Himerance hauled an old but stout-looking trapdoor open in a flurry of earth and popping rivets. They hurried down an unlit spiral staircase and had descended about two complete turns – Yime following Himerance and trusting him to see in a darkness so profound even her moderately augmented eyes could register next to nothing – when there was a distant-sounding thud from outside. The tower shook, just a little.
- Surface Detail, Chapter 26