Keiser barely had a second to process the child's voice, those quiet, impossibly human words spoken in that small, weird tone, before a sharp call from behind ripped him back to reality.
"Your Highness---!"
Tyron's voice cracked, and Keiser snapped his head around just in time to see what the boy had seen first.
Two of the porters found them.
The first one froze mid-step, his lamp's light spilling across the aisle, illuminating the disarray of opened crates and the two intruders beside a massive covered cage. His mouth dropped open.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
The second one followed his gaze, the realization hitting him a split-second later. "Shit, shit, those ain't workers! I-INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS IN THE HOLD!"
The cry rang through the undercroft like a bell. In an instant, the sound of footsteps and shifting metal echoed above, the unmistakable rush of armed men scrambling.
