"Beasts," Valyn said, simply. He didn't know the names for the creatures, and few of them resembled anything he was familiar with. Not even his people had created monsters on the scale of what roamed the institute. And they were known for that sort of thing.

"Maintenance rooms with various small machines, tools and utilities, rooms where they keep items from the lives they tell us we led, medicinal supplies and things of that nature," he went on, taking the stairs carefully. "You should be able to find something to use as a weapon."

He paused at the top of the stairs, silently waiting to ensure his companions were ready.