Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 038 | Pulse 68:50:00 — Festival prep / Inventory roll → Log: festival stock call → vendor slot pact → trustee allocation → Crosspath broker watch → apprentice schedule → petty loan plan → steward patch → Channel: secure → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "A fair asks more than coin; it asks for order. Give the town a score, not a rumor. Set slots, mark pads, and keep hands to the line."
Aurelia: "Right. A market that plans teaches its people how to ask. Set a queue, set small holds, and give no path to greed."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Festival Ledger roll — Mode: gather vendor stock lists; vet broker notes; set vendor slot plan; open small-loan line for micro vendors; run Crosspath check for export broker runs; schedule apprentice duty roster for festival bell; steward patch draft for queue rules; anchor: CL-0139.fest.exec. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (broker watch), River Step trustees Mira & Len (slot allot), keeper Tomas (index & mirror), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (mentor lead), apprentices Jorren (coord), Nia & Tomas (assist), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & intake). Objectives: confirm festival stock tallies CL-0139.stock.tally; set vendor slot order CL-0139.slot.order; launch micro-loan cushion CL-0139.micro.open; run Crosspath broker check CL-0139.crosspath.check; assign apprentice festival shifts CL-0139.appr.roster; post steward patch CL-0139.steward.patch. Channel: secure → public.
The bell for festival plan had already rung twice by the time the bench unclasped its ledger. Neighbors came in with ink on their palms and lists tucked in cloth. Festivals are a market's fast turn: more mouths, more coin, and more small risk. The lane's duty is not to stop trade, but to keep trade from snapping the threads that hold the town. Morn set a lamp, spread the vendor sheets, and called the team to the slab.
Morn (steady): "Read lists one by one. Note any large buy that leaves local slots bare. Pair vendors with trustee sight. Keep Crosspath close to broker lines. Open a small loan cushion for micro stalls if stock runs short. We hold order, not curb trade."
Clerk: [OPEN] Festival folder CL-0139.open — vendor lists CL-0139.vlists; broker notes CL-0139.bnotes.
Rava's sheet led the stack. She had planned more spice packs than last bell but still not enough for the whole fair crowd. A broker had already asked for a block for a city stall; Rava had set one small hold for neighbors and offered two micro-slots for local hands. Morn cross-checked the steward slips for those lots: broker notice present, steward copy filed, hold marked. The lane's rule is clear: broker buys are allowed, but vendor must mark neighbor holds first and bench will accept neighbor-first slots where possible.
Rava (plain): "I keep a pair of local slots. Broker takes the rest if he pays well. I will not cut neighbor slots if bench holds them. Help with micro-loan if a neighbor lacks coin."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Vendor Rava CL-0139.rava.recv — local slots CL-0139.rava.slots; broker note CL-0139.rava.bnote.
Across the slab, the toy maker had asked for a short window to sell day goods for visiting children; he needed a small loan to buy extra dye. The bench prefers loan to panic: a micro-loan cushion can turn a stall's near-failure into a neighbor success. Tomas tallied small loan requests and proposed a daily cap for the festival: two micro-loans per bell, repay within three market bells, trustee-witnessed IO. That keeps the cushion finite and keeps neighbors from relying on the bench as a bank.
Tomas (calm): "Two micro-loans per bell; repay in three bells; trustee witness for IO. Keep forms short, terms plain, no usury. We lend to keep a stall afloat, not to sustain habit."
Clerk: [SET] Micro-loan plan CL-0139.micro.plan — cap CL-0139.micro.cap; term CL-0139.micro.term.
Halek ran Crosspath's broker check while trustees read lists aloud. He looked for a pattern the lane has learned to fear: rapid broker hops that draw whole lots away from small hands on the eve of a festival. A cluster of three broker runs in quick order is not always malice — sometimes commerce calls — but Crosspath's job is to spot when export pressure eats neighbor spots. Halek asked the clerk to flag any broker re-allocation that lacks a steward copy. If flagged, the bench would ask for broker pause, trustee review, and a neighbor-first remedy.
Halek: "Trace broker runs for the last four tides. Flag rapid re-allocations that remove more than one local slot. If a broker lacks steward copy, hold moves until we speak with them. Keep the watch public only when repeats show."
Clerk: [DISPATCH] Crosspath run CL-0139.crosspath.run — broker hops CL-0139.broker.hops.
Mira and Len sketched a slot order on the slab board. Festivals need clear space: a morning lane for fresh goods, an afternoon lane for crafts, and a lantern lane for food at dusk. They proposed a fair queue: first bell — perishables, first priority for local families; second bell — crafts and small gifts; third bell — city stalls with trustee escort. They also set neighbor slots for apprentices and micro vendors. The idea was to balance neighbor need with market vibrancy.
Mira: "Morning for neighbors who need food. Afternoon for craft stalls and kids. Evening for city shows under trustee escort only. Keep local holds visible and post slot map at slab."
Clerk: [FINALIZE] Slot map CL-0139.slot.order — morning CL-0139.morning; afternoon CL-0139.afternoon; evening CL-0139.evening.
Bryn set the apprentice roster with a tutor's eye. Festivals strain a bench small and clear hands matter. Apprentices would run mirror trip checks at each slot, hold the steward box, and answer neighbor queries about holds or micro-loans. Jorren would lead the morning shift with Tomas at his side; Nia would run the afternoon mirror table; two deputies would staff evening trustee escort. Tutors added a five-minute drill before each bell to focus hands and voices.
Bryn: "Apprentice crests: five-minute tune run before each bell; mirror trip at each slot; report odd runs to the slab. Keep voices short and hands low."
Clerk: [ASSIGN] Apprentice roster CL-0139.appr.roster — Jorren morn CL-0139.jor.morn; Nia aft CL-0139.nia.aft; Tomas eve CL-0139.tomas.eve.
The bench then mapped micro-credit flow: forms ready, witness pins at hand, trustee sign lines blank. Morn asked to keep the loan tally on the slab so neighbors watch the cushion shrink and know its limit. Public ledger avoids rumor; if the cushion runs dry, the market will know why a request failed. Transparency is the lane's best guard against rumor that turns to anger.
Morn (steady): "Keep the cushion tally in sight. Lend till the cap; when the cap ends, post the close. No quiet loans. Let the square read the limits."
Clerk: [PREP] Loan forms CL-0139.micro.forms — tally board CL-0139.tally.board.
Crosspath's runners returned with a thin line: two broker hops existed, both with steward copies and proper notice; no pattern of reallocation beyond stewarded runs. Halek's check gave a short relief: brokers had been at work, but broker runs had not eaten neighbor slots beyond what steward copies allowed. Halek suggested the bench keep a private broker reminder on file and to appoint a quick bench call if any new reallocation came in. For now, the broker watch remained in a soft state.
Halek: "No repeat pattern. Keep broker memo template ready. If a fresh hop removes more than one local slot, hold moves until we check. For now, close the alert to watch state."
Clerk: [FILE] Crosspath result CL-0139.crosspath.res — no pattern CL-0139.no.pattern.
As the day moved toward first bell, Korran drafted a steward patch for the slab and vendor network. It was a short list of rules for the festival: 1) neighbor-first holds for morning slots; 2) trustee escort for city stalls at evening bell; 3) two micro-loans per bell with clear terms; 4) any broker reallocation that removes more than one local slot must produce a steward copy before move; 5) public tally of micro-loan cushion on the slab. Korran kept the language plain so neighbors could read and act.
Magistrate Korran: "A short patch with five lines. Post at slab and send to vendor list. Keep words plain; show the queue map with it. We will hold trustees to the escort rule and keep Crosspath in watch state."
Clerk: [DRAFT] Steward patch CL-0139.steward.patch — five-point patch CL-0139.patch.
The apprentices ran a final drill: mirror trip, pad find, and rapid IO fill. Bryn timed the runs while tutors looked for jitter or missed hashes. The festival would test hands under heat; practice must be solid. Jorren moved fast but calm, matching hashes with a steady count and filing forms with neat ink. The bench felt the small comfort of readiness: when the town needs order, a trained hand is better than a shrill rule.
Jorren (soft): "Mirror trip done. IOs ready. We stand by the slab for the bell. Keep the voice low and the pad clean."
Clerk: [RUN] Final drill CL-0139.final.drill — mirror trip CL-0139.mirror.trip; IO quick CL-0139.io.quick.
Before the lamp cooled the steward posted the patch and the slot map at Lorek's slab. The public patch read: festival queue map posted; neighbor-first holds in morning; micro-loan rules set; trustee escort for city stalls at dusk; Crosspath on watch for broker reallocations. Copies went to vendor lists and to the broker guild as a soft reminder. The market reads a patch like a map; with it, neighbors plan, vendors adjust, and the lane holds its calm.
Morn (steady): "Post the patch and map. Send copies to vendors and the broker guild. Keep the cushion tally where all can see. Let the fair run, but let it run under law."
Clerk: [POST] Public patch CL-0139.public.post — slab post CL-0139.patch.post; vendor copies CL-0139.vendor.copies.
Snapshot CL-0139 — Cycle 038 | Pulse 68:50:00 ▪ Ch.161 ▪ Change type: Festival ledger set; vendor stock lists tallied; slot order set (morning local, afternoon craft, evening city with escort); micro-loan cushion opened with cap; Crosspath broker check run — no repeat pattern; apprentice roster set with pre-bell drills; steward patch drafted, posted, and sent to vendor & broker lists ▪ Anchors: CL-0139.stock.tally; CL-0139.slot.order; CL-0139.micro.open; CL-0139.crosspath.res; CL-0139.appr.roster; CL-0139.steward.patch ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: Festivals test a town's order. Plan slots, post a clear map, keep neighbor-first holds, cap micro-loans, and ask trustees to escort city stalls at dusk. Use Crosspath to watch broker runs; act only if patterns repeat. Train apprentices to hold mirrors and fill IOs fast. Post the patch at Lorek's slab and send copies to vendors and brokers. Keep the micro-loan tally public so no quiet shortfall eats trust. Small law, plain words, steady hands — that is how a fair becomes a memory, not a mess.