We did not travel far the next day.
The ridge gave us a clear view in every direction and enough height that any approach would be visible long before it became a threat. After weeks of forced marches and broken sleep, the chance to stay in one place and think was more valuable than another few hours of distance. Vale set a wide perimeter. The rest of us sat in a loose circle with the salvaged parchments and crystal tablets spread across a flat slab of stone.
Elizabeth took charge of the reading. Her voice stayed steady as she worked through the densest of the field reports, translating the older phrasing into words the rest of us could follow without stopping every few lines. Feng Lan sat at her shoulder and filled in the gaps where the academy writers had used terms that only someone raised inside a great clan would recognise. Seraphina activated the crystal tablets one by one and held the glowing maps steady so everyone could see.
