The formal complaint arrived on a Tuesday morning: two merchant guilds disputing the rights to a loading dock on the northern river quay. Eli set it on the desk with the placement that meant urgent.
I read it completely. Then I called both guild representatives to the estate that afternoon. They arrived prepared for a fight. The Halvorn man had documentation. The Mercat man had brought a legal advocate.
"Thank you both for coming," I said. "Before we discuss formal positions, I want to ask each of you one direct question. What would actually solve this problem for you?"
A pause. The Halvorn man said: "More dock capacity."
The Mercat man nodded reluctantly. "The dock cannot handle both our current volumes. It was built for what trade looked like ten years ago."
