The teams settled without much debate. Coll and I would run bait. Jim would fly, scouting. Coco would handle the water conversion, which meant he was on the bait team by necessity and absolutely not by choice.
The rest, Kira, Finn, Wip and Phinyx, would use the window we created to reach the barrier entrance cleanly.
But before any of that, we needed the stairs.
Finn and Kira got to work immediately. Finn used the silver he'd taken from the ruins, he started shaping it into a staircase that climbed the right canyon wall in long, even sections, each step wide enough to walk without thinking too hard about the drop. Kira threaded vines through the structure as it rose, reinforcing each step from below with growth thick enough to hold real weight.
While they worked, I stood with Coco and Coll near the outpost barrier.
Coco had his arms crossed and was staring at a specific rock near his feet with the focused attention of someone avoiding his own thoughts.
