Volume I — Arc 1 — Epoch I
[Cycle 021 | Pulse 48:10:00 — Monthly tally / Index audit → Log: monthly index count → apprentice reconciliation → visiting buyer → trustee verification → Crosspath brief → Morn final ledger → Channel: secure → public digest on close]
Aurelius: "A month is a ledger turned. You read the same line at the month's end and a town learns whether its small acts held or frayed. Count what was done, not what was feared."
Aurelia: "Right. A tally is only as true as the hand that makes it. Teach a boy to count well, and the lane can dispute less and trade more. Keep the count neat, not loud."
Clerk (soft): [TASK] Monthly Count — Mode: index audit + micro-ledger reconciliation + trustee tally + visiting buyer vet + apprentice reconcile drill + Crosspath brief. Team: Magistrate Korran (steward cue), Crosspath Halek (monitor), River Step trustees Mira & Len (liaison), keeper Halen (overwatch), tutors Bryn & Kalen (on-call), apprentices Tomas (keeper), Nia & Jorren (assist), deputies Mina & Jor (escort/witness), courier guide Morn (clerk & mirror lead). Objectives: run monthly index vs pads audit; reconcile micro-credit repays; verify coupon circulation; receive a visiting buyer asking for a bulk lot (vendor under mitigation); run apprentice reconciliation drill; prepare steward monthly packet; anchor: CL-0109.monthly.count. Channel: secure → public.
Dawn came with a soft wind from the river and the square wore the slow patience of a town that had learned to keep its errands honest. Magistrate Korran had left a short sealed note on the clerk's table the night before: it was time for the monthly count. Not a grand audit, not a court call — merely a tally that asks if the week's small stitches had held. The steward trusts numbers when hands are steady; a monthly count is the practice of trust.
Morn arranged the lamp, set the wax pot low, and pulled the index to the table's center. Tomas, still new in the keeper strap, came with a stack of nightly updates — the index entries, the pad numbers, and mirror codes. Jorren and Nia took positions at the pads. The apprentices' eyes showed the same focus they wore during drills; they had learned how to find a slip before a man could speak its name. A monthly count is mostly habit: find, match, note.
Morn (steady): "One pad at a time. Tomas read aloud the names as we find them. Nia match the mirror code; Jorren tick the trustee line. We make a short steward packet: micro-credit intake, coupon flow, mitigation anchors, index health. Keep the count clean and quick."
Clerk: [OPEN] Monthly docket CL-0109.month.open — index ledger CL-0107.index; nightly updates CL-0108.*; pad set CL-0109.padset.
The first hour passed in quiet motion. Tomas read a row and the apprentices drew the pad slips. Each mirror ring matched and each trustee mark sat where it should. For the micro-credits that had been repaid earlier in the week the mirror copies confirmed payment; for those still open Tomas noted due ticks and marked them in the small ledger column Due: next three ticks. The index made the work faster than a single bell used to take, and the steward's note about appointing a keeper seemed less like ceremony now and more like a necessity.
Tomas (quiet): "Pad three clear. Micro-credit open: two due. Pad five — coupon batch x4 in circulation, three used, one reserved. Index health good so far."
Clerk: [VERIFY] Index scan CL-0109.index.scan — pad checks x12; mirror match pass CL-0109.match.
Mid-morning a visiting buyer came with a plain gait and a bulk question. He was from the market at a neighboring mart: a cloth buyer who had heard that River Step handled modest lots with careful testing. He asked if the vendor under mitigation could provide a double run — bulk enough for a small guild sample — and whether the lane's mitigation pledges would apply if he bought for export. The steward's monthly count would decide in part if the vendor could sell more without a wider call.
Buyer (direct): "I buy for a small guild sample. I need a bulk, but only if the lot meets tutor repeats and the vendor posts clear tags. If the lane keeps to the steward's terms, will you let a buyer such as I take a larger run?"
Mira answered calm and plain: trustees ensure tags and tests; mitigation terms run with each parcel. If the buyer required a larger lot, the lane could allow it so long as the vendor kept pledge slots and tutors present for immediate extra tests. The steward would sign any bulk sale terms into the public docket; trustees would stand witness to all transfers. River Step's remedy was a steady procedure, not a quick sell.
Mira: "We can handle a bulk sale under trustee sight and tutor repeat. Vendor must sign a bulk condition and accept extra public slots. Trustees will post a hold line if tests fail. We will write a short addendum to the mitigation file if you buy."
Clerk: [RECEIVE] Buyer inquiry CL-0109.buyer.inq — bulk request; trustee condition set CL-0109.trustee.cond.
The vendor came forward willingly. He had counted his anchors and the extra business tempted him. He agreed to the conditions: more public slots, an extended caution tag, and the acceptance that a bulk buyer takes the lot with the steward's conditional terms posted on every parcel. The clerk prepared a simple bulk addendum and had the vendor sign it; Morn stamped the steward's clerk seal and a trustee initial. The bargain was quiet and binding — a market deal that a steward helps govern.
Vendor (plain): "I accept the bulk sale under posted terms. I will host extra slots this week and affix a larger caution label on parcels for export. If the lot fails later, trustees may call a narrow hearing."
Clerk: [POST] Bulk addendum CL-0109.bulk.post — vendor sign CL-0109.vendor.sign; trustee initials CL-0109.trustee.init.
Then the monthly count unearthed the small thing that often causes bigger trouble: one coupon batch that had been issued as mitigation coupons was missing a steward tag. It was a small printing error but important: a coupon without the steward seal can be used, forged, or misunderstood. Tomas found three slips in circulation that lacked the seal; their mirror codes were present but the physical tag print had a faint line where the seal should be. Mistakes happen; a monthly count is meant to find them. The lane needed correction, not a hunt.
Tomas (concerned): "Three coupons show no steward seal printed. Mirror codes match, but tags lack the seal. Likely printing error or hand error in dispatch. We correct, not crucify. How to proceed?"
Halek (calm): "No forged wax, no manifest tie. Use mirror codes to validate use and recall the batch for re-seal. Crosspath will note the slip numbers and mark the batch as re-seal required. No summons — an administrative fix."
Clerk: [FLAG] Coupon defect CL-0109.coupon.flag — missing steward print; batch recall CL-0109.batch.recall.
The trustees acted with the neighborly efficiency that keeps River Step whole. They announced a brief recall at the market bell: bring any coupons marked with the batch number and the clerk will re-issue steward-stamped replacements at no cost. They set a short window for exchange and asked vendors to accept either mirror-backed coupons or the new stamped slips once processed. The recall was not a threat; it was a tidy repair that kept faith in public view.
Len: "Bring the slip. We will re-stamp and replace. Mirror copy validates past use; we will make amends where needed. This is plumbing, not scandal."
Clerk: [EXECUTE] Coupon recall CL-0109.coupon.recall — exchange window set; mirror-backed acceptance CL-0109.accept.
Apprentices were given the reconciliation drill. Jorren set pairs to man the exchange desk, Tomas to verify mirrors, Nia to print new steward stamps, and Morn to sign replacements. The drill trained the bench to fix errors quickly without making a public spectacle. In a town, a man who can correct a slip without shame helps neighbors keep trust.
Jorren (soft): "One counter, one mirror check, one re-stamp. The apprentice reads the mirror code and the keeper signs. No shouts. Teach each man to close his error with a quiet hand."
Clerk: [DEPLOY] Reconciliation CL-0109.reconcile — exchange staff x4; replacements printed CL-0109.printed.
Buyers queued as the recall ran. One man came with two coupons he had planned to use on the vendor's lot for a mid-day test. Tomas checked each mirror and matched the wax ring; the slips lacked the steward imprint on cloth but matched mirror codes in the micro-ledger. He stamped replacements and handed them across. The buyer left satisfied and the line thinned. A mistake had been a small repair; the monthly count had done its work.
Buyer (grateful): "You saved my day with a quick swap. Sum checked, slip stamped — I buy with a calmer hand."
Clerk: [REPLACE] Coupon swap CL-0109.coupon.swap — mirror matched; replacement CL-0109.replace.done.
Crosspath filed a short brief after the recon: no evidence of deliberate forgery, a local print run error, correction executed. Halek recommended a small rule for the index: every coupon batch logged with print-run mark and steward stamp counter. This would make future monthly counts faster and reduce the chance a bad batch walks for a day. The steward agreed, and Morn wrote the addendum onto the index's first page.
Halek: "A print-run mark and stamp counter will cut confusion. Add to the index rule: coupon batches to be logged with printer mark + steward stamp count. Crosspath will use the mark if a trace asks."
Clerk: [ATTACH] Index addendum CL-0109.index.add — coupon run rule CL-0109.rule.coupon.
By afternoon the monthly packet had its bones: index audit passed with minor corrections; micro-credit column tallied; coupon recall done and replacements issued; vendor bulk addendum signed; trustee tallies matched mirror slips; apprentice reconciliation drilled successfully. Morn folded the whole into a steward packet labeled: Monthly Count — Cycle 021. The steward would read it and sign a small final line: keep the thin watch for a week, then lapse unless new anchors appear. That small signature is how a town ends a tally: not by drum but by a pen.
Magistrate Korran: "The month reads clean after a repair. Keep Crosspath monitor one more week. Continue index updates nightly. Reward the apprentices with a small pouch for their quick work and set the next monthly date. Towns run by numbers when hands keep the count."
Clerk: [DECIDE] Steward packet CL-0109.steward.packet — monthly tally file CL-0109.month.file; Crosspath monitor week CL-0109.monitor.week; apprentice pouch CL-0109.apprent.pouch.
When dusk came, Morn wrote his last clerk note and pinned the monthly packet under the steward lamp. Tomas closed the index for the bell: tidy pages, new coupon rule posted, nightly update set, apprentice commendations noted. The lamps burned steady over the square as buyers finished their trades and tutors closed their slabs. The monthly count had found nothing heroic — only small errors, quick fixes, and neighborly hands doing the right, dull work. That was enough.
Morn (soft): "A month of small acts. Fix the misprints, stamp the replacements, and teach the boy to close a pad. Keep the index as a map, not a pile. A tidy count keeps rumor thin and trade steady."
Clerk: [COMMIT] Snapshot CL-0109 — Cycle 021 | Pulse 48:10:00 ▪ Ch.130 ▪ Change type: Monthly index audit executed; micro-ledger reconciliation done; coupon batch recall & replacement run; vendor bulk addendum signed; apprentice reconciliation drill passed; Crosspath brief filed; steward monthly packet prepared ▪ Anchors: CL-0109.index.scan; CL-0109.coupon.recall; CL-0109.bulk.post; CL-0109.reconcile; CL-0109.month.file; CL-0109.monitor.week ▪ Trustee sign: Mira + Len. Secure dossier forwarded. Public digest queued.
Post-Law Reflection: Count what you did, fix what you find, and teach the next hand to close the pad. A monthly tally is not punishment but care: it makes errors visible and repair quick. Keep an index that maps names to pads, require print-run marks on coupon batches, and train a keeper who can find a slip in two breaths. Trustees witness, Crosspath watches thinly, apprentices learn the fix. Law that lives in habit — fold, stamp, match, file — keeps a lane steady. Small acts, repeated, become the true ledger of a town.