The front area of Sen Jerome’s Administration - Inge called it “Reception” - and its stone walls and narrow windows more resembled the Chamber than the Tower, although like the Tower it was full of desks, the largest of which guarded the entry like a grimbear guarded her cave. Mei chose that one to rummage through.

“Remind me.” Inge joined her. “Why aren’t we going to the infirmary or the residence hall? Those places are our best bets to find Huan.”

“My brother talks good,” the papers were too complicated to just scan, so Mei switched to reading them line by laborious line, “but even he cannot talked his way in here. Someone let him in.”

Inge sighed and began reading papers, far faster than Mei. “We’re giving up on finding him?”

“I want to free him.”

“Right…” Inge opened a drawer and dragged out a large book. “Oye, the Entry/Exit log. Assuming your ‘someone’ comes here on business, they should be here.” They flipped through the pages. “I’ve got this. You watch our exit.”

Mei nodded, but instead of standing at the entrance - she didn’t need to when Sen Jerome’s patrols had the stealth of a screaming dragon - she searched the room for other exits. Their final escape would require either stealth or distraction, and time was running out for the latter. She didn’t find another way out, but she did find a stairway that led up and deeper in.

“Hey, I found something.”

Mei rejoined Inge. “What is it?”

“For the most part it’s like I expected; only cenobites, priests, and Sen Quincy officers come here. All par for the course for an army masquerading as an religious order, but every other week instead of a name, the clerk stamps this.” They tapped an image of stone upon which an eagle was alighting.

Mei went still.

“What is it?” Inge asked.

“That was on the bridge.” That stone. “Orlaith told me and Charlie that ‘Granite’ gave him orders, and Maggie says that granite is a kind of stone.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“That sounds like coincidence.”

Mei doubted. “Are there words?”

“Only about an office upstairs at three-oh-five. Whoa, wait, wait!”

But Mei was already rushing up the stairs. A quick glance at the second floor found only offices labeled with two-something-something number, so she continued on to the third floor. Finding the right starting number, she barreled down the corridor until she found three-zero-five on a locked door. Breaking in, she entered an office just barely bigger than Charlie’s, despite containing a small altar, a desk, a chair, and six bookshelves. One book she recognized, even without sounding out its title: Fluid, Vapors, Gases and Their Myriad Applications.

She’d done it. She’d found Granite’s lair.

“You broke in?” Inge caught sight of the book Mei was holding. “Is that…”

“Yes.” Putting Dwayne’s book under her arm, Mei resumed her search of the shelves. Happily, she found more proof this was Granite’s office: more stolen books and handwritten copies of the pamphlets Dwayne was worried about. Unhappily, she found nothing that told her who Granite was.

“Phons.” Inge pulled a white envelope with Dwayne’s name scrawled across it in careless, jittery handwriting out of the desk drawers. “This is…” They shook out its contents into their hand: a letter and a silver ring inscribed with the image of a river delta. “This is his. This is Dwayne’s.”

Even more proof. “We need to know who-”

“Who’s there?” Two monks appeared at the office door, one brandishing a staff. “Who are you?”

And like that, time was up.

After throwing Dwayne’s book into one monk’s face, Mei met the other with a kick in the chest. When they were both down, Mei collected the book and the spy and rushed over to the stairs.

When she went up, Inge asked, “Where are we going?”

“The roof.”

“We can’t. That’s a trap!”

Ignoring this, Mei kept ascending and soon they emerged on the far end of the western parapets, where shock, awe and an application of Mei’s fists and feet brought down another monk patrol in moments. Breathing hard, Mei glanced up at the night sky. It was clear. Good.

“We’re going.” She grabbed Inge, who’d paused over the groaning bodies.

“But-”

“No time.”

Alarm bells rang as they raced across the parapets. They didn’t run into any more patrols, but more monks were charging onto the parapets. By the time Mei and Inge reached the middle of East Gate, the monks had them pressed up against east side of the wall.

“Now what?” hissed Inge.

“We face them.” Mei did so.

“What?”

“Surrender, now!,” called out a monk.

“Seriously, what’s the plan?” Inge tried to look back. “We’re-”

“No,” Mei made the spy face the monks, “look that way.”

Any time now.

“We mean it.” The monks inched closer, staffs and stilettos at the ready. “Just-”

There was a screech.

“Breath deep.” Mei grabbed Inge and pulled them both over the parapets as the sky turned white-purple.