I walked across the room first.
Two meters from the starting mark to the landing. A short distance, slightly awkward if I tried to make it fit two comfortable paces. I used a smaller final step and stopped with both feet inside the square.
"What did you learn?" Veylan asked.
"I could make this much cheaper by continuing to walk."
"About the landing."
I looked down. "The floor dips near the back edge. My weight should stay forward of it."
"And the sword?"
The sheathed Nihil hung at my left side. I turned slightly and checked the space its length required. Clear of the wall. Clear of the chair, which had been moved well outside the marked area.
I returned to the start by the ordinary route.
Maelis watched from beside the measuring dish. She had checked the wound before opening the room for the trial. No fresh bleeding, no return of the swelling that had threatened the narrow flow, no change in the resting sensation since the morning.
