The board caught on the second step.
Aiden stopped before Liora's end tipped. Seraphina held Jory's injured leg still while Elara pulled the loose root growth away from the handle.
"Lift toward me," Liora said. "Not up."
He changed the angle. The corner cleared the stone with a scrape that made everyone freeze. Dust fell from the frame overhead. The thick root held.
We waited through a breath, then another. Liora looked at Elara. Elara nodded once. The board moved down to the landing. I had taken less than a minute to describe the route. Getting one person through its first turn took longer than the explanation had deserved.
The passage beyond sloped gently downward. An old drain ran along the left side, covered by stone slabs. The right wall carried the service arrow and a line of small fittings toward the message station. Halfway along, a broken slab exposed part of the drain.
Nyx stood before it with the lamp low.
"Single file on the wall side. The dark strip isn't solid."
