You do not carry pride into a hole. If you drop something, name it. If you find something, do not hide it.
If you are tempted to be impressive, slow down. Impress me by telling me what you do not know. Impress me by finding water every time."
She let the grid fade and brought the terrain back in full. She pointed to a ridge. "Wind will lie to you here," she said. She pointed to the marsh.
"There is always a second floor under any floor like this." She pointed to the broken towers. "High ground is a rumor until a ladder says it's real. Do not believe rumors."
Evelyn lifted her hand, not high, just enough for Elira to see it without making a show.
"If the realm chooses to echo something it used to hold," she asked, "and the proctors do not catch the echo before we do, what do we do when we meet it?"
Elira's eyes warmed by a fraction. "Name it aloud," she said. "Old things go quiet when you speak to them like you expect them to have manners.
