she had grown up in.
Once her fingertips found the single edge, she traced it along until
she came to a corner, then followed the other edge, and wrapping
it together, discovering a panel about a half pace across.
This wall safe was truly was a masterpiece of design, and
must have cost Dane Eyrris a small fortune to have built and
installed. She would be willing to wager that the gap was invisible
to the eye, which for the second time tonight made her grateful
that she didn’t need to rely on her vision.
She ran her fingers around the boundary of the panel
more than once, but found no obvious latch or notch, or any other
indication of how it opened. Which, while expected, was still no
less disappointing. She thought back to the one time she had
perceived Eyrris opening the wall.
She was positive that his hands had been at his sides until
after it was opened, and only after the panel slid open did he raise
his arms to take out the case containing the relic. To her senses, it
appeared that he had simply gazed at the wall until it opened, then
stood in silence while holding the relic, only to place it back in the
alcove and step away. As he did, the false wall slid back into place
and clicked as it locked shut.
She squatted onto her haunches, running her fingers down
towards the floor as she did so. She detected no other seams, and
no crevices even after repeated sweeps with her fingers. She was
impressed by how smooth the wall was, but that too came as no
surprise. She knew Dane Eyrris was one of the wealthiest people in
the Seat, and he could afford niceties like windows with latches,
doors with locks and smooth, painted walls.
She took the focus away from her fingertips and tilted her
head at varying angles, listening and smelling, but detected
nothing with her nose or ears of how the mechanism might work.
While still squatting she shifted her focus back to her fingertips
and ran them along the ground by her feet. The floor was cool to
the touch, made of polished wood.
They were yet another example of Dane Eyrris’ position.
Catelyn had grown up with wood floors in her home, and she
thought that she knew what wood floors felt like. But this was in a
different category altogether. Catelyn stifled the pleasure she felt at
the subtle warp and weft of the exquisite wood under her fingers
and toes. This was not the time to be distracted, but she had to
admit that the texture of the floor was what she could only refer to
as delicious.
She redistributed her weight to stand up and as she did so,
the sensations she had been experiencing as she lingered over the
quality of the floor allowed her to stumble onto the secret. As she
shifted her weight to go from crouching to standing, she felt one
area beneath her soles depress by the barest amount, as though it
were just a hair thinner than the surrounding areas. She smiled
when she realized the answer.
A pressure plate.
She first tested the floor with one foot, then with the other.
Nothing seemed dangerous about it, and it was truly unremarkable
other than the fact that now that she was aware of it, the
depression was now very evident to her sense of touch. She
prepared herself to bolt if it was somehow attached to an alarm
bell or some other security precaution, and then stepped down
onto the square with both feet, resting her full weight on it, but it
did not open the wall compartment.
She started to wonder what the plate would be keyed to.
And then she remembered the odd ritual that the Dane had
undergone when he had returned the object to the safe. He had
seemingly removed at least part of his clothing, and muttered:
“I’ve been enjoying myself too much.”
Could it be as simple as the panel being keyed to Dane
Eyrris’ weight ? Catelyn smiled at the solution right under her feet,
and she hearkened back to another of the lessons that she had
learned as a young girl.
One of the books that Catelyn had read continually as a
child, as it was one of the earliest
Once her fingertips found the single edge, she traced it along until
she came to a corner, then followed the other edge, and wrapping
it together, discovering a panel about a half pace across.
This wall safe was truly was a masterpiece of design, and
must have cost Dane Eyrris a small fortune to have built and
installed. She would be willing to wager that the gap was invisible
to the eye, which for the second time tonight made her grateful
that she didn’t need to rely on her vision.
She ran her fingers around the boundary of the panel
more than once, but found no obvious latch or notch, or any other
indication of how it opened. Which, while expected, was still no
less disappointing. She thought back to the one time she had
perceived Eyrris opening the wall.
She was positive that his hands had been at his sides until
after it was opened, and only after the panel slid open did he raise
his arms to take out the case containing the relic. To her senses, it
appeared that he had simply gazed at the wall until it opened, then
stood in silence while holding the relic, only to place it back in the
alcove and step away. As he did, the false wall slid back into place
and clicked as it locked shut.
She squatted onto her haunches, running her fingers down
towards the floor as she did so. She detected no other seams, and
no crevices even after repeated sweeps with her fingers. She was
impressed by how smooth the wall was, but that too came as no
surprise. She knew Dane Eyrris was one of the wealthiest people in
the Seat, and he could afford niceties like windows with latches,
doors with locks and smooth, painted walls.
She took the focus away from her fingertips and tilted her
head at varying angles, listening and smelling, but detected
nothing with her nose or ears of how the mechanism might work.
While still squatting she shifted her focus back to her fingertips
and ran them along the ground by her feet. The floor was cool to
the touch, made of polished wood.
They were yet another example of Dane Eyrris’ position.
Catelyn had grown up with wood floors in her home, and she
thought that she knew what wood floors felt like. But this was in a
different category altogether. Catelyn stifled the pleasure she felt at
the subtle warp and weft of the exquisite wood under her fingers
and toes. This was not the time to be distracted, but she had to
admit that the texture of the floor was what she could only refer to
as delicious.
She redistributed her weight to stand up and as she did so,
the sensations she had been experiencing as she lingered over the
quality of the floor allowed her to stumble onto the secret. As she
shifted her weight to go from crouching to standing, she felt one
area beneath her soles depress by the barest amount, as though it
were just a hair thinner than the surrounding areas. She smiled
when she realized the answer.
A pressure plate.
She first tested the floor with one foot, then with the other.
Nothing seemed dangerous about it, and it was truly unremarkable
other than the fact that now that she was aware of it, the
depression was now very evident to her sense of touch. She
prepared herself to bolt if it was somehow attached to an alarm
bell or some other security precaution, and then stepped down
onto the square with both feet, resting her full weight on it, but it
did not open the wall compartment.
She started to wonder what the plate would be keyed to.
And then she remembered the odd ritual that the Dane had
undergone when he had returned the object to the safe. He had
seemingly removed at least part of his clothing, and muttered:
“I’ve been enjoying myself too much.”
Could it be as simple as the panel being keyed to Dane
Eyrris’ weight ? Catelyn smiled at the solution right under her feet,
and she hearkened back to another of the lessons that she had
learned as a young girl.
One of the books that Catelyn had read continually as a
child, as it was one of the earliest
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