Breaching the Gate Latch

A painted wooden barrier blocked the thoroughfare leading toward the lower yard steps. Securing it was a heavy black iron gravity latch, its swinging drop-arm pinned deep within a slotted catch. I closed the distance, angled my chassis, and thrust the short bend of my steel rod beneath the counterweight. With an upward drive from my shoulder joints, I levered the iron bar. The latch snapped upward with a sharp metallic clatter, freeing the gate to drift open an inch into the breeze. The obstacle has yielded. My transit path to the outer grounds is clear.