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Absolutely everything you have seen, heard and learned suggests - <span class="mu-i">strongly</span> - that the second floor is currently unoccupied. So you should be able to stomach the 'risk' of a candle, for a surety ... right? You notice all of a sudden that your mouth is dry, and you compulsively swallow. But to tell it true, doing so really doesn't help at all ... oh, come on. Bite the damned bit, already. You set the 'stick-decanter down, and with your freshly freed up left hand, you fish out a candle and the snap-sparker. With the candle seated and lit in short order, the room you are in is illuminated in stark relief. And it is certainly an unusual space. The wall opposite you runs flat along with the wall to your back, but the other two walls sit at shallow angles, so none of the corners in the room are square. Moreover, three of the four walls have windows all along them, shuttered up - though these don't seem to have the push-through ... mover or whatever that the ones in the office had. Which makes sense, actually - you have seen a window on the second floor open, something that the windows in the office couldn't do, on account of the gimmicked shutters. Besides the landing of the stair, there is a an open door to your left, and another door beyond that closed - both on the wall behind you. From what you can make out through the open door, it looks like it leads to another hallway, right on top of the one on the first floor. The only furnishings the room has are some low-slung wooden benches, underneath the windows - and a floor lamp, unlit. You doubt it was the source of the light you saw earlier - looks too big to just put off the dribs and drabs you saw.
You timidly take a step towards the center of the room, then you stop. You cannot even begin to imagine how much time you wasted in Aldoin's house, sneaking around and hiding from no-one. The hour of changing is not going to wait for you, now is it? The bondsman left. He had to have. And what if he didn't? Would he run for the Guard on account of some noise overhead, knowing that he'd get in trouble for leaving his room? No, he wouldn't! He mustn't! For a surety ... right? Uh, well, if he never actually lays eyes upon you, and you don't make any noises nor leave anything behind that would put the fear of the Shears into a reasonable man, then you should be able to swallow this and keep it down. You can be quiet and unobtrusive without sneaking and without losing any time; that should squeeze you through - assuming he is even here!
