Chapter 987: The Order Names Cava Dren

The sled’s shoe pinned the release pin below her. The gate bar struck its channel; Elithira caught the platform lip before the jolt pitched her back.

Through the vent, Elithira saw the prisoner at the grille and the sled shoe pinning the floor. Beyond the lower gate and cut, a separate upper rail split at a brass catch: raised, it sent frames past the clearing crew; lowered, it diverted them to the upper lock.

Elithira reached for the release handle. The shoe had wedged the pin hard against its slot. Her sword guard pressed into her palm, the red wire inside it pulling toward the far branch. With her thumb she pushed it back into the groove and kept the clasp closed.

Elithira set one knee on the grate and tested the handle. It flexed without lifting; its rod met the inner bar Halen’s wheel was holding, and each roll drove the shoe harder against the pin. A hard pull would bind it tighter. She needed the passenger to lift from inside.

On the other side, Halen leaned into the side wheel while Nana braced one shoulder against its rim. Ossa’s coffin runner stayed in the wall notch, its bare curve wedged beneath the wheel’s mounting bracket and its wrapped end clear of the track.

The wheel slipped back a fraction.

"What’s your name? I can’t see the pin through this iron, so call when it shifts," Halen called from the far side.

"Elithira. The sled shoe’s got the release pin jammed; I can’t lift the handle while it bears down."

"I have one tooth left; when it catches, the wheel holds, and the ratchet won’t give us another turn."

Nana dug the heel of her living hand into the rim. Her damaged metal index stayed curled beside it.

"Nana, catch the wheel’s rebound before my glove tears at the hub," Halen said.

"My shoulder can catch the wheel’s kick; get your glove clear before it tears."

The prisoner shifted in the cage. Their hand found the inside rail, slipped, then closed around it again.

"I can brace the plate with my legs, but the door keeps pushing me off it."

Elithira crouched to line up with the vent. The lower plate hinged at the rear of the sled, its front lip resting over the shoe; a fixed brace from the gate reached inside the grille. "Put your left sole under the hinged plate. Brace your right foot against the gate, then lift."

"My left foot’s pinned against the panel, so give me room to drag it clear."

The prisoner’s foot scraped along the cage floor. They kept one hand on the rail and pressed their heel against the grille.

The wheel shivered under Nana’s slipping palm. Ossa kept her boot braced at the wall; the runner stayed wedged in the notch.

Elithira put both hands on the release. The handle moved by a finger’s width before the shoe drove it back, pinning the prisoner against the grille.

The jolt ran into Elithira’s wrist. She waited for the sled to settle; the gap hid Nana’s face.

"The pin moved, but the shoe still bears down; I need one more lift."

Nana’s shoulder shook against the rim. She held the wheel long enough for Halen to reset his grip, then gave up the pressure before her injured finger took the load.

"Ossa, keep the runner in the wall notch," Nana said.

Ossa braced her boot against the wall. Halen’s split glove dragged on the spokes. Through the slot, Elithira saw the prisoner’s left heel vanish and the right foot reach the gate brace.

"Both feet are braced now; Halen, turn while I lift the plate."

Halen turned the rim through its final quarter rotation. The bar slid through the channel, and the ratchet caught at its last tooth. Nana took the returning weight on her shoulder; the runner held the mounting bracket against the wall.

The prisoner drove their left sole beneath the hinged plate and planted their right foot against the gate brace. The plate tipped; its front lip lifted the shoe clear of the pin.

Elithira pulled the handle. This time the pin traveled through its slot. The release dropped against her knuckles, and the lower gate eased off the cage.

"Pin’s clear. Keep your feet planted until the panel opens far enough to crawl through."

The prisoner pushed at the inside panel with both hands. It opened a palm’s width. Elithira slid the tip of her sword beneath the outside bolt and levered it free. The panel moved another inch, stopped on a bent hinge, and opened when the prisoner put a shoulder against it.

The freed captive crawled through on one knee. Their left foot dragged when they stood. Ossa left her hand open instead of grabbing their wrist. They tested their left heel, then chose the stair with one shoulder to the wall.

"I’ll take the east stair alone, so keep the crossing clear while I walk."

Ossa lowered her hand. "The stair reaches the freight table, and I can point you there from here."

They looked up. Another sled was already rolling toward the split, its wheels clicking over the joints.

"The crew is still clearing the first frame, and that sled is coming behind them," they said.

Nana looked from the catch to the workers below. "Pull it down, and that sled’s passenger goes to the lock across the cut."

They answered from the stair. "Leave it up, and the frame rolls straight through the clearing crew."

They looked from the lower spur to the crooked cage they’d just left. "I was in that cage minutes ago; take this frame across the cut, clear of the crew."

Halen looked from the catch to the upper track. "It crosses the cut, but there is no ladder down from that landing."

They glanced up the rail. "No ladder, then. Clear the landing; I need room at the lever."

They climbed one-handed until the left foot skidded on the first tread. Both hands caught the rail; when the foot settled, they continued to the catch.

At the landing, they set their right heel on the lever and waited for the next axle to reach the brass joint. Their injured left foot stayed on the step, outside the catch’s sweep.

The catch pushed against their heel. They leaned on the rail rather than force it early, keeping weight on the right leg as the spring drew the brass tongue toward its first notch.

Halen tested the rim; the ratchet held. Ossa lifted the runner clear of the wall notch and carried it three steps to the split.

They called down from the landing. "Wait until the axle reaches the seam, or the frame will hit the side wall."

Ossa set the runner’s bare curve beside the paper tag clipped beneath the incoming frame’s shoe. "Call the seam as it reaches the joint; I’ll hook the tag before the frame crosses."

"The axle is on the seam now; bring your heel down," they called.

They drove their heel down. Ossa hooked the tag free with the runner and stepped back as the sled took the upper rail across the cut.

Its weight tried to kick the catch up. Their right heel slipped; they caught the rail with their left hand and grabbed the lever with their right before it rose. Their left foot stayed planted on the step while the right arm held the catch down until the frame cleared the fork.

The spring tugged at their right wrist until the rear wheels cleared. Their injured foot stayed outside the load; the catch rose, leaving the lower spur empty.

A seventh-return stamp headed the clipped tag. Elithira could make out the mark, not the wording beneath it.

Nana took the tag from Ossa and held the paper by its dry edge.

Nana turned the tag toward Elithira. "Todd is the blade holder. It says preserve him, recover the true fragment, and return Cava Dren, the living crown address, to Rillhold."

Elithira looked across the gap at the second gate. "This captive came on the other sled. We track their route apart from Todd’s and Cava’s."

Nana faced the east stair. "I’ll check which lock took that frame, then meet you at Ossa’s freight table."

The sled hit its far stop. A hand reached through the grille and struck the inner bar three times, then stayed flat against it.

Elithira counted and waited; no answer came before the sled shifted against its stop.

Nana watched the palm stay against the bar. "The chain brought me to this runner. That hand is still waiting on the other side."

"Can you reach the far side without using the authority?" Nana asked.

"I’ll return up the ladder and take the longer route around the cut," Elithira said.

The red wire pressed into Elithira’s palm, drawing her sword guard toward the lock. "My authority can stop one gate from here. Using it puts Ty back under the old contract until the route challenge closes."

Nana folded the order once. "Ty can’t answer from here, so his name stays out of that lock."

The palm slipped off the inner bar and disappeared behind the grille. Nana took the east stair toward the freight table. Elithira climbed back to the far-platform ladder, then started the longer route around the cut.