S04 The Crew Takes Flight

"We must leave at once," Janiven said, her voice steady despite the nearing threat.

"Which way can we go?" asked Arpentus, his voice straddling the line between calm and panic. "They will certainly expect us to flee through the back door."

"There is another way out," Janiven said, "but we must hurry. Keemes, follow me to the bar, this will be easier with your strength. Morosino, grab the candle from the table and come with us."

Keemes obliged, and the two of them moved over to and behind the bar. There, Janiven knelt down and pulled out a wine bottle from a rack beneath the height of the bar, against the wall. She then reached into the space it left and pulled on a hidden latch, which made a satisfying click. She then replaced the bottle and stood up.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to help me with this," she said, motioning towards the rack of bottles, "it will slide out of the way and reveal a passage."

"We're almost out of time," Ronaldos said, as he stood looking out the window next to the door.

Keemes nodded and knelt down, pulling the rack of bottles out of the way as Janiven had instructed. The rack stuck a little, but with a grunt of effort, it slid out of the way, revealing an open hatch in the floor, leading down into darkness.

"This leads to the sewers," Janiven said, "and from there, we can make our way to a safehouse elsewhere in the city. Morosino, you go first. Use the candle to light the lantern hanging on the wall at the bottom of the ladder."

Morosino nodded, shaking nervously, and climbed down the ladder into the darkness. Arpentus followed him, saying just before his upper body disappeared, "I must say this is a rather exciting way to depart from a dinner party."

Ronaldos, having stepped away from the window to gather with the others at the bar, exchanged a glance with Keemes. Janiven broke up the moment by saying to the men, "There's no time for chivalry, Ronaldos. You go next, I must show Keemes how to properly seal our escape route, lest it be discovered."

Ronaldos nodded, and climbed down the ladder after Arpentus. Only then did Janiven make for the ladder herself, saying to Keemes as she turned to face him, "It will be harder to do from below, but you must pull the rack back into position, and then close the hatch. Press hard until you hear the click."

"I will see to it," Keemes replied, his voice steady. He watched as Janiven climbed down the ladder, her form disappearing into the darkness below.

Just then, as the sound of the clanking armor was at its loudest, it stopped, then immediately replaced by a loud banging on the door, followed by a voice commanding those inside, "Open up, by the authority of the Order of the Rack! You have only this one chance, or we will break down the door!"

Keemes did not take a moment to wait for what would happen next. He climbed far enough into the hatch to be able to pull the bottle rack back into place. Again it stuck, only this time he did not have the luxury of leverage. The pounding on the door grew louder, only this time it sounded like they were using a battering ram.

Teeth clenched, Keemes gave the rack an explosive pull, and it slid back into place, covering the hatch. He then stepped a few rungs down the ladder, then reached up and pushed the hatch closed. He waited a moment, however, before letting it click into place, listening to the pounding on the door. As a sudden crash marked the latch of the front door giving way, he pressed the hatch closed to match the timing of the latch clicking into place.