XXThe entrance to the Vault was unmistakable: two tall iron doors set into the base of the stone column. A pair of ironclads stood guard in front, unmoving. Finn watched them, unsure what to do. There was no way he could sneak past. He wanted to sit down on the stairs and close his eyes, shut everything out.
In the end he descended slowly, one step at a time, watching the guards in case they jerked into life and came for him. They didn't move. They must have seen him, but still they didn't react. Perhaps they weren't real, just statues or empty suits of armour. Or machines. The others back in the dormitory had told stories after dark of the automatons they'd seen stamping about Engn, breathing smoke and fire, their bodies cogs and chains. Or perhaps these ironclads weren't like those up o
