The pipe ended at a wall that was not on Vessa’s plan.
Iven ran the folding gauge along the masonry joint. The wall had been built around the pipe, leaving a narrow collar where metal disappeared into stone. On the other side stood a row of market stalls selling cloth, lamp oil and preserved fruit. People passed within a few feet of the hidden line without knowing it was there.
“Can we get behind it?” Kesh asked.
“Through the market cellar, if the owner agrees.”
Vessa checked the gauge on the portable pressure kit. The older branch remained isolated at the recorder. Before they had closed it, she had tested the medical circuit and confirmed that the bypass carried its ordinary load. Sera had arranged for a clinician to watch the station above while the tracing work continued.
The cellar belonged to a woman named Pera, whose mother sold pears in the market. Pera sold oil and maintained the storage rooms beneath three adjoining stalls. She unlocked the cellar only after Iven explained that the team wanted to inspect the wall, not remove goods or close the business.
“If you have to move a barrel, ask me first,” she said. “Some of them are full, and the empty ones aren’t where they look as though they ought to be.”
