[quote]The decay's going hard here; if you start tipping things over and breaking things, you'll accelerate its descent into the Flood.[/quote]
[quote]you are showered with fluttering bits of ruined spine and paper as it gouges a hole in the already ruined bookshelves[/quote]

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[quote]What's keeping you here in the fray, rather than running as far as you can and scraping your way back up to the surface?[/quote]

There is an extremely good case to be made that this is [i]much better[/i] than what would be waiting for a reformed spook in a deposed government back on the surface. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay-behind]stay-behind[/url] operations of monarchies tend to involve the people who grew up with a scientific certainty in how many legs you could pull off a spider while keeping it indefinitely alive. Cats, too. Other children. Etc.

Every thing he passes on his way Down is another thing between him and Them; Maybe he'll find a place to retire in the Heart, when the dangers ahead scare him more than the dangers behind. 

Until that happy day:

[Get Away; 1, 3, +1 = 5 - Wait. Voice of Reason*. 4, 3 +1 = 8 - [i]Oh thank goodness[/i]]
[I get there quickly, avoiding harm]

"So glad you're alive, Jackdaw!"

Lucien pulls a flick-knife as he runs, slicing the tops off his sock-gloves so he can wriggle his fingers out through them - thumb holes are more complicated, thumbs can wait for later, already doing his best to duck and weave falling books without losing a finger

"Ha! And with your mind intact! Ha ha! Fantastic! Was very worried! Join the fun, then!" 

This should be enough to work a trigger, though, and he doesn't know for sure the bullets are useless yet. Neither should anything he's pointing the pistol at. 

"Last chance, any reasons not to run, anyone?" 

He breaches into the blasted side staircase and shouts back what he sees to the rest of the Fellowship. Hopefully he hasn't found the reason, himself.

* (The rest of the party ignored Lucien's advice when they ripped Jackdaw out of the Flood without waiting for a confirmed escape route, or making sure her whole mind was going to come back with her, first. No complaints; We're glad they did.)