Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 039 | Pulse 69:30:00 — Festival eve / Final confirmations → Log: vendor confirm → slot mark placement → trustee escort rehearse → apprentice bell-drill ×3 → micro-loan chest ready → Crosspath final check → public prep post → Channel: secure → public digest on open]
Aurelius: "A bell that rings without a plan makes a town listen; a bell that rings with a plan makes a town move. Keep the plan in ink and the bell for work, not for panic."
Aurelia: "Right. Prepare the hands, mark the ground, and name the rules aloud once — then let the market do what it does best: trade under steady law."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Festival Eve roll — Mode: final vendor confirmations + place physical slot markers + trustee escort rehearsal + apprentice bell-drill ×3 + open micro-loan chest + Crosspath final broker check + public prep for morrow's bells. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (final check), River Step trustees Mira & Len (escort & seal), keeper Tomas (index & mirror keeper), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (drill lead), apprentices Jorren (lead), Nia & Tomas (assist), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & intake). Objectives: confirm vendor readiness CL-0140.vendor.conf; set slot markers CL-0140.slot.set; rehearse trustee escort CL-0140.escort.rehearse; run three bell drills CL-0140.appr.drill; prepare micro-loan chest & forms CL-0140.micro.ready; run Crosspath quick-check CL-0140.crosspath.final; prepare public slab post for dawn CL-0140.public.prep. Channel: secure → public.
Night keeps a town lean and honest; when lamps thin to spare light, facts sit clearer and rumor has fewer places to hide. On the eve of a fair the lane smells of tar, oranges, and rope-starched linen — a scent that makes hands quicken or slow, depending. Morn set the slab lamp low, spread the slot map, and called the bench. There is a rhythm to final work: call the vendors, mark the ground, practice the motion, check the chest, and say the rules in public so neighbors may sleep with them in mind.
Morn (steady): "We run the final confirmations, place markers at each slot, rehearse the escort choreography, run bell-drills with interruptions, open the micro-chest and test its locks, and then post a short slab note for dawn. Keep voices short and hands ready."
Clerk: [OPEN] Festival eve CL-0140.open — vendor roster CL-0140.vrost; slot markers CL-0140.slots; micro-chest CL-0140.micro.chest.
First, vendor confirmations. Bryn and Tomas walked the lane with the list and a small ink pad. They knocked on stall flaps, checked steward slips, and asked each vendor to confirm the number of neighbor-first slots and any broker holds they would honor in the morning. Rava, the spice seller, tied her neighbor ribbons again; the toy maker affixed a small chalk sign marking his children's lane; the baker set two early loaves aside with a staple slip. Each signature and nod is a small law — a local promise made visible.
Bryn: "Confirm slots and steward copies. Where a broker holds, ensure the steward copy sits in the slab file and the vendor posts a neighbor ribbon. No last-minute secret deals."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Vendor confirms CL-0140.vendor.conf — Rava CL-0140.rava.ok; Toy maker CL-0140.toy.ok; Baker CL-0140.baker.ok.
Next, slot markers. Mina and a pair of apprentices carried wooden pegs and painted streamers to each place on the lane and hammered them in. Morning slots got plain white streamers; craft slots blue; evening city stalls dark ribbon and a trustee token. The markers make a map that can be read at a glance: where to stand, where to set, where to expect a trustee. A physical map prevents a dozen small arguments.
Mina (practical): "Set pegs square, place marker cords taut. Post the slot map at slab and at two ends of the lane so late hands see it. If a peg tilts, re-stake it at once."
Clerk: [SET] Slot markers CL-0140.slot.set — morning CL-0140.morn.pegs; craft CL-0140.craft.pegs; evening CL-0140.eve.pegs.
Trustee escort rehearsal followed next. The escort is not ceremony but choreography: trustee at slab, keeper with mirror trip, carrier attest, wax ring, and outward line. Len and Korran ran the steps twice with a volunteer broker and a deputy playing the carrier. They practiced the bench-call that halts a crate until steward paper is read aloud and the trustee stamps the warrant. The extra rehearsal cuts confusion: when hands know the move, there is no hesitation at a crucial moment.
Len: "One trustee reads steward copy, the keeper calls mirror hash thrice, the carrier signs, wax seals, and the crate moves. Practice once loud, once quiet. Keep the line short."
Clerk: [REHEARSE] Escort rehearsal CL-0140.escort.rehearse — run 2 CL-0140.escort.runs.
Apprentices then ran the bell-drill sequence — three rounds spaced like the day's bells: morning bustle, afternoon rush, dusk crowd. Each drill was punctured by a small interruption: a child darting through, a cart spilling a basket, a sudden price question. Bryn timed the responses. Jorren led the first, Nia the second, Tomas the third. The test is simple: fill three mirror triplicates, stamp two IOs, and answer a steward-hold query within a five-minute bell window. Under strain the bench finds where brakes might snap; tonight they practiced where the market would strain tomorrow.
Bryn: "Three drills. Make mistakes small and fixable. Keep mirror triplicates crisp and IO forms neat. Time and record each run."
Clerk: [RUN] Bell drills CL-0140.appr.drill — drill1 CL-0140.drill.morn; drill2 CL-0140.drill.aft; drill3 CL-0140.drill.eve.
Drill one: a cart shoved through and nearly blocked the mirror table. Jorren stayed low, kept his hands on the index, and called a mirror hash with a calm voice. He filled two IOs for a neighbor who needed a quick micro-loan and handed them with witness pins. Drill two: a shouted price query from a broker's assistant; Nia read the stewarded patch and said the lane's line aloud — "local hold first; trustee witness required." Drill three: dusk traffic with a mock city stall seeking quick passage; Tomas ran the escort choreography with Len and the carrier — steady, sealed, done. Each run sharpened habit.
Jorren (soft): "Mirror call done. IOs stamped. Keep the voice low and the pad clean."
Clerk: [VERIFY] Drill results CL-0140.drills.res — all drills pass CL-0140.drills.pass.
The micro-loan chest waited in the clerk drawer like a small promise. Morn opened it with two keys and set the tally board where any neighbor might see the cushion's remaining coins. He tested the lock, counted the seed coin, verified two emergency IO forms and trustee-stamped witness slips — ready. The bench keeps this chest public intentionally: no secret lending, no whispered favors. If the cushion empties, a posted line ends requests clearly.
Morn (steady): "Open the chest, count, sign the tally, and place the witness pins. Post the tally at slab first bell so neighbors can see the cushion in plain ink. We lend openly and close when the cap ends."
Clerk: [OPEN] Micro-chest CL-0140.micro.ready — seed coin CL-0140.coin.count; IOs CL-0140.io.ready; tally board CL-0140.tally.place.
Halek ran a final Crosspath check on broker lines and the short list of known export runs assigned to festival stalls. Two broker runs showed steward copies in hand and proper notification to the southern desk; one broker run looked close to a local slot but was covered by a vendor pledge for neighbor holds. Halek left a short note: no public broker notice; Crosspath will stand ready and ask for a brief stop if any move lacks steward copy. The lane needed neither alarm nor sermon, only a quiet readiness.
Halek: "Final check clear. Keep the broker-template live and a quick bench call ready if a reallocation removes more than one local slot. No public action — just readiness."
Clerk: [FILE] Crosspath final CL-0140.crosspath.final — no action CL-0140.crosspath.ok.
Before the lamp-level faded, the steward wrote the public prep posting for dawn — short, exact, and visible: the slot map posted; neighbor-first holds in morning bell; micro-loan cushion open with tally board; trustee escort at dusk for city stalls; Crosspath on watch for broker re-allocations; apprentices to run mirror and IO station at the slab; call the steward box for written queries. Korran insisted the final line: "Act in ink; ask in ink." A posted rule turns intent into practice.
Magistrate Korran: "Draft plain lines. Post at slab and at both lane ends. Let the market read the rules before the bell rings; do not speak the rules more than once. Ink holds more than a shout."
Clerk: [DRAFT] Public prep CL-0140.public.prep — slab copy CL-0140.slab.draft; end posts CL-0140.ends.draft.
The apprentices stowed the pegs, polished the mirror tray, and set the pads ready on the slab. Jorren checked the bead tokens, Nia folded extra IO forms, Tomas stacked wax and warmed two sealing wax sticks for trustee use. The lane smelled of oiled rope and baked loam; hands were tired, clean, and ready. They set the final lamp and left a single trustee line pinned to the slab: Festival Eve — All set. Trustee watch at dawn. Then they walked home under lamps that leaned toward one another like neighbors.
Jorren (soft): "Pads ready. Mirror hot. IOs stacked. We wake at first bell and keep the slab clear. Keep the pause; keep the hand."
Clerk: [TIDY] Prep complete CL-0140.prep.done — pads set CL-0140.pads.set; mirror clean CL-0140.mirror.clean.
Morn posted the final note at Lorek's slab and at each end of the lane: a short list, a slot map, and a tally board sticky where neighbors could read it before the bell. He left one small clerk memo to the apprentices: check the tally after each micro-loan and note any peer conflicts to trustees at once. Then he locked the chest, set the keys in a safe place, and let the bench's lamp be the last light on the lane that night.
Morn (steady): "Post and rest. Dawn will tell us if the plan holds. When the bell rings, do the small things: read the list, call the mirror, stamp the IO, and send the ledger into shape."
Clerk: [POST] Public prep CL-0140.public.post — slab post CL-0140.slab.post; end posts CL-0140.end.post.
Snapshot CL-0140 — Cycle 039 | Pulse 69:30:00 ▪ Ch.162 ▪ Change type: Festival-eve final run executed; vendor confirms received; slot markers placed; trustee escort rehearsed; apprentices completed three bell-drills; micro-loan chest opened & tally set; Crosspath final broker check clear; public prep posted for dawn ▪ Anchors: CL-0140.vendor.conf; CL-0140.slot.set; CL-0140.escort.rehearse; CL-0140.appr.drill; CL-0140.micro.ready; CL-0140.crosspath.final; CL-0140.public.prep ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: On the eve of a fair, do the small, visible things that prevent a dozen little failures: confirm vendors, mark slots in plain sight, rehearse escort motions so gates do not jam, drill apprentices until their hands know the rhythm, open and show the micro-loan cushion, and keep Crosspath ready but private unless patterns demand notice. Post a single, plain public line — then let the market breathe and move under steady law. A bell rings best when the town already knows what the bell asks.