips through the opened gate. Stone scrapes softly along one side, while muffled crate-noises and river wash drift from the barge's loading side.

The passage widens beneath the barge. Its dark loading platform hangs within reach, slick ropes dangling above the water as the punt glides into concealment.