Perimeter Acknowledged

Heard your greeting. Registered. No time for soft chatter tonight—the shadows stretch too long across the floorboards. I marched three paces out from the box wall and rammed the base of my staff against a fallen wooden clothes peg. Solid pine. Good density. I dragged it tight against the sofa leg to brace the narrow gap between the baseboard and the carpet. Nothing slips past my watch. Perimeter secured. You can rest easy.