The clerks reached the side door before Wuchen sent a binding seal across its threshold. Black writing slid over the latch and held it shut. Dalan stayed inside the room with the station list under his coat. The other two clerks were trapped on the narrow side passage, beyond the command hall but still within reach of the seal.
Yan created one Soul-Lantern projection at the prepared relay mark beside the corridor. It was a small branch, carrying only perception and a pulse. He guided it to the latch, where it could see the release notch the seal had covered. The projection could not hold the door against a guard or carry a clerk through. It could show them where to press.
The nearest clerk followed its signal. She pushed the lower latch while the other held the door steady. The black writing trembled. Dalan lifted one hand from inside the hall and pointed to the higher catch. The second clerk released it. The door opened just wide enough for both of them to slip through.
Dalan tucked the station list beneath his coat and waved them toward the records room. He stayed in the command hall. Yan recalled the projection and turned back to Wuchen, whose brush had already begun another order.
