The workshop was in complete disarray when Gethin rushed back to find the door broken in two. He had realised that there was a plan afoot to draw him away from his Master’s work and steal or sabotage it when the girl that he had snuck out to meet never showed up. He cursed under his breath and started to prepare for the roasting that he was going to receive from Gregor, let alone from their Master. Gregor was about to subject himself to the Assay, and when their Master, Pyrellius, was not in residence he was Gethin’s superior, despite not yet being dubbed as Magus.
Pushing the wreckage of the door aside, Gethin peered into the half-light of the workshop, straining to see if the thieves had breached the cabinet at the far end that would, no doubt, have been their target. He could not make it out and so started to pick his way across the floor without breaking any more glassware. He looked up for a moment as a bird flew past his head, escaped from one of the cages, and then he nearly tripped over Gregor’s body.