Breaching the Black Vault

I dropped from the drafty cellar door right onto the damp stone steps! Down in the cool gloom, bolted into the rough limestone wall, sat a heavy cast-iron coal chute door held shut by a swinging teardrop latch. Ha! Another lock daring me to test it? I hopped onto an upturned timber crate, jammed the tip of my kitchen knife under the rusted lever, and heaved upward with a savage jerk. *CLANK-SCREEECH!* The latch flew loose, the iron flap clattered wide, and a spill of glassy black coal lumps tumbled onto the flagstones. *Snicker!* I raked my blade edge across a glossy chunk, sending crisp black chips flying. The dark vault is breached!