The Last Orchard reopened the gate two days later.
Edrin did not reuse the first receiving platform. The isolated northern platform remained separated from the living root network. Removable wooden bridges connected it to the settlement only after every traveler passed inspection.
The arrangement had begun as a response to the siege seed. Edrin kept it because a foreign gate did not need to share unrestricted access with the rest of his dungeon.
The returning expedition crossed in groups.
Merrit's technicians went first with their damaged instruments and the disabled pieces of two pale frames. Edrin allowed the fragments to leave only after the agreement identified them as study loans rather than transferred property. The Last Orchard would receive complete copies of every test. The Thousand Works could not reproduce the frames or sell related designs without a separate agreement.
