Feir Fireb
First Post
An excerpt from "The Unscholarly Journals of Darren the Senalline": No Turning Back
OUR STOMACHS FULL and my tinker's pouch strapped to my waist, we made our way towards the Floating Gardens. At the Garden Gate I explained to the guards that Li Shotay worried the Ki-rin might be breaking down again and wanted me to check the first chance I got, preferably before its next performance. Atrix was to help me determine if it was in tune.
We walked towards the Ki-rin, then as soon as we were out of sight we made a beeline for the secret door in the Garden wall. Atrix again kept watch as I approached the lock with my tinker's tools. Opening the stone faceplate, I carefully examined the area around the lock for openings that could have released the poisoned needle. Sure enough, there were several that might have done so. The mechanism itself was built into the door and probably only accessible from the other side. I thought to disarm it by jamming the holes with picks, but if I were to design a trap like that I would make sure that the decoy holes would also act as triggers in case someone tried just that, unless they were able to jam them all simultaneously. The only way I could block all of the holes sufficiently would have been with a thick and sturdy barrier of an appropriate size and shape, and I think this method would work in the future. With few possessions to our name, finding and obtaining such a barrier would take time that we didn't have and probably another trip past the night guards. So I would simply have to make due, taking care not to trigger the trap again and doing what little I could to keep myself unexposed, which seemed nigh impossible given the placement of the trap with respect to the lock.
[Facing pages: left, diagram of the secret door. Right, inset schematic of the lock.]
I took a moment to clear my head and think about how I'd approached the lock before. The tinker's picks still felt clumsy in the lock, but I took greater care with the pins this time. I heard a "shh" from Atrix and saw him raise his hand a moment with wide, anxious eyes, gesturing me to stop. He then relaxed and nodded for me to continue. Delicately, one by one, the pins fell into place. My pick deep in the lock, I gave it a good, strong wiggle and managed to set the last pin that had been eluding me. With a delicate "click," I managed to turn the tumbler. With another, painfully familiar "click," another poisoned needle jabbed me in the hand. I cursed as the door opened in front of me.
"What do we do now?" Atrix muttered.
"We can't turn back. The physicians won't believe I caught the strange Northern disease a second time. I think one of them already half-suspected poison before you convinced him."
Beginning to feel dizzy and weak in the knees, I leaned on Atrix.
"Do you think you can keep going?" he asked.
"Maybe. It's coming on more slowly this time. Atrix, Kay can't wait another three or four days. We have to go now."
He shook his head. "No, she can't." I knew he desperately wanted to go, but he didn't want to kill me in the process.
My muscles ached and began to revolt against me. I lifted my hand to my forehead and felt warmth.
"All right, let's go," Atrix said, as he hoisted more of my weight upon him and half-carried me through the door, closing it behind us.
OUR STOMACHS FULL and my tinker's pouch strapped to my waist, we made our way towards the Floating Gardens. At the Garden Gate I explained to the guards that Li Shotay worried the Ki-rin might be breaking down again and wanted me to check the first chance I got, preferably before its next performance. Atrix was to help me determine if it was in tune.
We walked towards the Ki-rin, then as soon as we were out of sight we made a beeline for the secret door in the Garden wall. Atrix again kept watch as I approached the lock with my tinker's tools. Opening the stone faceplate, I carefully examined the area around the lock for openings that could have released the poisoned needle. Sure enough, there were several that might have done so. The mechanism itself was built into the door and probably only accessible from the other side. I thought to disarm it by jamming the holes with picks, but if I were to design a trap like that I would make sure that the decoy holes would also act as triggers in case someone tried just that, unless they were able to jam them all simultaneously. The only way I could block all of the holes sufficiently would have been with a thick and sturdy barrier of an appropriate size and shape, and I think this method would work in the future. With few possessions to our name, finding and obtaining such a barrier would take time that we didn't have and probably another trip past the night guards. So I would simply have to make due, taking care not to trigger the trap again and doing what little I could to keep myself unexposed, which seemed nigh impossible given the placement of the trap with respect to the lock.
[Facing pages: left, diagram of the secret door. Right, inset schematic of the lock.]
I took a moment to clear my head and think about how I'd approached the lock before. The tinker's picks still felt clumsy in the lock, but I took greater care with the pins this time. I heard a "shh" from Atrix and saw him raise his hand a moment with wide, anxious eyes, gesturing me to stop. He then relaxed and nodded for me to continue. Delicately, one by one, the pins fell into place. My pick deep in the lock, I gave it a good, strong wiggle and managed to set the last pin that had been eluding me. With a delicate "click," I managed to turn the tumbler. With another, painfully familiar "click," another poisoned needle jabbed me in the hand. I cursed as the door opened in front of me.
"What do we do now?" Atrix muttered.
"We can't turn back. The physicians won't believe I caught the strange Northern disease a second time. I think one of them already half-suspected poison before you convinced him."
Beginning to feel dizzy and weak in the knees, I leaned on Atrix.
"Do you think you can keep going?" he asked.
"Maybe. It's coming on more slowly this time. Atrix, Kay can't wait another three or four days. We have to go now."
He shook his head. "No, she can't." I knew he desperately wanted to go, but he didn't want to kill me in the process.
My muscles ached and began to revolt against me. I lifted my hand to my forehead and felt warmth.
"All right, let's go," Atrix said, as he hoisted more of my weight upon him and half-carried me through the door, closing it behind us.