Bront put one shell back exactly where it had been. 🪲
THE BOOK OF TAD
PAGE 88
WHAT THEY CAME FOR 🗺️
They waited for the flow to settle. The crossbar rocked once against the landing’s raised rim, then stayed.
Bront tested the shelf with his weight. He rearranged another shell.
Finley watched the plate.
At last Bront lifted it.
“You,” he said to Zale.
Zale went still.
Bront extended the plate. “You did the awkward part.”
Zale accepted it with both flippers. It was heavier than he expected. TurboTAD moved beside him, waiting for Zale’s nod before taking the other edge.
Finley checked the identifying marks and the unbroken surface. A long line divided near the centre. One branch was engraved shallowly, almost hidden beneath a mineral stain.
“Careful with that corner.”
“I’ve met the corner,” Zale replied. “We dislike each other.”
Glint covered his lantern. Daylight still reached the upper rib; they could return before Vael’s bright patch crossed the fork.
Bront followed as they carried the plate towards the first bend. He kept his distance. Even so, TurboTAD felt every movement behind him.
At the turn, he looked back towards the shelf.
“Was there anything else we should have asked?”
Bront rubbed grit from a foreleg.
“Almost certainly.”
He waited for them to round the bend, then came after them.