Teres

How did Yr get the mud out of Faraday's hair? Tangles can be combed out with the fingers if you're tenacious enough, so that's realistic, but without water, I don't see that mud coming out.

SCSF: That is a good question! Maybe she tried getting it out with her cloak? I have no idea.

Sorry, but...I'm guessing this means they douse their lamps? It's not said.

That was a fault on my part, and it should be resolved now!

That light must be damn near blinding up close if it can be seen not only from a distance, but around a whole turn of the stairs, through solid stone.

That is certainly true! If they went down a corridor in the first place, this would have fit much better.

That's quite a strange conclusion to leap to. The way this is described, it makes me think of the patterns of sunlight on the bottom of a pool. It sounds pretty benign, so I don't get why he immediately thinks it's demons.

Because he's Catholic and superstitious, of course! At least, I am convinced that is what Douglass meant... so it should actually get a Petty point, I think.

Called it! Kind of. Also, if the pool is that large, how come they only notice it when Jack points it out? They've already been looking around, so they should have spotted it before now.

It is contrived that they first look around the room and then at the ceiling, indeed.

Where were you when she was running over to it in the first place?! What if she had tripped and fallen headlong through the Gate? Oops, there goes your hope of saving the world.

They truly should have kept a tighter watch on her indeed.

Nice little bit of sexism, too. Only males are powerful enough to go through. Us puny wimminz better just stay away.

Ah, there are actually quite some female Enchanters, and we will even see a "very powerful" one in this trilogy.

...because tight corkscrew stairs are just so strange, I guess. I have a feeling that many medieval castles would beg to differ.

That is actually for an entirely different reason!

If Jack has to hold Yr's hand, does that imply that the women are just too susceptible to the Gate's allure, and will go jump in if they don't have a big strong man keeping them in check?

Not in general, I think, but it does imply that about Yr and Faraday. Very feminist.