By the time they left the memory chamber, the mountain had begun to feel less like a refuge and more like a body waking around them.
The tremors came at irregular intervals, sometimes no more than a faint vibration beneath their boots, sometimes strong enough to rattle the shelves and send dust drifting from the ceiling. Maris led them through a narrow service passage that climbed toward the western side of Vale territory, carrying a lantern in one hand and a leather satchel in the other. Elowen followed with the green ribbon tied around her wrist and the ceremonial dagger wrapped in cloth beneath her cloak. She had not attempted to restore the borrowed memories yet. Maris had argued that the process required time, preparation and a place where Veyr could not reach them through the Sovere
