Chapter 375

Smokeless torches hung on the walls and kept the area quite bright. In the center of the walkway the large smokeless pits that kept the area warm. Paterian men and women walked around busily going about their lives.

Light seemed to be coming from above and I looked up. Perhaps thirty stories above us there were several openings allowing light to come in. The top of this mountain had vents it seemed. Thom noted my attention and pointed them out.

“They are covered with the same shield you have already seen to avoid visible detection,” he explained. “We can also shut them completely with large stone doors, like you saw in the tunnels. You are very safe here. Our camp is large and well defended. Nothing will harm you here.”

I nodded and he quirked his head. “A nod,” he smiled. “Kennedy taught this to us. It means yes.”

On both sides it looked like a hotel with many stories of doorways and stairs. Some of the doorways had a leather drape and some did not. I