# Book 1 Outline — "The Floundry Affair"

Chapter-by-chapter outline for Book 1.

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## Act 1: Establishment (Ch01-06)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 01 | The Pirate Locksmith | Phelan's day job at Gavren's, voice established, financial state (broke, one meal a day). Mere's first visit to Thresholds |
| 02 | The Arcane District | First date with Mere. Relationship baseline. Agree to meet Thursday |
| 03 | The Dog | Thursday at Thresholds. Cursed dog — Flaw Sight demonstrated (binding salts cure). First hyperfocus crash. Dog chooses Mere. Guild interview letter arrives |
| 04 | The Interview | Guild interview. Phelan accepted. Gavren asks for two weeks' notice |
| 05 | The Notice | Two-week notice period. Leon D'Nardis introduced. Ward-overload riffing. Barrows job brief delivered. Fire test — sluggish |
| 06 | The Preparation | Combat training with Leon (fire magic degraded, 8-10s integration window). Carter introduced — outfits Phelan. Friday visit to Mere — cheek kiss. Departs for Barrows |

## Act 2: The Barrows (Ch07-09)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 07 | The Barrows | Friday night. Two-hour walk south. Entrance ward threaded and disabled. First floor — three resonance crawlers killed. Verdenshade harvested. Camps outside. Brain turns the conversion ratio |
| 08 | The Death Ward | Saturday dawn. Returns to second floor. Deep Flaw Sight analysis of death ward. Forge-and-redirect exploit invented under pressure. Enhancer bracelet discovered. Reactivates entrance ward on exit |
| 09 | The Return | Walk back to Drenwick. Bracelet exploration begins. Carter debrief. Verdenshade sold. Mere visit — first kiss. Ledger meeting. Guild alias thread opened |

## Act 3: The Bracelet and the Case (Ch10-13)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 10 | The Bracelet | Bracelet deep-dive (focusing matrix, reservoir). Mere "partner" declaration. Leon debrief — forge-and-redirect shared. Daily life texture. Shack realization. Floundry case brief arrives |
| 11 | The Client | Meet Ned's family. Case brief, fee negotiation. Initial Flaw Sight reading — three nested layers identified using bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight. **Family pipeline to Devod:** Ned mentioned "talk to Devod if anything happens to me." Mere recognizes the name — her estranged father. Mere gives Devod's location (Henwick's yard, Millford Street) |
| 12 | The Father | **Scene 1 (analysis):** Processing Ch11 observations into solutions. Ghostveil moss identified as Layer 1 dampening agent (Sniff parallel: binding salts scaled up). Forge-and-redirect recognized as Layer 2 solution. Layer 3 flaw visible but exploitation concept missing. Two leads point to Devod. **Scene 2 (Devod meeting):** Phelan goes alone. Devod provides: (1) intel on Ned's Compact concerns, (2) knowledge of Velken's Drift mine. **Mother revelation:** owns Thresholds, controls Mere's income, forced Devod out with ultimatum when Mere was 12. Mere doesn't know. Mine expedition planned |
| 13 | Three Threads | **Compact pressure:** formal letter, mid-level official's bribe (house money — refused; extra weight because it could solve Mere's situation too). **Mere/Devod uncomfortable meeting:** first forced proximity since Mere was 12, Phelan carries the ultimatum secret. Mere's canonical intro: "This is my father. He has ideas. Most of them are wrong. You should listen anyway." **Mine prep:** team roles defined, Carter's supplies, departure set |

## Act 4: The Mine Expedition (Ch14-15)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 14 | The Descent | Mine expedition Part 1. Travel (Devod drives, family tension, comedy). Entry into Velken's Drift — environmental storytelling. Threats: unstable tunnels, magical residue pockets (Flaw Sight unreliable), bad air. **Fight 1: mine creatures** (warped by magical exposure). Phelan's combat magic tested in confined spaces. Devod's practical competence surprises. Moss located in flooded sublevel |
| 15 | The Haul | Mine expedition Part 2. Mere harvests moss (delicate, expertise-essential). **Fight 2: Compact-tied bandits** — hired to strip mine of curse-breaking materials. Evidence of systematic Compact supply suppression. **Devod's competence moment** — one brilliant idea among nine bad ones saves someone. Escape with moss intact. Team bonds forged. Mere-Devod exchanges more words than in years |

## Act 5: Analysis and Crash (Ch16-17)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 16 | The Chain | All pieces assembled. Leon pulled in — ADD brains riff. Mere's pattern recognition cracks conspiracy ("Who wrote the procedure?"). **Devod's "move the lock" idea** solves Layer 3 (buried in idea #7 of 10). Ghostveil moss dual use: standard prep dampens Layer 1, altered concentration accelerates life-force drift for Layer 3. Execution order crystallizes: L3 → L2 → L1. Hyperfocus spiral — noise takes over |
| 17 | The Crash | Full collapse — worst crash yet. **Team carries the work:** Mere manages + prepares moss (two concentrations), Leon holds technical thread, Jonael handles logistics, Devod stays. **Compact escalates:** formal motions, qualification inquiry, approach to Ned's family. Guild holds the line. Phelan wakes to discover people carried forward |

## Act 6: Climax and Resolution (Ch18-20)

| Ch | Title (Working) | Content |
|----|----------------|---------|
| 18 | The Walk-Through | Recovery (frustration, not weakness). Mere steady presence + moss preparation status. Team briefing — three methods explained. Devod's idea formally credited. Roles assigned. Growth beat: trust earned through the crash. Pre-climax quiet moment with Mere |
| 19 | The Cure | **Three-phase execution:** Phase 1 — Layer 3 anchor drift (Devod's concept, Mere applies altered-concentration moss, Phelan guides). Phase 2 — Layer 2 stabilizer confusion (forge-and-redirect, bracelet critical). Phase 3 — Layer 1 degradation crack (Mere applies dampening moss, Phelan cracks weakened layer). Physical cost extreme. Noise disappears — total integration. Cascade succeeds. Phelan collapses — trusts the catch |
| 20 | The Settlement | Aftermath. Ned recovers. Fee collected — house math shifts. Compact thread: mid-level official identified, corruption unproven, mine evidence strengthens conspiracy. Ned alive = silencing failed. Personal beats: Mere ("the kitchen should face east"), Devod (door open with Mere), team established. Bracelet as series hook. Final noise beat — quiet, almost content |

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## Key Structural Notes

- **20 chapters total.** Episodic and self-contained with series threads planted
- **Two action sequences:** Barrows (Ch07-08, solo) and mine (Ch14-15, team). Mirror structure shows growth
- **Three-method cure** (not triple chain): herb dampening + forge-and-redirect + unconventional idea. Each contributed by a different team member
- **Devod pipeline:** Named Ch11 → Introduced Ch12 (Phelan goes alone, mother revelation) → Mere/Devod forced proximity Ch13 → Mine expedition Ch14-15 → Key idea Ch16 → Validated Ch18
- **Mother lore thread:** Revealed to Phelan Ch12 → Phelan carries secret Ch13-14 → Mere learns truth mid-to-late Book 1 (method TBD) → Thresholds ownership battle Book 2
- **Compact pressure distributed:** Ch13 (bribe + letter), Ch15 (mine bandits), Ch17 (escalation during crash), Ch18-19 (possible interference)
- **Ghostveil moss thread:** Identified Ch12 → Sourced Ch12 (Devod recognizes environment) → Procured Ch14-15 → Dual use Ch16 → Prepared Ch17 → Applied Ch19
