He scaled down to one of the small windows and secured himself until he was hanging upside down over it. It was a simple matter to lift the bar of the shutters and peer in. The room revealed was a dormitory, the floor crowded with mattresses: he counted twenty-four of them, crammed in just like Armesion’s buildings were crushed within its restrictive walls. That gave him some idea of the size of this pack of jokers, anyway. Seven of the beds were occupied, robed forms sprawled there. More reassurance, that: no doubt everyone would want to be awake when the actual doings were being done. Still, not the best entry point. Lief moved crabwise along the wall.

The next window gave onto a darkened room, but he could make out some furniture: a desk maybe, a chair, some sort of assemblage along one wall. It seemed unoccupied, and that was good enough for Lief.

He closed the shutters after himself, the blotting out of the moon leaving him in almost complete darkness. He had a good idea of where the door was, nonetheless, and crept to it, listening: voices, but distant, nothing right outside. There was a keyhole, too: a little star shining in the dark night of the room. Peering through it gave him an enlightening view of a small section of the far wall.

If there was a guard outside, then he was in trouble. Only one way to find out, though. He plotted a mental course back to the window, in case of mishap, and tried the door.

Not locked, and no guard when he drew it slightly open. Of course the Brotherhood were all terribly faithful, and who would expect an intruder here in their sanctum?

He let the slice of light he had admitted lead his eyes back to the room he was in. The business against one wall was an altar, perhaps this was Abnasio’s private chapel. Certainly there was a rather fine rayed disc set up there, with gems at the cardinal points, and some exquisite filigree at its center. Lief’s hands twitched.

Moments later, and with one of his conveniently capacious pockets rather heavier than before, he crept from the room, ears pricked for footsteps and voices.