Aronia had no intention of provoking a confrontation. Not yet.
The sorceress, Sonder, had been cooperative. Polite, even. That earned a certain amount of trust. Not much, but some.
She wasn't raving, but caution remained necessary. Magical artifacts that influenced the mind often made their thralls appear perfectly reasonable.
Sonder was reasonable.
So, trust and caution were not mutually exclusive concepts.
A lesson every archivist learned eventually.
Eventually they reached the final gate.
The pair of wardens stationed there straightened immediately.
Both looked confused upon seeing Sonder and even more confused upon seeing the staff.
Aronia produced her authorization papers.
The wardens examined them. Then examined the staff. Then examined Sonder. Then examined the staff again.
One of them looked as though he regretted every choice that had brought him to this hallway.
"Researcher Buxus," he said carefully.
"Yes?"
"Is this wise?"
"Trust me."
The warden stared at her.
Neither man looked reassured.
The gate opened. Six locks disengaged.
Beyond lay the corridor of containment chambers.
Sonder, the sorceress, stopped and looked around.
Her eyes drifted toward the reinforced doors lining the hall. Towards the runes, to the wards, to the chains.
Aronia led the way deeper into the vaults.
Toward Vault Seventeen.
Toward the two shards waiting inside.
And while the sorceress followed, calm and silent, Aronia quietly noted every door they passed: every available containment chamber.
She knew that Vault Twenty-One was empty, but its wards and seals had already been set up, just in case.
If Blackbird Sonder proved as dangerous as the artifact she carried, Aronia was ready.
Artifacts were not the only things that could be placed inside a vault.
They passed Vault Seventeen and went on.
It wasn't like the sorceress knew which one the shards were in, so Aronia led her further to Vault Twenty-One.
"Just ahead," she said.
And then they were at the vault; she slowed down.
The sorceress glanced at the reinforced gates of the vault and then at Aronia.
Aronia was already reviewing her plan.
The difficulty with people was that they tended to object when informed they were about to be contained.
The solution was to postpone that information until after containment.
A simple strategy.
Not especially polite.
"There," Aronia said and showed Sonder the way in.
Together they walked another few steps with Aronia behind Sonder.
Then Aronia stopped abruptly and immediately took a few steps back out of the vault.
The gates were shut. The locks engaged, and with a simple wave of her hand, Aronia activated all the magical containment measures; all in just a few seconds.
The wards ignited. Runes illuminated the surface of the door. A low hum filled the corridor.
Sonder stood motionless inside the chamber.
"Researcher Buxus."
"I know. I tricked you and am holding you prisoner. It's not nice, but it's what needs to be done. You are quite dangerous, or at least your staff is."
"I don't hold it against you."