“Here.” Hayver rushed to the wall and fumbled with the ivy. “Some of the bricks are missing, I’ll show you.”

“I’ll go over first,” Marcus said. “Hayver, you bring up the rear. Andy, are you going to be all right?”

“I’ll manage,” Andy said. “Will you?”

Marcus tried flexing the fingers of his right hand. They hurt abominably, but they moved. He winced. “I think so.”

“Two of the spikes at the top just come off if you pull on them,” Hayver said.

Marcus looked up at the wall, which suddenly seemed quite formidable, and its spiky crown. “Right,” he said.

Truthfully, the climb wouldn’t have been at all difficult to someone who had full use of both hands. As Hayver had promised, there were handholds in the brickwork, and at the top Marcus was able to lift two of the iron spikes out of their sockets and set them aside. More bricks were missing on the other side, and he picked his way down, using his right hand as little as possible. By the time he dropped to the turf, Viera was already coming over, taking a moment to smooth her long skirts at the top before descending.

They followed, one by one. Marcus helped Andy to the ground after catching her wince as she bent to turn around at the top. Hayver, coming last, conscientiously replaced the two spikes before making his way down.

“Now what?” Fredrick said. He had one arm around his brother, who hadn’t spoken since the fight in the hallway. “Where are you taking us?”

“Oldtown,” Marcus said. “But you’ll need to ditch the robes first, or we’ll be followed.”

“They’ll be watching the road to the west,” Viera said.

“I know. We’ll go south to the Old Ford. It’ll be a bit wet, but we’ll get across.”

“We’re going to wade the river?” Fredrick said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“If you’d care to head in any other direction, be my guest.” Marcus gestured south. “Come along, if you’re coming.”

They all followed, of course. The University grounds outside the walls were grassy hillsides dotted with a few small trees, descending gradually until they met the river. The Vor was placid here, only a foot or two deep and broad enough that it might have been a lake. Long before the network of bridges to and from the Island had been built, the Old Ford had planted the seed of Vordan City, the medieval village whose bones still lay underneath Oldtown.