The fourth report had no green mark beside it.
It arrived at Gate early on day 1308, carried by a scout whose boots were still wet from the upper road. Three places on Elian’s comparison sheet showed working local systems: Reedglass, Pale Reach and Ember Wash. The new report described an old freight notch on the outward Rootwell approach, where the recent storm had taken a section of cliff path and its outer retaining wall.
The scout had left the forward receiving shelter on day 1299. Nine difficult travel days, with wet crossings and one closed shelf, brought his actual observations here. He had not watched the cliff fall through an instrument in Gate.
“The old cut is not usable for a loaded party,” he said. “A person might crawl across part of it. I would not sign that as a route.”
“Is there an alternative?” Tavin asked.
“Long Teeth ridge. Longer. We need the local keeper’s current stages before promising it.”
The map’s old line remained visible. Elian put a dated broken-route notice over it instead of erasing the path as if no one had ever depended on it. Their request for Rootwell comparisons had not reserved a road through a cliff that no longer held.
