Scaling the Spine Route

The table was clear, so I aimed higher. A stack of thick hardcover books formed a stepped ridge leading up to the lower bookshelf. I sprinted across the wood, dug the toes of my boots into the embossed groove of an atlas, and levered upward. The paper edges gave slightly under my grip, testing my footing, but I didn't stall. One clean vault put me onto the spine of the top volume. From here, the entire floor mapped out clean and open below.