“No, not at all,” muttered Nick. Inside he was wondering how he could avoid answering questions but still get his pass to cross the Perimeter. Lackridge obviously didn’t believe in Old Kingdom magic, which was no great surprise. After all, Nick had been like that himself. But Dorrance had voiced no such skepticism, nor had he shown it by his body language. Nick definitely did not want to discuss the Destroyer and its nature with anyone who might seriously look into what it was or what had happened at Forwin Mill.

He didn’t want to dabble in anything to do with Old Kingdom magic, especially without proper instruction, even two hundred miles south of the Wall.

“Follow me, Nicholas,” said Lackridge. “You, too, Malthan. I want to show you something related to those photographic plates you found for us.”

“I need to catch my train,” muttered Malthan. “My horses . . . stabled near Bain . . . the expense . . . I’m eager to return home.”

“We’ll pay you a little extra,” said Dorrance, the tone of his voice making it clear Malthan had no choice. “I want Lackridge to see your reaction to one of the artifacts we’ve picked up. I’ll see you at dinner, Nicholas.”

Dorrance shook Nick’s hand in parting, gave a dismissive wave to Lackridge, and ignored Malthan completely. As Dorrance turned back to his desk, Nick noticed a paperweight sitting on top of the wooden in-box. A lump of broken stone, etched with intricate symbols. They did not shine or move about, not so far from the Old Kingdom; but Nick recognized their nature, though he did not know their dormant power or meaning. They were Charter Marks. The stone itself looked as if it had been broken from a greater whole.

Nick looked at Dorrance again and decided that even if it meant having to work out some other way to get across the Perimeter, he was not going to answer any of Dorrance’s questions. Or rather, he would answer them vaguely and badly, and generally behave like a well-meaning fool.

Hedge had been an Ancelstierran originally, Nick remembered as he followed Malthan and the professor out. Dorrance struck him as someone who might be tempted to walk a path similar to Hedge’s.

They left through the door Nick had come in by, out through the opposite door, and then rapidly through a confusing maze of short corridors and identical riveted metal doors.

“Bit confusing down here, what?” remarked Lackridge. “Takes a while to get your bearings. Dorrance’s father built the original tunnels for his underground electric railway. Modeled on the Corvere Metro. But the tunnels have been extended even farther since then. We’re just going to take a look in our holding area for objects brought in from north of the Wall or found on our side, near it.”

“You mentioned photographic plates,” said Nick. “Surely no photographic equipment works over the Wall?”

“That has yet to be properly tested,” said Lackridge dismissively. “In any case, these are prints from negative glass plates taken in Bain of a book that was brought across the Wall.”