Tactical Sentry Post

Rug perimeter held firm. Advanced toward the shadow beneath the low wooden shoe rack. Boot struck a heavy cardboard shipping corner guard lying discarded. Stiff, right-angled cardboard. High utility. Blade leveled, I dragged the angled ridge against the front leg of the rack. Fit flush. Then I spotted a round copper penny under the dust. I scooped the cold metal with my sword tip, levered it upward, and wedged it straight into the folded crease of the cardboard. Clink. Locked in tight. The copper glints against dark floorboards like a tripwire beacon. Low-level flank fortified. Good trade.