The heavy iron doors locked into place with a double thud, cutting off the noise from the alley outside.
Inside the warehouse, four large magic lamps hung from the timber rafters, casting warm yellow light over stacks of wooden crates and iron-bound shipping barrels. The space smelled of pine oil and damp stone.
Sujin let her heavy shield slide off her shoulder, resting the bottom rim against the floorboards. She wiped sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, her chest heaving slightly.
"That was too close," Sujin said, checking the edge of her shield for fresh dents. "Vane looked ready to push past that boundary line."
"He wanted the chest," Minsoo said, dropping down from the high platform railing onto the main floor. He unstrung his bow, sliding the long wooden belly back into its leather sleeve. "If the Egyptian envoy hadn't pulled out that lease document, Vane's squad would have forced us into a fight right there."
