Sharp intelligence aside, there were some glaring differences between Raven and Thomas. Jess couldn't recall the big German swearing in English, or much at all, really. He tried to imagine Thomas declaring his excitement over a bunch of broken shit and couldn't do it, the image was too strange.

Repressing a laugh, he snorted in amusement and lifted himself higher on the balls of his feet so he could reach better. Some days he wished he had the other boy's insane height.

"History and literature are more my areas. You'd have to explain the nuances. Broken parts look like broken parts to me," he said. His searching fingers came away with nothing except paint flecks. Not surprising. Something would have to be bolted to a stud to avoid falling down, what with the inn rattling like an old tin can from the force of these tremors. "Nothing up there."

But as he lowered himself back down, he noticed something on the floor, next to the door frame's moulding. If he hadn't been facing the door, he would've missed it entirely.

"Wait... I think there's a key."

Maybe something had been up there, after all. He bent to collect it.