The group was split up—he and Lyra were led back the way he'd come, while the others went in the opposite direction.  As he passed the open office, he glanced through the door, where the stallion was still focused on his paperwork. A pair of guards escorted them back out to the carriage. Lyra didn't seem to think it was odd at all; she climbed gracefully up the step that one of the guards was holding for her.