polishing, getting ready for export

world/story-summary-book1.md

@@ -174,13 +174,13 @@
 
 **Timeline:** Day 29, Saturday midday through late afternoon. ~3 hours from arrival at Carter's to crash at shack.
 
-**Summary:** Phelan walks back to Drenwick on fading reserves (~12%, bracelet drawing steadily). First stop: Carterson's Supplies. Carter is in the back room — revealed as a forge-and-inscription workshop, not a storeroom. He's working on a set of four throwing knives with focusing channels and amplification nodes for an unnamed client (concealable magical weapons). Carter reads Phelan's condition from the timing (Friday night job, Saturday midday return) and inspects the neck wound. Professional care through competence. Carter notices the bracelet but doesn't push when Phelan deflects. Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight involuntarily catches a flaw in Carter's inscription work: the third focusing channel converges too tightly at the amplification node — would cause micro-fractures within 40–50 throws. Phelan dumps the fix: widen convergence angle, stagger channel depths for thermal load distribution, improving channeling efficiency by ~12%. Carter's reaction is craftsman's amazement — "I've been staring at that inscription for three days." Offers Phelan store credit (no expiration). Dynamic shifts from customer to asset. Second stop: 14 Greystone Lane. Phelan removes the bracelet before entering, hides it in jacket pocket. Does not report the second floor, the death ward, or the bracelet. Delivers verdenshade only. The Observer formally introduces himself as **Ledger** — guild convention, everyone uses aliases, suggests Phelan pick one. Ledger reads Phelan's physical state with clinical precision: recommends thornwell root (migraine residue) and feverwort (muscle fatigue) — both herbs in Gavren's farewell parcel. Either guild intelligence or personal diagnostic skill; both unsettling. Probes about the Barrows — how Phelan handled the crawlers, steers toward combat magic. Notes the verdenshade's intact root systems as evidence of composure under pressure. Phelan realizes quality of work is itself information. Commission surprise: 40 silvers minus 20% = 32 silvers net (not 40). Phelan hadn't done the math on his own contract. Ledger watches the recalculation without comment. Phelan barely navigates the interrogation — didn't get caught, but Ledger doesn't need a confession. Crashes at shack. Notices bracelet stone has shifted from jet black to very dark red (reservoir charging). Asleep before analysis.
+**Summary:** Phelan walks back to Drenwick on fading reserves (~12%, bracelet drawing steadily). First stop: Carterson's Supplies. Carter reads Phelan's condition from the timing (Friday night job, Saturday midday return) and inspects the neck wound. Professional care through competence. Gear debrief — everything performed. Carter invites Phelan to return when rested ("I've got a project I want a second pair of eyes on"). Second stop: 14 Greystone Lane. Phelan removes the bracelet before entering, hides it in jacket pocket. Does not report the second floor, the death ward, or the bracelet. Delivers verdenshade only. The Observer formally introduces himself as **Ledger** — guild convention, everyone uses aliases, suggests Phelan pick one. Ledger reads Phelan's physical state with clinical precision: recommends thornwell root (migraine residue) and feverwort (muscle fatigue) — both herbs in Gavren's farewell parcel. Either guild intelligence or personal diagnostic skill; both unsettling. Phelan experiences the specific discomfort of being read by someone with his own level of precision — epistemic vulnerability, being on the other side of the lens. Probes about the Barrows — how Phelan handled the crawlers, steers toward combat magic. Notes the verdenshade's intact root systems as evidence of composure under pressure. Phelan realizes quality of work is itself information. Commission surprise: 40 silvers minus 20% = 32 silvers net (not 40). Phelan hadn't done the math on his own contract. Ledger watches the recalculation without comment. Phelan barely navigates the interrogation — didn't get caught, but Ledger doesn't need a confession. Crashes at shack. Notices bracelet stone has shifted from jet black to very dark red (reservoir charging), and the stone's temperature has developed a faint rhythmic pulse (two data points tracking). Asleep before analysis.
 
 **Characters present:** Phelan Varrant, Jonael Carterson ("Carter"), Ledger (The Observer, formally named), Guild Receptionist. Referenced: Mere Fields, Gavren Holst, Leon D'Nardis.
 
-**Magic/Exploits:** No new exploits. Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight demonstrated passively — caught Carter's inscription flaw at higher resolution than normal Flaw Sight. Bracelet stone color shift: black → very dark red (charge indicator, reservoir filling). Bracelet removed before guild visit (concealment).
+**Magic/Exploits:** No new exploits. Bracelet stone color shift: black → very dark red (charge indicator, reservoir filling). Temperature pulse developing (second charge indicator). Bracelet removed before guild visit (concealment).
 
-**Plot threads opened/advanced:** Ledger formally introduced (The Observer → Ledger); guild alias thread opened (Phelan told to pick one); combat magic suspicion advanced (Ledger probes, Phelan deflects); Carter relationship deepened (customer → asset, store credit earned); Carter's back room established as forge-and-inscription workshop; bracelet enhancement confirmed in practice; bracelet charge indicator established (color shift); financial correction (32 silvers net, not 40); floor 2 / death ward / bracelet withheld from guild.
+**Plot threads opened/advanced:** Ledger formally introduced (The Observer → Ledger); guild alias thread opened (Phelan told to pick one); combat magic suspicion advanced (Ledger probes, Phelan deflects); Carter invites Phelan back for inscription project (sets up Ch10 scene); bracelet charge indicators established (color shift + temperature pulse); financial correction (32 silvers net, not 40); floor 2 / death ward / bracelet withheld from guild.
 
 **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).
 
@@ -190,19 +190,21 @@
 
 **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.
+**Summary:** Sunday morning, Phelan stops at Carter's on the way to Thresholds. Carter's back room revealed as a forge-and-inscription workshop — compact, meticulously organized, serious. He's working on a set of four throwing knives with focusing channels and amplification nodes for an unnamed client (concealable magical weapons). Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight involuntarily catches a flaw in Carter's inscription work: the third focusing channel converges too tightly at the amplification node — would cause micro-fractures within 40–50 throws. Phelan dumps the fix: widen convergence angle, stagger channel depths for thermal load distribution, improving channeling efficiency by ~12%. Carter's reaction is craftsman's amazement — "I've been staring at that inscription for three days." Offers Phelan store credit (no expiration). Dynamic shifts from customer to asset. Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight demonstrated passively — caught inscription flaw at higher resolution than normal Flaw Sight. Carter notices the bracelet but doesn't push when Phelan deflects.
+
+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.
+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: 32 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.
+**Characters present:** Phelan Varrant, Jonael Carterson ("Carter") (at his shop), Mere Fields (at Thresholds), Sniff (at Thresholds), Leon D'Nardis (at his rooms). Referenced: Ledger, 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).
+**Plot threads opened/advanced:** Carter relationship deepened (customer → asset, store credit earned); Carter's back room established as forge-and-inscription workshop; bracelet enhancement confirmed in practice (Carter inscription fix); 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.
 
@@ -298,7 +300,7 @@ Scene 4: Walk home, Saturday afternoon. Phelan wears the ring, carries supplies.
 
 **Characters present:** Phelan Varrant, Guild Receptionist, Cassius Rykhard ("Cass" — formally introduced), Mere Fields, Devod Fields, Jonael Carterson ("Carter"). Referenced: Ledger, Leon D'Nardis, Ned Floundry.
 
-**Magic/Exploits:** No new exploits. Focusing ring introduced — secondary anchor point for fire-weave, extends range from 5-6 feet to 15-20 feet. Built by Carter from Phelan's depth-staggering principle (Ch09 knife fix). Store credit applied. Canary strips noted as chemical (not magical) air quality indicators for high-residue environments. Cass's leather cuff has three-channel-depth inscription (filed as significant).
+**Magic/Exploits:** No new exploits. Focusing ring introduced — secondary anchor point for fire-weave, extends range from 5-6 feet to 15-20 feet. Built by Carter from Phelan's depth-staggering principle (Ch10 knife fix). Store credit applied. Canary strips noted as chemical (not magical) air quality indicators for high-residue environments. Cass's leather cuff has three-channel-depth inscription (filed as significant).
 
 **Plot threads opened/advanced:** Compact pressure formalized (regulatory letter + bribe); Cassius Rykhard introduced as Compact antagonist (smooth, calibrated, professional — "genuinely" wished luck); twenty-five gold bribe refused (guild code + leash refusal); guild backing confirmed (Ledger's note — principle, not sentiment); Mere/Devod first forced proximity (professional framework holds, undercurrents observed); mine expedition planned for tomorrow (fifth bell, Sunday); focusing ring acquired (twelve silvers, extends combat range); Carter relationship deepened further (ring as gift-through-craft); Leon absence noted (wished for his input, no time).
 
@@ -764,7 +766,7 @@ Beat 4: The case brief — ending. Phelan reads the new case. Bracelet warm ambe
 - Hyperfocus spiral duration/cost: sustained hyperfocus costs 5-8% reserves per hour. Observable to others — eyes unfocused, unresponsive to direct address, physical world registers as "shapes not sentences" and "texture not meaning." Cannot be interrupted voluntarily — resolves on its own or crashes. Leon has witnessed this before. (Ch16)
 - Forge-and-redirect in live curse execution: actual reserves cost can significantly exceed theoretical estimates. Phase 2 of Floundry cure cost 51% (67%→16%) vs. planned 22-28%. Real-world execution against adaptive systems running on living targets is harder than theory. Two-second injection windows, sub-second precision, 15 minutes sustained. (Ch19)
 - Noise silence during focused work: when all processing threads converge on a single output, the parentheticals disappear entirely — the noise becomes the work and, in becoming the work, disappears. Categorically different from the pauses caused by unexpected emotional input (cheek kiss, partner declaration). First and only occurrence during the three-phase cure execution. (Ch19)
-- Ledger is armed **(READER-ONLY knowledge):** carries four channelled throwing knives in a chest harness — Carter's work (focusing inscriptions along spines, convergence nodes near tips). The "anonymous client" who commissioned the throwing knives (Ch09) was Ledger. **No team member knows what was in the jacket — this was omniscient narrative for the reader only. Characters know only that Ledger opened his jacket and the hired men fled.** (Ch19)
+- Ledger is armed **(READER-ONLY knowledge):** carries four channelled throwing knives in a chest harness — Carter's work (focusing inscriptions along spines, convergence nodes near tips). The "anonymous client" who commissioned the throwing knives (Ch09) was Ledger. **Phelan identified the knives as Carter's work (Ch19 internal monologue). Leon explicitly does not know (Ch21). Other characters' awareness unconfirmed. Phelan has not discussed this knowledge with anyone on-page.** (Ch19)
 - Compact deniability tactics: when escalating from surveillance to action, the Compact sends hired hands with no badges, no documentation, no identifying marks, paid in unmarked coin. The authorising official is not present at the scene. Plausible deniability at the cost of sending amateurs to do professional work. (Ch19)
 - Compact institutional self-protection: when an operation is exposed, the Compact reassigns the responsible official rather than investigating or disciplining. Qualification inquiries and regulatory motions are withdrawn as "administrative corrections." Public position: "honest assessment error, the system works." The corruption remains intact — the individual is removed from proximity to the evidence. (Ch20)
 - Ned Floundry's written intel (Ch20): three companies (including Greenvale Provisions), minimum three intermediary layers per transaction chain, purchase volumes consistent across four quarters (continuous operation, not one-time). Requisition chains through intermediaries, purchase orders from nonexistent addresses. Systematic extraction through Compact supply infrastructure. Not proof (records in Compact offices), but a roadmap. Book 2 seed.

world/timeline-book1.md

@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@
 | ~28 | Ch06 | **Friday** | Sparring with Leon. Death ward intel. Visit to Mere at Thresholds (fourth bell). Job departure at ninth bell. |
 | ~28 | Ch07 | **Friday night** | Greymarch Barrows: entrance ward threaded and disabled (builder's switch). First floor cleared — 3 resonance crawlers killed. Verdenshade harvested (6 clusters). Neck wound (sealed). Camp outside Barrows. |
 | ~29 | Ch08 | **Saturday** | Return to Barrows. Second floor explored. Death ward breached (signature forgery exploit). Enhancer bracelet discovered and claimed. Entrance ward reactivated via builder's switch. |
-| ~29 | Ch09 | **Saturday** (midday–late afternoon) | Walk back to Drenwick. Carter's shop (midday): debrief, inscription fix, store credit. Guild (mid-afternoon): verdenshade delivered, Ledger debrief, 32 silvers paid. Crash at shack (late afternoon). |
-| ~30 | Ch10 | **Sunday** | Phelan visits Mere at Thresholds (mid-morning). Bracelet revealed and shared. Mere identifies pre-Compact conditional notation. "You're my partner" declaration. Reserves ~60–65%. |
+| ~29 | Ch09 | **Saturday** (midday–late afternoon) | Walk back to Drenwick. Carter's shop (midday): gear debrief, invitation to return. Guild (mid-afternoon): verdenshade delivered, Ledger debrief, 32 silvers paid. Crash at shack (late afternoon). |
+| ~30 | Ch10 | **Sunday** | Carter's shop: inscription fix (throwing knives), store credit earned. Phelan visits Mere at Thresholds (mid-morning). Bracelet revealed and shared. Mere identifies pre-Compact conditional notation. "You're my partner" declaration. Reserves ~60–65%. |
 | ~31 | Ch10 | **Monday** | Bracelet deep-dive at shack. Reserves ~75%. Focusing matrix = filter, reservoir = buffer. |
 | ~32 | Ch10 | **Tuesday** | Bracelet analysis continues. Reserves ~80–85%. Evening: visits Leon, brings wine. Full forge-and-redirect debrief. Brute-force forgery hybrid theorized. |
 | ~33 | Ch10 | **Wednesday** | Shack realization ("partner" changes requirements). Guild alias considered (nothing fits). Afternoon: Floundry case brief (NS-7721) delivered. 150 silvers, unbreakable curse, Ned Floundry, 4–6 weeks remaining. |