After crawling through the narrow underground tunnel on their hands and knees, Edmond and his mentor finally reached the priest's cell. The passage had been barely wide enough for one person, forcing them to move in single file through the cramped space that connected their prison cells.
Edmond looked around eagerly, expecting to see something extraordinary. But the small stone room looked disappointingly ordinary.
"We have a few hours before the guards make their rounds," the old priest said calmly. "It's just past midnight."
Edmond glanced around, puzzled. "How can you tell the exact time? I don't see any clock."
The priest smiled and pointed to a thin beam of moonlight streaming through his tiny window. "See that ray of light? And these lines I've scratched into the wall? I can tell the precise time by tracking how the light moves across these markings. It's more accurate than any watch, because the sun and earth never change their paths."
