chapter 10 done, working on 11

world/story-summary-book1.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 **Purpose:** Quick-reference continuity document for Claude Code. Consult this file at the start of any drafting or revision session to establish context without re-reading all chapter drafts. For detailed revisions or line-level continuity checks, consult the full chapter drafts directly.
 
-**Last updated:** Ch09 final (2026-03-05)
+**Last updated:** Ch10 final (2026-03-06)
 
 ---
 
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 | Ch07 | The Greymarch Barrows | Day 28 (Fri night) | Day 28 |
 | Ch08 | The Third Door | Day 29 (Saturday) | Day 29 |
 | Ch09 | The Return | Day 29 (Saturday, midday–late afternoon) | Day 29 |
+| Ch10 | The Bracelet | Days 30–33 (Sunday–Wednesday) | Day 33 |
 
-**Total elapsed time Ch01–Ch09:** ~28–29 days (~4 weeks).
+**Total elapsed time Ch01–Ch10:** ~32–33 days (~4.5 weeks).
 
 *For detailed bell/time references and continuity flags, see `/world/timeline-book1.md`.*
 
@@ -170,18 +171,40 @@
 
 **Chapter-ending state:** Phelan asleep in shack, ~sub-10% reserves, bracelet charging (stone dark red). 32 silvers in lockbox. Exhaustion, not analysis. Sets up Ch10 (rested, higher reserves, visits to Mere and Leon).
 
+* * *
+
+### Ch10: The Bracelet
+
+**Timeline:** Days 30–33 (Sunday–Wednesday). Recovery period. Reserves climb from ~60% Sunday to ~85% by Tuesday.
+
+**Summary:** Sunday morning, Phelan walks to Thresholds. Sniff greets him in the front room (living at the shop, smelling like old paper). Mere reads his condition and spots the bracelet under his sleeve before he reveals it. She identifies the inscription as pre-Compact by style. Phelan tells her about the second floor, the death ward, and the bracelet's dual function (focusing matrix + trickle-charge reservoir). He confirms the guild doesn't know — Mere files the trust hierarchy without comment. Her key question: "What happens when it's full?" — Phelan hadn't considered the reservoir's full-charge behavior. Mere pulls a pre-Compact theory text from Thresholds' shelves and identifies conditional (*if-then*) logic in the bracelet's notation — modern runes are declarative, this is responsive. The bracelet isn't just enchanted, it's *programmed*. Mere then states: "You hid this from your guild. You haven't shown Leon. But you walked here on a Sunday morning and put it on the counter. You're my partner." The noise stops (Ch06 callback). Phelan confirms: "That's — yes. Accurate." They return to the bracelet's notation. Phelan stays an hour.
+
+Monday–Tuesday: deep Flaw Sight analysis of the bracelet at the shack. Key findings: (1) Focusing matrix is a filter, not a magnifier — sharpens relevant detail, dampens background noise. (2) Reservoir acts as a buffer — smooths Flaw Sight usage spikes, draws from buffer before personal reserves. (3) Two functions are in conversation — a self-optimizing feedback system. Pre-Compact engineering that improves the framework itself, not tricks within it. Working model ~80% complete; remaining 20% lives in conditional notation neither Phelan nor Mere can fully parse. Bracelet stone shifting from dark red to warm amber-red. Forge-and-redirect technique reflected on — with bracelet's focusing, could be refined into a repeatable, precise tool.
+
+Tuesday evening: Phelan visits Leon, brings wine as thanks for combat training. Tells Leon the full death ward story (forge-and-redirect technique). Leon impressed — "You walked up to it and found the one thing it couldn't do." Leon proposes a hybrid concept: apply volume to forged signals — four hundred inputs all matching internal signature, injected through multiple seams. Statistical averaging could mask individual imprecisions, reducing observation cycles needed. Twenty minutes of ADD-brain riffing produces a theoretical brute-force forgery approach. Neither has tested it. Phelan does NOT share the bracelet with Leon — trust has layers (methods shared, tools withheld).
+
+Wednesday: shack realization. The word "partner" changes the requirements — Phelan's brain runs the scenario of Mere visiting (one room, one cot, one chair, plans on the wall) and identifies a structural flaw. Not embarrassment — inadequacy. The shack was designed for someone who'd given up on being visited. Financial math reviewed: 25 net silvers from Barrows + 15 retainer, minus expenses. First real savings, but house at 1,300 still distant. Guild alias thread turned over — nothing fits yet. Wednesday afternoon: guild courier delivers job brief NS-7721. Ned Floundry case — curse classified as unbreakable by the Arcane Compact, two curse-breakers failed, progressive degradation, 4–6 weeks remaining. Fee: 150 silvers (120 net after commission). The noise spins up to full speed.
+
+**Characters present:** Phelan Varrant, Mere Fields (at Thresholds), Sniff (at Thresholds), Leon D'Nardis (at his rooms). Referenced: Ledger, Carter, Gavren, Mrs. Dallery.
+
+**Magic/Exploits:** No new exploits deployed. Bracelet analysis deepened: focusing matrix = perception filter, reservoir = buffer/spike smoother, dual functions in self-optimizing feedback loop, conditional pre-Compact notation identified (responsive, not declarative). **Theoretical: Brute-Force Forgery** — hybrid concept developed with Leon (volume + forgery), untested. See `/world/magic/exploits-log.md`.
+
+**Plot threads opened/advanced:** Mere "partner" declaration (noise stops — Ch06 callback); bracelet analysis deepened (filter, buffer, feedback system, conditional logic); Mere's structural/linguistic contribution to bracelet study established; forge-and-redirect recognized as repeatable technique category; brute-force forgery hybrid theorized with Leon; shack realization (structural inadequacy for partnership); **Ned Floundry case formally received** (NS-7721, 150 silvers, unbreakable curse); guild alias still open (nothing fits).
+
+**Chapter-ending state:** Phelan at the shack, 85% reserves, bracelet amber-red and building. Floundry case brief on the table. The noise is no longer manageable. Act 3 begins.
+
 ---
 
 ## 3. Running Character Tracker
 
 | Character | First Appearance | Current Status | Relationship to Phelan | Last Seen |
 |-----------|-----------------|----------------|----------------------|-----------|
-| Phelan Varrant | Ch01 | Active — asleep in shack, sub-10% reserves, bracelet charging, 32 silvers in lockbox | Protagonist | Ch09 |
-| Mere Fields | Ch01 (unnamed), Ch02 (named) | Active — running Thresholds bookshop | Love interest, deepening relationship (cheek kiss Ch06) | Ch06 (at Thresholds) |
+| Phelan Varrant | Ch01 | Active — shack, 85% reserves, bracelet amber-red, Floundry case brief received | Protagonist | Ch10 |
+| Mere Fields | Ch01 (unnamed), Ch02 (named) | Active — running Thresholds bookshop | Partner (declared Ch10), love interest, bracelet study collaborator | Ch10 (at Thresholds) |
 | Gavren Holst | Ch01 | Active — running Gavren's Botanical & Sundry | Former employer, parted on good terms | Ch05 (farewell, last day) |
-| Leon D'Nardis | Ch05 | Active — independent operator, rooms above chandler's shop | Close friend, training partner, intel source | Ch06 (sparring session) |
+| Leon D'Nardis | Ch05 | Active — independent operator, rooms above chandler's shop | Close friend, training partner, intel source. Knows forge-and-redirect technique. Does NOT know about bracelet. | Ch10 (at his rooms, wine and technique exchange) |
 | Jonael Carterson ("Carter") | Ch06 | Active — running Carterson's Supplies, back-room forge-and-inscription workshop | Professional contact → asset relationship, store credit given | Ch09 (workshop, Flaw Sight exchange) |
-| Sniff (the dog) | Ch03 (unnamed), Ch05 (named) | Active — living in Thresholds' front room | Mere's dog, Phelan broke his curse | Ch06 (at Thresholds) |
+| Sniff (the dog) | Ch03 (unnamed), Ch05 (named) | Active — living in Thresholds' front room, smells like old paper and binding glue | Mere's dog, Phelan broke his curse | Ch10 (at Thresholds) |
 | The Center Man | Ch04 | Active — Guild leadership | Guild interviewer, decision-maker | Ch04 |
 | The Questioner | Ch04 | Active — Guild panel | Guild interviewer | Ch04 |
 | Ledger (The Observer) | Ch04 (unnamed), Ch09 (named) | Active — Guild intelligence, Phelan's direct contact | Guild interviewer → debrief handler, reads people like Phelan reads magic | Ch09 (Barrows debrief) |
@@ -198,19 +221,20 @@
 **ADVANCING** — Active development across chapters.
 **RESOLVED** — Completed.
 
-- **ADVANCING** | **Guild career** — Phelan accepted Tier One (Ch04). First job (Barrows) completed and delivered (Ch07–09). 32 silvers net (40 minus 20% commission). | Introduced Ch01 (application), advanced Ch04–Ch09.
-- **ADVANCING** | **The house/land dream** — Phelan owns land, rents a shack, needs ~1,300 silvers. Timeline dropped from 40 years to 13 (Ch04). Bedroom feels too small since meeting Mere. | Introduced Ch01, advanced Ch04–Ch05.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Phelan-Mere relationship** — From unnamed customer (Ch01) to name exchange (Ch02) to hand-holding (Ch03) to cheek kiss (Ch06). Slow, competence-based, honest. Neither has said anything explicit. | Introduced Ch01, advanced every chapter.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Flaw Sight concealment** — Phelan hides true extent from everyone. Described ability to guild panel in limited terms (Ch04). Told Carter "geometry" (Ch09). Mere doesn't know. Leon doesn't know full scope. Bracelet hidden from guild. | Introduced Ch01, advanced Ch03–Ch04, Ch09.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Combat magic rust** — Dormant 4–5 years. Retrained with Leon (Ch06). Window: 8–10 seconds integrated, then degradation. 5 workings depleted him in the Barrows (Ch07). Ledger probes about combat magic in debrief (Ch09) — Phelan deflects but Ledger unconvinced. | Introduced Ch05, advanced Ch06–Ch07, Ch09.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Enhancer bracelet** — Pre-Compact artifact with perception refinement + trickle-charge reservoir. Second layer uses notation Phelan doesn't understand. Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight confirmed in practice (Carter's knives, Ch09). Stone color shift black → dark red as reservoir charges. Hidden from guild. | Introduced Ch08, advanced Ch09.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Ledger's suspicion** — Observer (now Ledger) caught Phelan's combat magic pause (Ch04). Probes directly in Ch09 debrief — notes fire workings vs. "basic defensive training" inconsistency. Reads verdenshade quality as evidence of composure. Collects data without needing confession. | Introduced Ch04, advanced Ch09.
-- **OPEN** | **Ned Floundry case** — Dying man, cursed. Referenced in supporting cast as upcoming client. | Referenced Ch04.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Guild career** — Phelan accepted Tier One (Ch04). First job (Barrows) completed (Ch07–09). Second job received: Ned Floundry case, NS-7721, 150 silvers (Ch10). | Introduced Ch01 (application), advanced Ch04–Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **The house/land dream** — Needs ~1,300 silvers. Timeline dropped from 40 years to 13 (Ch04). Bedroom too small (Ch05). **Ch10: shack itself is now the problem** — "partner" changed the requirements. One room, one cot, designed for someone who'd given up on being visited. Structural inadequacy, not emotional shame. Floundry fee (120 net) would shift the math from theoretical to possible. | Introduced Ch01, advanced Ch04–Ch05, Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Phelan-Mere relationship** — From unnamed customer (Ch01) to name exchange (Ch02) to hand-holding (Ch03) to cheek kiss (Ch06) to **"You're my partner" declaration (Ch10)**. Mere names the pattern: he hid the bracelet from the guild, hasn't shown Leon, but brought it to her. Noise stops again (Ch06 callback). Phelan confirms: "That's — yes. Accurate." Competence-based, honest, now explicitly named. | Introduced Ch01, advanced every chapter. Major milestone Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Flaw Sight concealment** — Phelan hides true extent from guild and most people. Carter told "geometry" (Ch09). **Mere now knows about Flaw Sight's bracelet enhancement and the bracelet itself (Ch10).** Leon knows forge-and-redirect technique but NOT about bracelet. Guild knows nothing about second floor, death ward, or bracelet. Layered concealment by relationship. | Introduced Ch01, advanced Ch03–Ch04, Ch09–Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Combat magic rust** — Dormant 4–5 years. Retrained with Leon (Ch06). Window: 8–10 seconds integrated, then degradation. 5 workings depleted him in the Barrows (Ch07). Ledger probes (Ch09). Not addressed in Ch10 (recovery focus). | Introduced Ch05, advanced Ch06–Ch07, Ch09.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Enhancer bracelet** — Pre-Compact artifact. **Ch10 deep analysis:** focusing matrix = perception filter (sharpens signal, dampens noise). Reservoir = buffer (smooths Flaw Sight usage spikes). Two functions in self-optimizing feedback loop. Pre-Compact conditional (*if-then*) notation identified by Mere — responsive, not declarative. Working model ~80% complete. Stone color: dark red → amber-red. Full-charge behavior unknown (Mere's question). Forge-and-redirect could be refined with bracelet. Hidden from guild and Leon; shared with Mere. | Introduced Ch08, advanced Ch09–Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Ledger's suspicion** — Observer (now Ledger) caught Phelan's combat magic pause (Ch04). Probes directly in Ch09 debrief. Collects data without needing confession. Not present in Ch10. | Introduced Ch04, advanced Ch09.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Ned Floundry case** — **Case brief received Ch10.** NS-7721, Tier One extended engagement. Curse classified unbreakable by Arcane Compact. Two registered curse-breakers failed. Progressive degradation, 4–6 weeks remaining. Fee: 150 silvers (120 net). Initial consultation pending. | Referenced Ch04, advanced Ch10.
 - **OPEN** | **Mere's mother** — Controls Mere's schedule (rearranges workspace past sixth bell). Off-page tension. | Introduced Ch02.
-- **OPEN** | **Barrows' original purpose** — Second floor construction suggests extraordinary pre-Compact engineer. More than a storage facility. Contents of first two second-floor rooms previously retrieved. | Introduced Ch07–Ch08.
-- **ADVANCING** | **Guild intelligence network** — Knew about dog cure within four days (Ch04). Ledger's herb recommendation in Ch09 implies knowledge of Gavren's farewell parcel OR extraordinary diagnostic skill. Either way, unsettling reach. | Introduced Ch04, advanced Ch09.
-- **OPEN** | **Guild alias** — Ledger tells Phelan to pick an alias (Ch09). Guild convention — everyone uses one. Thread open, name not yet chosen. (The Pirate Shade will emerge eventually.) | Introduced Ch09.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Barrows' original purpose / Pre-Compact knowledge** — Second floor construction suggests extraordinary pre-Compact engineer. Bracelet's conditional notation suggests pre-Compact practitioners had fundamentally different (superior?) approach to magic. "The Compact didn't invent Runic Flow. They inherited it. Standardized it. Locked it down." What was lost? | Introduced Ch07–Ch08, advanced Ch10.
+- **ADVANCING** | **Guild intelligence network** — Knew about dog cure within four days (Ch04). Ledger's herb recommendation in Ch09. Not demonstrated in Ch10. | Introduced Ch04, advanced Ch09.
+- **OPEN** | **Guild alias** — Ledger tells Phelan to pick an alias (Ch09). Phelan turns it over in Ch10 — nothing fits yet. (The Pirate Shade will emerge eventually.) | Introduced Ch09, touched Ch10.
 - **OPEN** | **Carter's store credit** — Unspecified amount, no expiration. Phelan earned it via the inscription fix. Reduces cash outlay on future jobs. Track when used. | Introduced Ch09.
+- **OPEN** | **Brute-force forgery (hybrid concept)** — Leon and Phelan's theoretical approach: volume + forgery. Apply many forged signals through multiple seams, statistical averaging masks individual imprecisions. Untested. Potential application for Floundry cure Layer 2. | Introduced Ch10.
 - **RESOLVED** | **Cursed dog** — Fear curse broken via sensory channel mismatch (Ch03). Dog named Sniff, lives at Thresholds. | Introduced Ch02, resolved Ch03.
 - **RESOLVED** | **Guild application** — Submitted ~6 weeks before Ch01. Interview Ch04. Accepted. | Introduced Ch01, resolved Ch04.
 - **RESOLVED** | **Gavren's notice period** — Two weeks served (Ch05). Parted on good terms with herb parcel gift. | Introduced Ch04, resolved Ch05.
@@ -229,21 +253,23 @@
 | Ch05 | Full pay for notice period (amount unspecified) | New boots, focusing tool case (amounts unspecified) | Gavren's herb parcel gift. Retainer math: 10.5s reserve after month 1, 21s after month 2. |
 | Ch06 | — | 7 silvers (Carter's gear) | Guild equivalent would have been 20 silvers. Half the job's pay saved. |
 | Ch07 | 40 silvers earned (verdenshade, pending delivery) | — | Gross from Barrows job before commission. |
-| Ch08 | Enhancer bracelet (unpriced artifact) | — | "Forty silvers that would keep the land taxes current for another quarter." |
+| Ch08 | Enhancer bracelet (unpriced artifact) | — | "Forty silvers that would keep the rent current and leave enough to actually eat." |
 | Ch09 | 32 silvers (verdenshade delivered, 40 minus 20% commission) | 7 silvers (Carter's gear, paid Ch06) | Net from Barrows job: 32s income - 7s gear = 25 silvers net gain. Phelan hadn't accounted for commission until payday. Store credit at Carterson's (unspecified, no expiration). |
 
-**Running estimate (end Ch09):** 15s retainer + notice period pay + 25s net from Barrows - boots - tool case - food/rent ≈ modest but improving. 32 silvers in lockbox. Land taxes coverable but tight. Store credit at Carter's reduces future job costs.
+| Ch10 | Floundry case accepted (150s gross, 120s net — pending) | Rent (~2s), food (~1.5s) | Wine for Leon (decent bottle, ~1s). Running expenses deducted. 32 silvers in lockbox still. Floundry fee would shift house math from "thirteen years" to "maybe less." |
+
+**Running estimate (end Ch10):** 32 silvers in lockbox + monthly retainer continuing. Expenses: rent 2s, food 1.5s, incidentals ~1s, wine ~1s. Net savings growing modestly. Floundry case (120s net if completed) would be transformative — not solving the house but making it measurably closer. Store credit at Carter's reduces future job costs.
 
 ---
 
-## 6. Emotional/Relationship State (as of Ch09)
+## 6. Emotional/Relationship State (as of Ch10)
 
-- **Mere Fields:** Deepening steadily through shared competence and honesty. Cheek kiss (Ch06) is the most explicit emotional gesture so far. Neither has verbalized feelings. Phelan's house plans now factor her in silently (bedroom too small). She is the only person whose presence stops "the noise." Not seen in Ch09 — visit deferred to Ch10.
-- **Leon D'Nardis:** Solid transactional friendship built on mutual understanding. Leon trained Phelan for the Barrows job, shared critical death ward intel. Declined guild membership. Not seen in Ch09 — Phelan plans to tell Leon about the death ward directly (not through guild).
-- **Jonael Carterson ("Carter"):** Relationship upgraded from professional contact to mutual investment. Phelan kept his word to come back after the job. The Flaw Sight exchange (inscription fix) shifted the dynamic — Phelan went from customer to asset in one conversation. Store credit given. Carter is now a craftsman peer, not just a supplier.
-- **Gavren Holst:** Parted on good terms. Gavren saw Phelan clearly and respected his trajectory. The herb parcel (including replacement thornwell) was an act of quiet generosity.
-- **Ledger (The Observer):** Now Phelan's direct guild contact. Reads people with the same clinical precision Phelan reads magic — the most dangerous kind of attention. Probes without accusation, collects data without needing confession. The relationship is adversarial-beneath-politeness. Phelan survived the debrief but knows Ledger is building a file.
-- **The Guild:** First job completed and delivered. The guild's intelligence capability further demonstrated through Ledger. Phelan is withholding the second floor, death ward, and bracelet — first significant secret kept from the guild.
+- **Mere Fields:** **"You're my partner."** Declared Ch10, confirmed by Phelan. The noise stops when she says it (second time — first was cheek kiss Ch06). Relationship now explicitly named through Mere's behavioral pattern recognition: he hid the bracelet from the guild, hasn't shown Leon, but brought it to her. She contributes structurally to bracelet study (pre-Compact grammar, conditional logic). The partnership is competence-based and honest — she stated a fact, he confirmed it, the fact became operational. Phelan's shack realization: "partner" changed the requirements — the shack is structurally inadequate for what he's become.
+- **Leon D'Nardis:** Friendship deepened through technique sharing. Phelan brought wine (thanks for combat training), gave Leon the full forge-and-redirect breakdown. Leon impressed and proposed brute-force forgery hybrid. Twenty minutes of ADD-brain riffing produced a theoretical direction. Trust has layers: Leon gets methods (forge-and-redirect) but not tools (bracelet withheld). "We're even."
+- **Jonael Carterson ("Carter"):** Not seen in Ch10. Relationship as of Ch09: craftsman peer, store credit given.
+- **Gavren Holst:** Not seen since Ch05. Referenced in passing (Mrs. Dallery's Godsday herbs).
+- **Ledger (The Observer):** Not seen in Ch10. Relationship as of Ch09: adversarial-beneath-politeness, building a file on Phelan.
+- **The Guild:** Second job received (Floundry case). Phelan still withholding second floor, death ward, and bracelet. Guild alias still unchosen.
 
 ---
 
@@ -262,10 +288,17 @@
 - Intent-detection enchantments exist (Mere's door at Thresholds)
 - Binding salts create localized dampening fields (~1 meter radius)
 - Silverthorn has anxiolytic properties in animals
-- Enhancer bracelet stone color shifts from black → dark red as reservoir charges (visual charge indicator)
+- Enhancer bracelet stone color shifts from black → dark red → amber-red as reservoir charges (visual charge indicator)
+- Enhancer bracelet focusing matrix: perception filter (not magnifier) — sharpens relevant detail, dampens background noise. "Like the difference between squinting and wearing glasses." (Ch10)
+- Enhancer bracelet reservoir: acts as buffer — smooths Flaw Sight usage spikes by drawing from buffer before personal reserves. Recharged passively from natural recovery. (Ch10)
+- Enhancer bracelet dual functions in self-optimizing feedback loop — focusing matrix adjusts based on reservoir charge state, reservoir draw rate adjusts based on focusing matrix activity. Responsive, not static. (Ch10)
+- Pre-Compact notation uses conditional (*if-then*) logic — modern runes are declarative ("this rune does this thing"), pre-Compact is responsive. Identified by Mere's grammar analysis. (Ch10)
+- Pre-Compact engineering represents fundamental improvements to the framework itself, not tricks within it. "The Compact didn't invent Runic Flow. They inherited it. Standardized it. Locked it down." (Ch10)
 - Focusing channels in weapons: inscribed along blade spines, carry magical workings during throw, amplify on impact via convergence nodes
 - Channel depth staggering improves amplification efficiency (~12%) and prevents micro-fracture fatigue
 - Feverwort treats muscle fatigue (Ledger's recommendation, Ch09)
+- Forge-and-redirect technique (Ch08) recognized as a repeatable category, not one-time improvisation. Bracelet's focusing matrix could refine it. (Ch10)
+- Brute-force forgery: theoretical hybrid concept (Leon + Phelan, Ch10). Volume of forged signals through multiple seams, statistical averaging masks imprecisions. Untested.
 
 ### Geography
 - Drenwick: dockside district (Phelan's shack, Gavren's shop, Leon's rooms above chandler's shop), arcane district (Thresholds bookshop, Aldric's, Brevian's), guild quarter (Carterson's Supplies on boundary)
@@ -276,14 +309,15 @@
 - Vethani Crypts: Leon's prior job site (14-layer wards, 60 years old)
 
 ### Economy
+*Full reference: `/world/economy.md` — consult for all pricing and financial details.*
 - Currency: coppers, half-silvers, silvers
 - 12 coppers ≈ 2–3 meals
 - Rent (dockside shack): 2 silvers/month
 - Food (eating properly): 1.5 silvers/month
 - Guild retainer (Tier One): 15 silvers/month
 - Guild commission: 20% of job fees
-- Tier One job example: 40 silvers (field retrieval)
-- Land taxes referenced ("forty silvers would keep the land taxes current for another quarter")
+- Tier One job example: 40 silvers (field retrieval), 150 silvers (extended engagement / curse-breaking)
+- Rent referenced ("forty silvers would keep the rent current and leave enough to actually eat")
 - House construction estimate: ~1,300 silvers (800 materials, 60 permits, 200 warding, 300 labor)
 
 ### Society
@@ -296,7 +330,7 @@
 
 ### Characters (biographical facts stated in prose)
 - Phelan: early-to-mid 30s, magic since age 12, licensed at 16, Brannick's Academy 4 years (withdrew year 3 equivalent), from Caldburn, mother living/no contact, no father
-- Mere: runs Thresholds bookshop (eastern arcane district), expert in physical quality assessment (crystal density, grain patterns, tolerances), blunt/direct, treats cursed animals
+- Mere: runs Thresholds bookshop (eastern arcane district), expert in physical quality assessment (crystal density, grain patterns, tolerances), blunt/direct, treats cursed animals. Can read pre-Compact grammar patterns (structural/linguistic, not magical). Identified conditional logic in bracelet notation (Ch10).
 - Leon: rooms above chandler's shop (south dockside), formerly expensive clothes now worn, independent operator, taught fire spells by Phelan at school, cracked the Vethani Crypts
 - Carter: runs Carterson's Supplies (guild quarter/dockside boundary), five-foot-five, barrel-built, black hair/beard, photographic memory for logistics, knows the Barrows. Back room is a forge-and-inscription workshop — builds magical devices (throwing knives with focusing channels). Craftsman, not just shopkeeper.
 - Ledger: medium height, lean build, guild alias. The Observer from Ch04 interview panel. Guild intelligence — reads physical symptoms and behavioral data with clinical precision. Phelan's direct contact post-first-job.