Chapter 109 - The Broadcaster's Burden

The gates of Valmere did not open for us. Instead, we entered through the Grave-Run, a cramped, moisture-slicked drainage culvert beneath the western wall that I had mapped out during my first week of maintenance duty. Inside, the Academy was a hive of suppressed panic. The Foundation guards were still patrolling the grounds, but their movements had become erratic and directionless. Dr. Vane's prolonged absence had created a localized collapse in their command structure; they were scouring the grounds for their Surgeon, entirely unaware that he was currently being watched by a bone-hound in a frozen cedar grove miles away.