The fourth-bell opening came again, narrow and clear. Yan crossed first and found the outer command post beyond the folded approach. The guard panel stood against a stone partition, its sealed center still glowing from the ward. The artillery crew was reloading outside the wall.
The panel had two rings set into its face, one marked with the gate symbol and one with the service notch Yan had seen inside. A thin strand of light ran between them. He put a hand near the edge, feeling for the pressure that had drawn the path closed.
“That is the guard lock,” the warden said behind him. The two soldiers had brought him through the opening with the assault team. “If it stays lit, the post cannot open the service path.”
“How do you shut it off?” Yan asked.
“Turn the inner ring when the bell strikes.”
Yan checked the bell schedule on the board. The next strike was close. He waited until the sound reached the post, then turned the inner ring a quarter mark. The light between the symbols broke apart. The outer ward remained, but the guard panel no longer held the command post shut.
Wei checked the doorway. “That gives us the post. The inner array is still active.”
