The first question at the public meeting was whether the chairs were safe.
The envoy stood at the side entrance while the caretaker of the hall tested a loose leg and sent for a wedge. Guards waited near the front doors, visible enough to reassure some people and alarm others. After yesterday’s street attack, the room had been arranged with clear exits and a rear treatment point. None of that could make a witness feel welcome if the chair offered beneath them collapsed.
Eli helped fit the wedge.
The envoy watched, then chose the chair beside it rather than behind the central table. Their two selected companions sat within sight. One held the maintenance notes. The injured lead escort remained under care and had decided not to attend. His absence was recorded as his choice, not an unexplained gap in the delegation.
Ilyan sat separately with the archival inventory.
When the chair introduced him as a second witness to the village failure, he corrected her before the meeting began.
“I represent the records mandate. I didn’t see the event they will describe.”
The chair looked flustered. She changed the introduction on her sheet.
