Sneak around the back

Teysa considered for a moment simply walking in the front door. The guard didn't look like he was challenging anyone walking in, but she couldn't imagine he'd let her in unmolested. Instead she beckoned Aliara forward and headed into the alley beside the chapel.

The alley snaked between the rough-hewn stone walls of the Chapel of the Veil of Sorrows and a towering edifice of grey marble on the other side. Teysa tried to keep away from it; moisture beaded on the stone, which throbbed like a living thing. A line of barred windows were set into the Chapel's foundation. Strange sounds filtered up out of the blackness: a low hum, like a swarm of bees, set her teeth on edge. She quickened her pace.

The alley opened up into a small plaza. After the majesty of the chapel's facade it was somewhat disappointing; a squared-off space about twenty feed on a side, with a capped well in the center and a few pallets of unused building stones stacked around the edges. A half dozen assorted temples backed onto the square, and, Teysa noted, their rear entrances were all similarly prosaic. They saved all of the pomp and majesty for the pilgrims coming in the front way, it seemed. Pitted metal doors were set into crumbling walls.

She tested the Chapel's door. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. Aliara leaned over her shoulder and gently pushed her aside. The half-elf kneeled in front of the door, inspecting its lock. She frowned, furrowed her brow, then straightened. She reached into Teysa's hair and retrieved two of the silver pins, then bent to the lock and began to fiddle. Teysa shifted uncomfortably and brushed a few loose hairs out of her eyes. She felt helpless unarmed, but there was no way to conceal a mace on an outfit like this.

Aliara grunted in satisfaction as the lock clicked. The door swung open with a creak of rust, and Teysa winced at the noise, but nobody seemed to hear it-- no guards came running, no magic alarms went off. The women slipped into the building and closed the door behind them.

Inside, they found themselves in a storage room. The only light came from a single weak torch near the door. Shelves lined the walls with a variety of cookware: earthen pots, stacked utensils, bags of charcoal. One shelf was filled with oversized glass jars. Teysa peered through the murky fluid, trying to make out the contents of the jars, but could only faintly discern twisted shapes. What little she could see made her glad she couldn't see more.

There was a single door in the opposite wall, made of the same steel as the outer door. This one was unlocked and swung smoothly and silently on its hinges. They found themselves in a vast kitchen. It was dark and empty; some of the counters were covered in dust, as though they hadn't been used in months. Pots hung from the ceiling, and vast ovens crouched on both walls like fat-belled predators. They were creeping along one dusty counter when Aliara raised a hand in warning. Teysa stopped short, and then she heard it too-- footsteps.

They echoed off the walls, making it hard to tell where they were coming from. Teysa looked around, desperately hoping that they hadn't yet been seen. They had almost made to the far end of the room, where two doors were set in the wall. Off to Teysa's right a third door opened out into a flight of stone steps leading up and out of sight. Torchlight cast a flickering shadow on the wall-- a humanoid figure, moving down the stairs. There were moments to spare. Aliara froze, and Teysa tugged her along by one arm. She grabbed one of the closed doors and wrenched at it with all her might. Miraculously, it opened, and she hurled herself and her partner through.