"Are you sure about this?" said Barnaby, sounding completely unconvinced. "I mean, whatever those rats were trying to get away from . . . "

　　Elizabeth kept her eyes fixed on the long stretch of the tunnel. "This is the way. Don`t ask me how I know. I just do".

　　"It`s a plan", shrugged Aelgren.

　　"And if this is an escape route", Izzario said, "then it should lead to Penelope`s quarters".

　　Luella tucked the blunderbuss into her belt. "Then let`s just hope she`s in. Or this is going to be one hell of a wasted journey".

　　Elizabeth led the way ahead using the glittering light in her hand. She still hadn`t the faintest clue how such a thing was possible, but the strangest part was how natural it seemed. It was as normal as blinking or breathing or solving maths puzzles in her sleep.

　　It was certainly easier to get her head around than the tale of the Darkstone Tower. Izzario told her all about it as they plodded along the passage, narrating the story of the Great King, Velyn - the man who had designed the tower and commanded that it be built. Elizabeth learned that the King was famed for his love of devious puzzles and that one day, for no reason at all, he simply vanished without a trace.

　　"And no-one knows what happened to him?" Elizabeth asked.

　　Izzario shrugged. "Some people think that he was taken away by the Old Gods as a reward".

　　Being made to disappear didn`t sound like much of a reward to Elizabeth, who said: "For what?"

　　"For being the King".

　　And that made even less sense. "But why would he be rewarded for being the King? Isn`t that something people are supposed to want to do?"

　　"Not Velyn. He wasn`t interested in being rich and ruling over people. All he wanted was to be left alone to see out his days with his books".

　　Elizabeth adjusted the magic light as the tunnel twisted in yet another seemingly random direction. "So why didn`t he let someone else take over?"

　　"If only things were that simple. But Velyn was the only King the Great Houses would accept after the reign of Solsin the Dead. Anyone else would have torn the Realm apart".

　　Izzario paused, looking at Elizabeth in a meaningful way. "We are who we are. Sometimes the fates don`t give us a choice".

　　Elizabeth wondered what Izzario meant by this, and was starting to suspect that there was something he wasn`t telling her, when Barnaby said: "Oh look, there`s a hatch".

　　Elizabeth looked up to see that there was, indeed, a manhole in the roof of the tunnel.

　　Barnaby was studying it attentively. "That must be how they moved between floors".

　　"In which case . . . " said Aelgren - and Elizabeth found herself being scooped up onto his shoulders - "let`s see if we cannae open it".

　　Elizabeth raised her non-glowing hand. Fingertips brushed against the metal rim of the hatch, found a set of gear teeth cut in the shape of a dial and turned it until there was a satisfying clunk.

　　"It sounds like a twin-release switch", said Barnaby. "You would normally use a turnpole for this, but try giving it a good push in the middle".

　　Elizabeth pushed.

　　There was another clunk, followed by an eerie creeeeak as the hatch fell open and a rope ladder flopped onto her head.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

　　"I think we`ve found the way up", concluded Luella.

　　The tunnel on the next floor was exactly the same as the one below.

　　And so was the one after that.

　　And the one after that.

　　And that.

　　The one after that was a bit different, but broadly speaking they were all exactly the same.

　　They moved between the levels using rope ladders and hatches, Elizabeth fearing that it was never going to end.

　　She was just starting to think that she was destined to spend the rest of her life wandering aimlessly about the Darkstone Tower, and that even when she grew old and shrivelled away her ghost would continue to wander it as well, when they stumbled upon the window.

　　Her first impression was that it resembled a miniature cockpit. The grimy round lens at the end of the tunnel gazed out onto Caranthis like a half-closed, sleepy eye. Positioned before it was a strange brass contraption, a hodgepodge of levers and tubes.

　　"It`s an Alluvian telescope", said Barnaby, admiring the workmanship. "And this looks like it`s some kind of observation post". He flipped a couple of the lenses making the hinges squeak like mice.

　　"And there`s our hatch", groaned Aelgren, wearily pointing up at yet another iron disc.

　　Elizabeth`s stomach began to tingle at the sight of it. Soon the feeling was so strong that the rest of her tingled as well.

　　"Something`s not right", she said.

　　"Sorry, is it my humming? I cannae help it. I even do it while I`m asleep".

　　"No, it`s not that".

　　Although for all that Elizabeth knew, it might well have been. Because she had no idea what was bothering her. Only that it was.

　　Before she knew it the words were tumbling from her lips. "There`s something here. Whatever those rats were running away from - it`s close by. I can feel it".

　　"Then we had better be getting a move on", said Aelgren, and he swept Elizabeth up onto his shoulders once more.

　　She pushed at the hatch.

　　But now instead of the usual clunk there was only a jarring bump.

　　"I can`t move it. I think it`s locked. It won`t budge".

　　Something indefinite caught her attention. She turned to catch it properly, and it was impossible to say who was the more surprised: Elizabeth . . . or the steely-eyed Blackcoat that was watching them from the bend of the tunnel.

　　In a flash Luella`s blunderbuss was drawn and with another flash, it fired.

　　But the Blackcoat was gone, the shot thundering harmlessly into the wall.

　　Elizabeth, shaken by the blast, watched wide-eyed as Izzario and Luella gave chase.

　　Her eyes were even wider still when they came scrambling back around the corner, a barrage of gunfire stealing chunks from the stone behind them.

　　"Aaaaaaand there`s more than one!" yelled Luella, pressing up against the wall.

　　"It doesn`t look as if we can go that way", Izzario pointed out.

　　Luella readied the gun. "I think I can hold them, but you`ll have to get a move on with that hatch".

　　"But . . . but it`s locked!" exclaimed Barnaby, leaping about like a frog on a hotplate.

　　A resounding volley of cracks echoed off the walls as another hail of shot zipped by.

　　"Let`s get some fresh air then, shall we?" grizzled Aelgren, and Elizabeth found herself being rudely dumped onto the floor.

　　There was the sound of shattering glass.

　　"I can see a balcony on the next floor up", shouted Aelgren, peering out of the hole where the pod-like window had been. "I think I can reach it. Throw me your rope".

　　Luella dispatched another blast, ducked back around the bend, took a coil of rope from her waist and hurled it to where Aelgren (to Barnaby`s disapproval) was now busy tearing the telescope apart. A set of newly-formed metal claws were swiftly fastened to the end of the line.

　　Against a backdrop of bellowing gunfire, Aelgren leaned out of the window and began to swing the grappling hook in long, slow loops.

　　"Hurry up", barked Luella. "I can`t hold them off all day".

　　Aelgren threw the rope with a loud grunt . . . and cursed with an even louder one as the hook came whistling back down past his head.

　　"Only testing", he said, with a nervous laugh.

　　"HURRY UP!" Luella screamed.

　　Aelgren gathered the line and prepared to have another go.

　　"Just try to relax", shouted Barnaby, although Elizabeth suspected that he was really talking to himself.

　　Aelgren flung the rope a second time, did not dodge out of the way, grinned, gave the rope a firm tug, and grinned some more. "Got it", he called. "Luella - all yours".

　　Luella stuffed a round of powder and shot down the funnel of the gun. "What do you mean?"

　　"The hatch. All you have to do now is climb up to the next floor, open it and let us in".

　　The look on Aelgren`s face said that he thought this was a thoroughly brilliant idea.

　　The look on Luella`s face said that Aelgren had gone stark raving, swivelly-eyed bonkers. "And how am I supposed to do that", she yelled, "when I`m busy doing this?"

　　Several more tiny cannonballs quarrelled with the wall.

　　"Ach, I hadnae thought of that", admitted Aelgren. "Well I cannae go, it`ll nae take my weight".

　　"And don`t even think of looking at me", Izzario warned, losing colour at the very idea of it.

　　Elizabeth could see and hear and feel it coming as Luella unleashed another fearsome BOOM!

　　The room fell darker, a spotlight growing bright above her head.

　　More blasts, and this time the Blackcoats would definitely be upon them.

　　With a leaden feeling in her chest, Elizabeth got to her feet.

　　"I`ll go", she said.