a sense of dissonance looking at the barely standing ruins and the two-storey stone building with thick bars on the windows and reinforced doors. The whitewashed walls of the courier office had long since turned grey, but their original colour could still be glimpsed at the top. The upper floor had likely served as staff accommodation for the courier in charge of the facility, whilst the actual office operated on the ground floor. One of the Azure Guards stood in the entrance, and inside, several others could be seen bustling about the room.
Darius quickly made his way towards this undoubted haven of normality amidst a depressing sea of misery. As he crossed the doorstep, he sensed something he had half expected. An unpleasant stench of decay mingled with the musty smell of iron hung in the air. What troubled him more, however, was how much it resembled the stench of the slums.
The main room on the ground floor was a standard office, with a reception area, a desk and several shelving units with numbered compartments. Opposite the entrance was a door leading further into the building. Guided partly by reason and partly by the scent, Darius headed straight for it.
The next room was smaller, windowless and divided into several sections. Against the wall on the left were stairs leading to the first floor, and half of the rest of the room was partitioned off by sturdy bars. There were empty shelves, a few small boxes and a couple of pouches. The rest of the room was cluttered with sacks. One of the Guards stood at the back of the room, trying to block the open section of the false wall. Bleist walked over to him and examined the entrance. He had to admit that someone had gone to great lengths to ensure the secret passage to the cellar wasn’t conspicuous. Even when opened, the small gap could easily be overlooked.
‘Careful, Colonel, the ceiling’s quite low.’ The Guard stepped aside to make more room for them.
The heavily armoured ones didn't even approach the passage, merely hinting
