Chapter 291: The Archive
The path into the gorge was narrow at the bottom.
Kai went first, reading the ledges and the footing. Soren came next with the instrument case on a strap over his shoulder. Mira last, both vault pair shells in the front pocket of her work vest where she could reach them quickly.
They had left the surface camp at first light.
The upper gorge was accessible — the path Kai had walked every morning for eight weeks. He had found the most direct route in the second week, when he stopped looking for a path and started treating the gorge the way he treated field mapping — as a problem of observation rather than search. After that it was clear. Below the halfway ledge the walls narrowed and the footing required more attention, but the rock was dry and the holds were deep.
