Deme arrived at the courtyard with two apprentices and a pulley frame.
Yan had already cleared the room beneath the leaning beam. He reached up to lift it, but Deme set his toolbox on the floor between them.
“Wait until the rope is secured.”
“I can hold it steady.”
“That’s not the question. The roof is resting on it, and the tiles are shifting near the corner. We need to lift only enough to free the old beam.” Deme pointed to the post. “The pulley spreads the load. If the roof moves, we pause.”
Yan lowered his hand. “Show me how you want the rope.”
The apprentices tied the pulley to a sound post and checked the knot against the frame. Deme tested it with his weight, then asked Yan to pull the slack through. The beam creaked but did not rise. One apprentice noticed that a roof tile had slid toward the outer wall.
“Hold.”
