Once Inej was out of the cellar she found herself in what had looked to have once been a nicely furnished lobby. The furniture looked dated, but expensive, chosen by someone with a taste for extravagance. They were worn and dusty, and some broken, but a good carpenter could easily have restored them to their former glory. An intricate wooden table had been moved to the middle of the room, surrounded by most of the surviving chairs. It held cards, snacks, drinks and similar items. It had clearly been the gangs hang out spot while they weren't on duty for Keller. Behing the reception several blankets and pillows had been put down as a makeshift bedding area. The glass panes of the window and door in the business front had been boarded up, restricting the view from both sides. Even the wood looked old, so the building must have been in disuse for many years. She guessed the door led directly to the street, but she couldn't really tell due to the boards.
She was never one to use the front door, forgoing it for the nearby stairs that led to the upper floors of the building, feeling safer in the heights. While traversing the floors she learned that the building consisted of several office floors. It looked to once have housed a lot of different medical professions. Some offices looked to have been cleaned out professionally, while others still had furniture, patient records, old medical tools and medicine, as if their owners had just walked off one day. She glanced at the names on the doors as she slid past, but didn't recognize any of them which made sense if the building had been shut down before she arrived in Ketterdam.
On the upper floor was a large attic with several roof windows. The room itself housed boxes filled with old papers. A cursory look revealed it to be credentials, diplomas and similar papers of different people who had most likely worked in the building. Some names she recognized from the office signs, others were unfamiliar. It seemed to be several more people in the boxes then there were offices meaning the inhabitants of the building had changed frequently.
All the papers looked dated, and she soon abandoned them as they wouldn't be able to help her find more information on Keller or a way to save Kaz. She instead focused on the windows. They were higher than her, but by stacking some of the boxes together she managed to reach the latch of one. It was old, and hadn't been opened for years.
After some hard work she managed to unlatch it, and push it open. The chill of the evening enveloped her as she stepped out on the roof. Her undergarments usually kept her warm in the cold sea air, but without her protective outer layers the wind slipped right through to her skin. She shivered, but ignored it, the fresh air and cold refreshing after her long time in the cellar.
It was late, the sun had just set, leaving a warm glow on the horizon. She looked out over the city, and soon realised they were in one of the finest business streets in Ketterdam. It threw her a bit as she had expected a to be in an old, abandoned building in the Barrel, near the docks or other shady parts of Ketterdam. She had seen this building before, and she couldn't remember it ever being in business, despite its prime location. Kaz would probably know the history behind it, and why someone hadn't snatched it up for better usage, but she couldn't ask him now.
She needed to get a message to Jesper and Wylan. Inej quickly considered her options. Her current position was far from the Slat, and far from Wylan's home. It would take her a long time to traverse the slippery rooftops to her destination and back. The Barrel was usually thriving with people at this hour, but the business district was shut, practically dead apart from one or two patrolling guards on their rounds. The guards would be no help as they made a point to stay out of Barrel business. They were more likely to arrest her for indecent exposure in the business district, or deliver her to establishments like the Menagerie. She needed a messenger boy, but they would not be around till morning. She bit her lip, her heart and brain debating on whether she should stay to try to help Kaz, or run for help.
She saw a few crows fly over the building. A wild idea formed in her head. She made a cawing sound to the crows, the same she normally used when feeding the crows at the Slat. To her surprise, one crow broke away from the others and swooped down, landing close by her. It cawed and tilted its head at her. She made the same sound again. It jumped a bit closer, tilting its head the other way, staring at her. It recognized her.
She dived back into the loft, and hurried down to the first floor, picking up a few pieces of food from the table, before hurrying back up. She threw a few morsels out to the crow, before returning to the attic. From one of the many letters in the attic she quickly tore a small scrap of paper with the building address on, rolled it, and tied it shut, encircling it with a ripped piece from her clothes to keep it safe from the weather.
Back on the roof she threw the rest of the food to the crow while talking to it. The crows she had befriended at the Slat had several times left her small gifts in a hollow near the windowsill. At first it was only small things like pebbles, twigs, scraps of cloth or bits of paper, but she still took them in with thanks, knowing it was the crows way of repaying her for the food. She had noticed if she fed them foods they really liked they would sometimes bring her shiny objects like metal, coins, earrings or similar items. She hoped this crow would be smart and kind enough to bring her message back to the Slat for her. She had made sure to pick some of the fattier items on the table like nuts, cheese and pieces of meat, knowing it was some of the crow's favourites.
Once the crow had gorged itself on her food, she tossed the note to the crow while making another cawing sound at it. It picked at the note curiously, easily establishing that it wasn't food. It picked it up in its beak, staring at her once more. "Please my friend, bring the gift home, bring it home. Home," she begged before waving her hands at it, the regular signal she used for letting them now that the feeding session was over. The Crow flew off, the note still in its beak.
She sighed. It might be a fool's errand, but she needed to save Kaz, and her heart wouldn't let her abandon him, no matter how mad it would make him. Her worst fear was that he would die alone in the basement, and that she could have saved him if she only stayed to help. She needed to stay and fight for him, like he would have done for her. She just needed to come up with a plan. With renewed resolve she slipped back into the building.