By the time she had completed her task, it was well after noon and she hadn’t seen or heard anything of note, especially nothing to indicate suspicious activity. Soon it would be time to leave: she still had to find food and a place to sleep before it got dark. The remnants of another building nearby—possibly a barn or dairy—gave her enough cover to approach the stone base of the main ruin. Beams, splintered and blackened, lay where they had fallen. Weeds grew between, and tendrils of a dark-leafed vine snaked through the centre of the pile, as if in haste to re-clothe the ravages of fire.
Near one of the corners, a waist-high opening in the wall drew her attention. She edged closer. The damage, she noticed, was not due to fire. Someone had gone to the trouble of knocking out a section of
