On the morning of day 1182, Venn’s offer began with a list of things his archive had already saved.
The first was a set of furnace drawings recovered from a fire in Caldrin. The second was a record of seasonal water levels copied before a western station was abandoned. The third was a series of route agreements recorded by three interpreters, each in a different notation. Beside each item was the name of a person or institution that could confirm it existed.
Iven listened as the messenger read the list to the Pale Reach council. The man had slept, eaten and changed his travel coat. His name was Ren, and he read slowly enough that Elian could note the names.
“The archive offers Pale Reach a complete copy of the feeder records it holds,” Ren continued. “It also offers trained conservators to preserve your damaged plans, and a climate-controlled room at the western station for originals you choose to deposit.”
Daro glanced at Fen. “A complete copy?”
“That’s what it says,” Ren replied.
“What does it cost?”
Ren unfolded the second sheet. “In return, the archive requests a complete copy of your intake records, including survey measurements and any historical material found in the workshop. It requests permission for its staff to inspect the chamber and record the inscriptions. Original documents remain yours unless you choose to deposit them.”
