Lanternlight sweeps across the service corridor behind Sarah and Orlan. From the grate below, several pairs of boots climb closer, splashing through the passage they used.
Ahead, a black iron door seals the stairwell. The same red-wax symbol marks its center, but fresh bands of iron brace the frame, and a new lock gleams beneath.
Sarah Tempest
The lock is newer than the door.
Orlan Vey
Pell reinforced this entrance after the route was marked. Either our hidden ally warned him, or the magistrate already suspects the ledger is missing.
Orlan lowers his voice and presses his back to the damp stone beside the door. His crooked ash wand rises, blue sparks gathering weakly at its tip.
Orlan Vey
I can hold whoever comes from below for a few breaths. The door is the way forward, but forcing it may announce us to everyone above.
The approaching boots reach the bottom of the stair. Lanternlight spills through the grate, stretching bars of gold across Sarah's torn sleeve and the wet stones.
Get past the reinforced door