The quarry was quiet again, but it was not peace. Quiet now meant waiting. Watching. Breathing too loudly for fear the Spire might hear.
They lit no fire that night. Only embers, smothered beneath ash. Even the stars felt dangerous, as though they might carry whispers back to the Magister.
The sacks of ledgers lay in the middle of their circle, heavy as stone. Nobody wanted to touch them first.
---
Opening the Ledger
At last, Sal reached for the largest—the collateral ledger. His old fingers shook, but he didn’t stop. “This one,” he said, voice low, “is the cruelest of them all. Routes and tithes can be replaced. But this…” He placed it down carefully. “This is the book of lives they think they own.”
The black cover creaked as he opened it. Inside, rows upon rows of names marched nea
