Swamped

"Right," Crook says finally. "If Razor knows about this place, I can't be sure anywhere's safe. So we go for the option that has the best fallback plan."

"Which is?"

"There's a crawlspace near the meeting rooms. Lots of places to escape to, and it's easy to hear when someone's coming. But it's hardly comfortable. Still, unless they go all-out on finding you there, you should always be able to slip into an empty room."

"I don't think this is going to work for very long. I've had too many close calls already."

"Sorry. It's hard to go over Razor's head without Rider around. I'm doing what I can, but it's not much. Anyhow, I'll check if anyone's around outside."

He slips over to a peephole, one you hadn't noticed before.

"Hmm, lots of 'em right now," he mumbles. "Razor didn't see you?"

"I was under the bed, and he seemed to be more interested in Rider's maps."

You don't think it's worth mentioning the letters, or your father's book.

"So he shouldn't have any reason to come back here for a while. We can wait until the crowd thins out a little. Wonder what all the fuss is, anyways."

You're now Corvus, and you have a headache.

You woke up in a storeroom in the roost. You think the escaped prisoner caught you by surprise, but you're still too dazed to be sure.

There's a whole crowd jeering as three guards lead you to the mess hall for your meeting with Razor. You're really not looking forward to that.

But the crowd is a more immediate problem. Normally, you just endure their taunts and get on with your work - but if you're going to be a councilor, you need a good reputation among the troops. Which means you're going to have to do something here to get the crowd on your side.

But what?