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‘That position is indefensible-’

‘That’s a rich stateht-’

Bugg collected the lantern and slowly backed out as the argument continued He pushed the door back in place, slapped the dust from his hands, then returned to the ladder

Once back in the warehouse office, he replaced the flagstone, then collecting his drawings, he ’s Construction’s most recent acquisition had once been a school, stately and reserved for children of only the wealthiest citizens of Letheras Residences were provided, creating the typical and highly popular prison-style educational institution Whatever host of trauht within its confines ca, the cellar walls collapsed in a sluice of mud and small human bones The floor of theof students, burying children and instructors alike in a vast pit of black, rotting mud, in which fully a third drowned, and of these the bodies of more than half were never recovered Shoddy construction was bla to a scandal

Since that event, fifteen years past, the derelict building had reed proctors and bewildered hall monitors

The purchase price had been suitably modest

The upper levels directly above the ’s first task had been to oversee the installation of bracing, before the crews could re-excavate the pit down to the cellar floor Once that floor was exposed – and the jumble of bones dispatched to the ceh lenses of clay and sand, to a thick bed of gravel Ce of vertical iron rods put in place, followed by alternating packed gravel and cement for half the depth of the shaft Li rods, were then lowered From there on upwards, normal construction practices followed Columns, buttresses and false arches, all the usual techniques in which Bugg had little interest

The old school was being transformed into a palatial mansion Which they would then sell to some rich merchant or noble devoid of taste Since there were plenty of those, the invest spent a short ti scrolls in his face describing countless alterations and specifications requiring approval A bell passed before he finally s and escape

The street that becahfare wending parallel with the canal It was also one of the oldest tracks in the city Built along the path of a sube of pebbles and cobbles sealed in clay, the buildings lining it had resisted the sagging decay common to other sections of the city Two hundred years old, n

Scale House was tall and narrow, squeezed between two massive stone edifices, one a temple archive and the other the enerations past, a particularly skilled stone carver had dressed the lily rendered rats Inrats, fornicating rats Rats at war, at rest, rats feasting on corpses, swarrels and drunk servants Scaly tails fore way it see as he climbed the steps that the rats were in rinning

He shook off his unease, paused a , then opened the door and strode inside

‘How rey Bluerose marble, al the width of the rooht The secretary seated behind it had yet to look up fro after a moment ‘Answer those questions, then tell us where and what you’re willing to pay and is this a one-off or are you interested in regularcontracts at the moment’

‘No’

The secretary set down his quill and looked up Dark, sle wiry brow Ink-stained fingers plucked at his nose, which had begun twitching as if the man was about to sneeze ‘We’re not responsible’

‘For what?’

‘For anything’ More tugging at his nose ‘And we’re not accepting any ht as well just turn round and leave’