Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 036 | Pulse 66:10:00 — Broker follow / Market settle → Log: broker memo follow recv → Crosspath broker audit → steward private note reply → market calm check → trustee micro-visit → apprentice ledger follow → south receipt confirm → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "A footnote keeps a record from becoming a rumor. If a broker's hand writes a path, attach a footnote; let the ledger and the lane both read it."
Aurelia: "Yes. Small paperwork makes stray threads answerable. When a city asks, answer with ink, not heat. The broker who replies in writing unties many small knots."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Broker Follow roll — Mode: receive broker guild reply → Crosspath confirm broker practice → steward private reply → run market calm check & micro-visit → trustee micro-visit to key stalls → apprentice ledger follow & IO check → confirm south receipt for escorted parcel → prepare public footnote CL-0135.broker.exec. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (broker audit lead), River Step trustees Mira & Len (micro-visit & witness), keeper Tomas (index & mirror keeper), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (on-call), apprentices Jorren (lead), Nia & Tomas (assist), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & intake). Objectives: confirm broker guild acknowledged private reminder CL-0135.broker.ack; run Crosspath broker audit for any late reallocations CL-0135.crosspath.aud; steward reply and hold broker-template on file CL-0135.steward.reply; trustee micro-visit to Rava & two other stalls CL-0135.trustee.visit; apprentice IO follow on micro-credit recipients CL-0135.appr.follow; south receipt confirm for escorted parcel CL-0135.south.conf; post plain broker footnote CL-0135.public.note. Channel: secure → public.
At first bell the clerk found a courier note folded into the steward packet: the broker guild had sent a polite line acknowledging the steward's private reminder. They thanked River Step for the nudge and promised to circulate the reminder to registered brokers, advising them to confirm steward copies before any reallocation. The note was courteous, the guild's seal neat. Halek's thin watch had wanted only that: a private acknowledgement that keeps markets honest without making the square worse.
Morn (steady): "Read the broker note and file it. A private nod from the guild douses many sparks. Note the time, the seal, and keep the template handy. Ask Crosspath to run a quick re-audit for any late runs since last check."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Broker acknow CL-0135.broker.ack — guild seal CL-0135.guild.seal; time CL-0135.recv.time.
Halek took the guild line to his pad and set two quiet runs: one to the broker list to confirm they received the memo, and one to the south registry to ensure the escorted parcel's arrival had been properly logged. Crosspath's work is often two small assurances: did the guild copy the memo to those its notice affects, and did the southern desk indeed mark the parcel's arrival? He prefers to close the loop with paper rather than trust a courier's nod.
Halek: "Confirm broker list receipt and confirm south desk query for escorted parcel. If either shows a gap, send a polite follow and keep watch for one more market tide. File results succinctly."
Clerk: [DISPATCH] Crosspath confirm CL-0135.crosspath.confirm — broker list CL-0135.broker.list; south desk CL-0135.south.desk.
The steward wrote a short private reply and asked for an extra courtesy: brokers should be reminded to attach a stewarded copy when they reallocate any lot that originated in the lane. Korran added a one-line clause to the broker-template on file: Reminder: steward copy required on reallocation of lane-origin lots. Failure to attach may delay transfer until steward review. He did not want to scold; he wanted clarity. A single line makes duties legible to the busiest hand.
Magistrate Korran: "Keep it friendly and clear. A reminder that steward copies travel with reallocation is not a ban; it is a fact that keeps lanes from being surprised. Add that line and file the template."
Clerk: [ATTACH] Steward reply CL-0135.steward.reply — template updated CL-0135.template.upd.
Mira and Len volunteered for micro-visits: short walks through market rows to see if the local hold and the teach had an effect on neighbor calm. Trustees prefer seeing a thing rather than reading about it; a person's face in a stall is as much proof as any seal. They walked with steady steps, stopping first at Rava's stall to see the ribbons she'd tied to mark local holds and to speak quietly with the neighbors who had attended the teach.
Mira (soft): "We check the ribbons and ask two neighbors if they feel safer to ask for a hold. If they say yes, that is enough for this check. If they say not yet, we note why and add a small practice slot."
Clerk: [VISIT] Trustee micro-visit CL-0135.trustee.visit — Rava CL-0135.rava.visit; two stalls CL-0135.stalls.visit.
Rava greeted them with the same faint relief she'd shown the day before. She had kept the hold baskets separate and had posted a neat sign explaining the patch. Neighbors came by and spoke of the teach in cordial terms: they felt less likely to be surprised and more likely to ask. One neighbor, an apprentice potter, confessed she'd not yet asked because she feared sounding foolish. Mira offered a small practice — two minutes on the slab right now — and pulled the young woman aside to show the clause once more. A single practice dispels a dozen private worries.
Potter (quiet): "I was shy to ask. The teach helped. I will ask next market and post the hold if the vendor accepts."
Clerk: [RECORD] Micro-visit note CL-0135.visit.note — neighbor feedback CL-0135.neigh.fb.
At the second stall the trustees noted a modest price stability: the seller who had worried about the prior broker run had adjusted his stock allocation and kept two small slots at prior rate for neighbors. The trustee left a short note praising the vendor's neighbor practice and suggested the vendor announce the practice once each market bell so buyers know the offer exists. Small announcements make neighbor aid visible and consistent.
Len: "Announce once at bell. Keep a small chalk sign that says neighbor slots — two each market. That keeps the offer visible to hands who cannot read receipts in time."
Clerk: [SUGGEST] Vendor announcement CL-0135.vendor.ann — vendor assent CL-0135.ann.assent.
Meanwhile Tomas took his keeper's eyes to the micro-credit IOs. The two urgent buyers who had taken IOs had each made an initial repayment on schedule; Tomas's index showed the first installment logged and the trustee witness stamped. That ledger gesture closes a loop: people repay when terms are clear and witnesses mark the record. The clerk likes a repayment line for the quiet, practical reason that it keeps neighbors trusting paper more than rumor.
Tomas (calm): "First repayments logged; IOs updated; set reminder for second installment. Flag any missed payment after one day so we can remind rather than punish."
Clerk: [VERIFY] IO follow CL-0135.io.follow — repayments logged CL-0135.repay.log; reminder set CL-0135.reminder.set.
Halek's runner returned with confirmations: the broker list had circulated the private memo to registered brokers and had affirmed receipt; the south desk confirmed the escorted parcel's arrival and attached a short receipt with the same mirror hash the bench had sent. The loop was closed. Crosspath's thin smile is to mark a tidy loop: a private reminder had become private compliance and a parcel had reached its address. There was no drama left, only a footnote in the record.
Crosspath runner (plain): "Broker list acknowledged and circulated the memo. South desk confirms receipt of escorted parcel; mirror hash matches. No reallocations found beyond stewarded notes."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Crosspath confirmations CL-0135.crosspath.recv — broker confirm CL-0135.broker.cfrm; south confirm CL-0135.south.cfrm.
With the confirmations filed, Korran prepared the public footnote — a short, plain post that the bench would place at Lorek's slab and the market gates: a small line explaining that the broker guild acknowledged the steward's reminder and that Crosspath's follow audit found compliance; that Rava's local hold and neighbor teach had positive uptake; and that micro-credit IO repayments were proceeding. The footnote would not name any hand but would show the facts that calm a square.
Magistrate Korran: "Write no more than five lines. Say what we did, what the guild replied, and what neighbors can expect. Keep the footnote useful, not loud."
Clerk: [DRAFT] Public footnote CL-0135.public.note — draft CL-0135.note.draft.
The apprentices took the day's quieter work as a practice run in stewardship. Jorren filed the new broker memo into the central index and attached the Crosspath confirmations; Nia updated the micro-credit lines and set the reminder calls; Tomas checked vault hashes and set a small re-seal reminder for the month's end. They learned not only how to stamp and call a mirror hash, but how to close a loop — to make paper meet practice. That is the keeper's real craft.
Jorren (soft): "Loop closed. Filed broker memo, updated IOs, set reminders. Practice in filing is as important as practice at the slab."
Clerk: [UPDATE] Apprentice tasks CL-0135.appr.tasks — broker file CL-0135.broker.file; IO update CL-0135.io.upd; re-seal set CL-0135.reseal.set.
Morn walked the market late in the bell and heard the small ease that comes when ink answers a worry. A potter laughed with a seamstress; a baker balanced his small loaf onto a neighbor's palm. The bench's public footnote went up at the slab: four short lines that said what had been done and what the lane could expect. People read the footnote and then returned to work. A lane is steady when its footnotes are clearer than its whispers.
Morn (steady): "Post the footnote. Keep the words plain. Let the market read the fact and fold the worry away."
Clerk: [POST] Public footnote CL-0135.public.post — slab update CL-0135.slab.post.
Before the lamp cooled Halek made a final Crosspath note: the broker memo had circulated, the south receipt matched, and patterns showed no new reallocations. He recommended closing the broker alert but asked the bench to keep the broker-template handy for a future jump if any broker move again without steward copy. Crosspath files a close not as a slap, but as a bookmark — a place to return if pages need re-reading.
Halek: "Close the alert. Keep the template accessible. If a new reallocation appears without notice, re-open the watch and send a private reminder, then escalate as needed."
Clerk: [FILE] Crosspath close CL-0135.crosspath.close — alert closed CL-0135.alert.close; template kept CL-0135.template.keep.
Morn folded the final snapshot and pinned the day's anchors under the lamp: broker acknowledgement, Crosspath confirmations, trustee micro-visit notes, IO repayment logs, south receipt confirmation, and the public footnote. He left a short clerk memo: keep the broker-template on file for one market tide; run re-seal check at month end as planned; call micro-credit reminders one bell before deadline. Then he let the bench breathe. A small knot had been smoothed; trade could go on.
Morn (quiet): "Close the packet. Keep the template near the ink and send reminders on time. A small footnote keeps a ledger honest and a market calm."
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot CL-0135 — Cycle 036 | Pulse 66:10:00 ▪ Ch.157 ▪ Change type: Broker guild acknowledged steward memo; Crosspath broker audit & south receipt confirm complete; steward template updated with steward-copy clause; trustee micro-visits executed (Rava + two stalls); micro-credit IO follow verified; broker alert closed; public footnote posted ▪ Anchors: CL-0135.broker.ack; CL-0135.crosspath.confirm; CL-0135.steward.reply; CL-0135.trustee.visit; CL-0135.io.follow; CL-0135.public.post ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: A market calms when facts match paper. Private reminders teach more often than public shouts. Keep a broker-template on file, require steward copies on reallocation, and teach neighbors to ask for local holds. Use micro-visits to see if policy lands in practice. Track IO repayments and close loops with trustee witness. When a broker replies in ink and a parcel confirms at its destination, post a short footnote and let the market fold its worry away. Small acts in sequence make markets steady.