19 KiB
19 KiB
Book 1 Timeline — The Floundry Affair
Purpose: Track elapsed time between chapters to prevent continuity errors. Update this file whenever a chapter is drafted or revised.
Season: Autumn, transitioning toward winter by Ch5–6.
Timeline Summary
| Day | Chapter | Day of Week | Key Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch01 | Unknown | Phelan at Gavren's. Mere's first visit (binding salts, silverthorn). Guild application submitted ~6 weeks prior. |
| 3 | Ch02 | Unknown | "Two days since her visit." Phelan counting days. |
| 4 | Ch02 | Unknown | "Day three" — planning starts. |
| 5 | Ch02 | Unknown | "Day four" — Mere doesn't return. |
| 6 | Ch02 | Unknown | "Day five" — Mere returns, half past nine. First date (afternoon, arcane district). They agree to meet Thursday. |
| ~8 | Ch03 | Thursday | Phelan visits Thresholds. Dog curse breaking (binding salts cure). Hyperfocus crash overnight. |
| ~9 | Ch03 | Friday | Phelan recovers. Returns to Thresholds. Dog chooses Mere. Guild letter arrives — interview on "the 15th, ninth bell." |
| ~13 | Ch04 | Unknown | Guild interview. Phelan accepted. "Four days ago" since dog cure. Gavren asks for two weeks' notice. |
| 13–27 | Ch05 | — | Two-week notice period at Gavren's. Phelan visits Mere twice (briefly noted). Season shifting autumn → winter. |
| 13–27 | Ch05 | — | Leon visit (social call — guild news, dog cure discussion, Vethani Crypts). Occurs during notice period, before job brief. |
| ~25 | Ch05 | Wednesday | Guild messenger delivers Barrows job brief (NS-7714). "Three days before the two-week window closed." Fire test in shack — sluggish. |
| ~26 | Ch05 | Thursday | Last day at Gavren's. |
| ~27 | Ch06 | Thursday | Training with Leon (seventh bell). Guild equipment catalogue. Jonael Carterson introduction at Carterson's Supplies. |
| ~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): 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. |
| ~34 | Ch11 | Thursday | Seventh bell: Ledger delivers folio at shack. Morning: Phelan visits Floundry home, meets Calla, reviews reports, alias "Locksmith" chosen. Calla shows recent illegible scraps, asks him to return at third bell. Phelan visits Thresholds (briefs Mere, Devod Fields named). Third bell: return to Floundry home, sees Ned, full scraps progression, bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight reveals 3-layer curse. Writes Ned a promise note. Walks home. |
| ~35 | Ch12 | Friday | Fifth bell: Phelan at table processing curse architecture from memory (bracelet-enhanced recall). Three-layer solution mapping: Layer 1 → ghostveil moss (dampening agent, Sniff/binding salts parallel); Layer 2 → forge-and-redirect (death ward technique); Layer 3 → anchor drift visible but unsolved. Brief stop at Thresholds (Mere gives Devod intel, doesn't go). Visits Devod at Millford Street (late morning). Case intel: Ned's vendor concerns, dead-drop instruction. Velken's Drift mine identified as ghostveil moss source. Devod mentions "my daughter" → Phelan's non-reaction reveals connection → testing questions → "partner" confirmed. Charlette Fields named. Mother revelation: owns Thresholds, income control, ultimatum at 12, Devod forced out. Unsent gifts (12 years). Expedition planned: Phelan, Mere, Devod + Carter supplies. Walks home — noise on two tracks (Layer 3 unsolved, Mere's situation). House plans look different. |
| ~36 | Ch13 | Saturday | Saturday morning: guild HQ, Compact regulatory letter (Section 14c), Ledger's note backing client. Cassius Rykhard encounter outside guild — 25 gold bribe offered and refused. Tenth bell: planning library, Mere and Devod first proximity, mine expedition planned. Saturday afternoon: Carter's shop, supplies assembled, focusing ring revealed and purchased (12 silvers). Walk home. Mine expedition set: tomorrow (Sunday), fifth bell. |
| ~37 | Ch14 | Sunday | Fifth bell departure from Drenwick, three hours SE by cart. Devod drives. Arrive Velken's Drift ~eighth bell. Mine entry: Flaw Sight overwhelmed by ambient residue (useless, not degraded). Bracelet filters worst but can't eliminate. Descent through galleries — Devod navigates by memory. Residue pocket encounter (3 seconds sensory overload). Fight 1: four mine dogs (mutated by residue). Ring first combat use: 12ft clean kill (amplified by residue), second shot dampened (melee required), ring vibration at threshold. Devod's walking stick deflects flanking dog from Mere — protective instinct, not the equipment. Mere catalogs the data point. Post-fight: ~30% reserves spent (vs. Barrows: 100% for 5 crawlers). Ring efficiency confirmed. Ghostveil moss located: east branch, second gallery, flooded sublevel. Old stock, high concentration. Mere estimates ~1 hour to harvest. End hook: human voices from deeper in the mine. Not empty. |
| ~37 | Ch15 | Sunday (cont.) | Moss harvest (~40 min, Mere). Fight 2: five bandits from south passage via Fenwick bottoms shortcut. Ring combat: five fire workings + defensive screen at double residue cost (~70% → ~25-26%). Bracelet wellspring discovered (reservoir reverses flow, pushes reserves to ~32-34%). Bandits secured. Patrol documents + Greenvale Provisions receipt recovered. Devod identifies ghost vendor. Ceiling structural failure — Devod's wheel jack fix. Saturated magical ore discovered in old carts, ~30-35 pieces loaded. Cart ride home (~3 hours), arrive Drenwick late afternoon/evening. |
| ~38 | Ch16 | Monday | Morning: Phelan visits Leon at chandler's shop rooms, asks him to guild planning room. Second bell (afternoon): guild planning room, 14 Greystone Lane. Bracelet revealed to Leon. Leon/Phelan riff refines Layer 2 (stabilizer weaponized). Mere cracks conspiracy (curse-breaker procedures don't test for nested workings — "Who wrote the procedure?"). Sniff parallel named. Devod solves Layer 3 — "move the lock" analogy (idea #7). Dual moss use crystallized. Execution order locked: L3→L2→L1. Hyperfocus spiral takes over — chapter ends mid-thought. Reserves ~70-80% entering session, draining from sustained hyperfocus. |
| ~38–39 | Ch17 | Monday–Tuesday | Monday afternoon: hyperfocus spiral continues, bracelet goes hot (focusing matrix past physical limit), crash. ~14 hours unconscious on guild planning room floor. Leon transcribes execution architecture. Mere stays after others leave (hand-holding, blanket-tucking). Compact moves overnight: transfer motion (blocked by guild), qualification inquiry (filed), Calla approached directly (shaken but holding). Carter drops off supplies, sees bracelet. Tuesday morning: Phelan wakes. Thornwell root (Mere's quarter-grain prep). Leon reports Compact intel. Devod arrives with supplies and Carter's bracelet note. Mere arrives with moss preparations — standard complete, altered at 70%. Ledger visits Calla to steady her. Planning: tomorrow (Wednesday) morning bedside observation for resonance data, then Mere completes altered prep, then cure. Reserves ~30%, bracelet recovering (warming toward amber). |
| ~39 | Ch18 | Tuesday (afternoon–evening) | Tuesday afternoon: Phelan rises (~35% reserves, bracelet tired amber, Flaw Sight functional). Walks to Floundry home with Mere. Spots Cass surveilling from café pillar across street. Ned further deteriorated (grey-yellow, patches, tracking delay, curled left hand, approaching laboured breathing). Bracelet-enhanced Flaw Sight — surgical observation: anchor recalibration speed 0.7 (was 0.9), grip tolerance contracted 12%, bond weakness threshold 18%. Reserves dip ~5%. Second note to Ned: "We know what to do. Tomorrow morning." Mere takes data to Thresholds. Ledger in guild hallway — Calla holding, children's names used, inquiry managed, will be at Floundry by seventh bell. Guild planning room: Leon annotating (colour-coded overlays), Jonael with logistics supplies, Devod with food. Mere returns — altered prep completing within hour (Devod to collect by seventh bell). Full team briefing: L3 (Devod credited, moss blinds anchor), L2 (forge-and-redirect), L1 (standard dampening). Roles assigned. Evening: team disperses. Mere walks with Phelan to shack. Enters shack — sees house plans, not poverty. Redesigns ventilation/drainage. Stays. Bracelet shifting closer to amber. |
| ~40 | Ch19 | Wednesday (morning) | Phelan wakes at shack (Mere already gone), reserves 75%, bracelet warm amber. Walks to Floundry home, arrives quarter to seventh bell. Ledger at door (children at Calla's sister). Jonael staged room since sixth bell. Leon at window. Devod by door. Mere at bedside (arrived first, both preparations ready). Phase 1 (L3 anchor drift): ~20 min, reserves 75%→67%. Phase 2 (L2 stabiliser weaponisation): ~15 min sustained forging, reserves 67%→16%. During Phase 2: four Compact hired hands defeated by Jonael/Devod/Ledger downstairs. Phase 3 (L1 dissolution): reserves 16%→2-3%. Curse broken. Ned breathing freely. Phelan crashes — Mere catches him. |
| ~42 | Ch20 | Friday (morning–late morning) | Two days post-cure. Phelan recovers (Mere managed crash — third witnessed). Reserves ~40%, bracelet "deep, tired colour" (between black and amber), Flaw Sight sluggish ("like looking through dirty glass"). Mere left house plans annotation: steel reinforcement not timber for load-bearing wall. Visits Floundry home: Calla different (siege broken), children returning tomorrow (Saturday). Guild healer arranged (twice weekly). Ned upstairs — hearing/throat damaged, left hand curled, but eyes clear (half-beat delay gone). Two written notes: (1) "You kept your word. Thank you." (2) Compact intel — three companies, transaction patterns, vendor scheme roadmap (Book 2 seed). Guild debrief with Ledger at 14 Greystone Lane: 60s completion fee collected (120s net total case). Cassius Rykhard (full name) reassigned to Thorngate (four days north — removed, not punished). Qualification inquiry withdrawn ("administrative correction"). Greenvale evidence filed — "We'll need it." Ledger: "The guild has noticed." Phelan walks home processing the institutional lattice. |
| ~42–44 | Ch21 | Friday–Sunday | Ore delivered to Carter — 8 gift pieces (repayment), rest to sell through Leon/Carter channels (200-400s est. over months). Carter's reaction: craftsman's hyperfocus on master-grade saturated material. Financial reckoning: ~140s liquid, ore income projected, house target 1,300s — trajectory "years, not decades." House plans revision nine going on ten. 25 gold bribe callback (2,500s refused, math doesn't regret it). Leon visits: case debrief over wine, forge-under-fire discussion, brute-force forgery closer to viable. Devod helps with ore logistics (covered storage, transport contacts — idea #2 of 10). Has house ideas (pilings, reclaimed timber — 2 out of 10 good). Carter builds Phelan a tool roll (noticed need, said nothing). Mere beat: "The kitchen should face east." Relocates washbasin pipe run. Talks about the house as shared fact. The noise settles. |
| Months later | Epilogue | Deep winter | New rented place on Chandler's Row (guild quarter edge). Mere lives there (established fact). Her books, moss preparations, Sniff's corner. House plans revision 10 on the wall with Mere's annotations integrated into drawings. Mere left Charlette 3 months ago (packed, walked out — Thresholds still Charlette's, fight unresolved). Daily training with Leon (sixth bell, chandler's courtyard). Fire sequence: 12 seconds integrated (up from 8-10). Leon seed: someone asked about Vethani Crypts / Mallory crystal buyer — "People ask." Guild standing shifted — higher-tier case brief delivered to home address. New case: bigger, different classification, better fee. Bracelet full amber. Noise has changed — purposeful, directed. "Something like contentment, if contentment had sharper edges." |
Elapsed Time Between Key Events
| From → To | Elapsed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ch01 → Ch02 (Mere returns) | 5 days | Ch02: "Day five" |
| Ch02 → Ch03 (dog cure) | ~2 days | Ch02 agrees "Thursday"; Ch03 title "Thursday" |
| Ch03 (dog cure) → Ch04 (interview) | ~4 days | Ch04: "four days ago" |
| Ch04 (acceptance) → Ch05 end (last day) | 14 days | Ch05: "Two Weeks" title; two-week notice |
| Ch05 (job brief) → Ch06 (Friday job) | 2 days | Ch06: Thursday training, Friday job |
| Ch06 (Friday) → Ch08 (Saturday) | 1 day | Ch07 Friday night, Ch08 Saturday morning |
| Ch09 (Saturday) → Ch10 (Sunday–Wednesday) | 4 days | Ch10: Days 30–33 |
| Ch06 (cheek kiss, Friday) → Ch10 (partner declaration, Sunday) | 2 days | Ch10: "two days ago" |
| Ch01 → Ch11 (total) | ~33–34 days | ~5 weeks |
| Ch03 (binding salts) → Ch06 | ~19–20 days | ~3 weeks |
| Ch03 (dog cure) → Ch10 (Sniff at Thresholds) | ~21 days | ~3 weeks (Ch10: "three weeks ago") |
| Ch10 (Wednesday) → Ch11 (Thursday) | 1 day | Ch11: "seventh bell Thursday morning," brief on table "fourteen hours" |
| Ch11 (Thursday) → Ch12 (Friday) | 1 day | Ch12: full night's rest, bracelet amber-red (charged), working from fifth bell |
| Ch01 → Ch12 (total) | ~34–35 days | ~5 weeks |
| Ch12 (Friday) → Ch13 (Saturday) | 1 day | Ch13: Saturday morning, guild correspondence |
| Ch01 → Ch13 (total) | ~35–36 days | ~5 weeks |
| Ch13 (Saturday) → Ch14 (Sunday) | 1 day | Ch13: "tomorrow, fifth bell"; Ch14: Sunday departure |
| Ch01 → Ch15 (total) | ~36–37 days | ~5+ weeks |
| Ch15 (Sunday) → Ch16 (Monday) | 1 day | Ch16: Monday morning/afternoon |
| Ch01 → Ch16 (total) | ~37–38 days | ~5+ weeks |
| Ch16 (Monday) → Ch17 (Monday–Tuesday) | 0–1 day | Ch17: crash Monday afternoon, wake Tuesday morning |
| Ch17 (Tuesday) → Ch18 (Tuesday) | 0 days | Ch18: same day, Tuesday afternoon through evening |
| Ch01 → Ch18 (total) | ~38–39 days | ~5+ weeks |
| Ch18 (Tuesday) → Ch19 (Wednesday) | 1 day | Ch19: next morning, Mere already gone from shack |
| Ch01 → Ch19 (total) | ~39–40 days | ~5–6 weeks |
| Ch19 (Wednesday) → Ch20 (Friday) | 2 days | Ch20: "Two days" post-cure, Friday morning |
| Ch20 (Friday) → Ch21 (Friday–Sunday) | 0–2 days | Ch21: same Friday through Sunday |
| Ch01 → Ch21 (total) | ~42–44 days | ~6 weeks |
| Ch21 → Epilogue | Months | Epilogue: deep winter, months after the cure |
Continuity Flags
FLAG 1: "Six weeks since the binding salts" (Ch06 line 201) RESOLVED
Changed to "Three weeks since the binding salts." Matches elapsed time of ~19–20 days.
FLAG 2: Absolute calendar dates not anchored
The guild letter says "the 15th" but we don't know what date Ch01 falls on. Day-of-week references (Thursday, Friday, Wednesday, Godsday) exist but no month/date is established. This hasn't caused problems yet but may if future chapters reference specific dates. Low priority — formalize only when needed.
FLAG 3: Ch05 Leon visit timing RESOLVED
The Ch05 Leon visit is a social call during the two-week notice period, unrelated to the Barrows job. Phelan tells Leon about the guild, they discuss the dog cure and the Vethani Crypts. The job brief arrives later (Wednesday). Ch06 is a separate visit where Phelan asks for training help after reading the brief.
Bell System (Time of Day)
Convention: Bells count from midnight. Bell number ≈ hour of day (e.g., sixth bell ≈ 6:00, ninth bell ≈ 21:00). Context determines AM/PM — "ninth bell" in an evening scene is 9pm, "ninth bell" for a morning appointment is 9am. "Half past" works as expected.
| Bell | Time | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second bell | ~2:00 AM | Late night (migraine) | Ch03 |
| Fourth bell | ~4:00 PM | Afternoon visit | Ch06 |
| Sixth bell | ~6:00 AM / PM | Shop open (AM) or close (PM), room staging start | Ch01, Ch02, Ch05, Ch19 |
| Seventh bell | ~7:00 AM | Shop opening, morning training, cure start time | Ch01, Ch06, Ch18 (planned), Ch19 (executed) |
| Ninth bell | ~9:00 AM / PM | Morning appointment or evening job | Ch04, Ch06 |
| Half past nine | ~9:30 AM | Mid-morning arrival | Ch02 |
| Third bell | ~3:00 PM | Afternoon appointment (Calla's return time) | Ch11 |
| Fifth bell | ~5:00 AM | Morning shift start (Devod at Henwick's yard) | Ch11 (referenced) |
| Tenth bell | ~10:00 AM | Morning planning meeting | Ch13 |
| Fifth bell | ~5:00 AM | Mine expedition departure (planned for tomorrow) | Ch13 |
| Second bell | ~2:00 PM | Afternoon planning session (guild room) | Ch16 |
| Tenth bell | ~10:00 PM | Evening (Compact visit to Calla, ~4 hours after Phelan's crash) | Ch17 (referenced) |
Days of the Week
- Godsday — Sunday equivalent. A weekly rest/worship day. (Ch01: Mrs. Dallery visits every Godsday morning)
- Standard English day names used for all other days (Monday through Saturday). Corvel's calendar mirrors the reader's week, with Godsday replacing Sunday.
How to Update This File
When drafting or revising a chapter:
- Note any new time references (bells, days, durations)
- Add the chapter's events to the Timeline Summary table
- Update Elapsed Time calculations
- Flag any conflicts with existing timeline entries
- Resolve or note any Continuity Flags
Last updated: Epilogue final (2026-03-10)