The market council met in the room above the stone bridge. The captured writ and broken net lay on a long table. A guard stood beside them while Bai placed the checkpoint receipt at the head of the papers.
Varo arrived with the scale ledger under his arm. Sen sat opposite him, her travel cloak still dusty from the road. Yan took the seat beside Bai. The checkpoint clerk entered last, carrying his own copy of the inspection notes.
Councilor Iren called the meeting to order. “We are here to hear what happened at the Registry checkpoint and decide whether the market route remains open. No one is deciding the Registry’s authority to inspect goods. We are deciding how that inspection begins and what the market will do about an attack before it.”
Bai described the shipment: ordinary roots, grain, cloth, and empty bottles. He showed the public manifest and each receipt for the market, ferry, and bridge. Sen confirmed that the crate seals had remained intact. She said the gang blocked the road before the clerk had finished checking the first crate.
Varo testified that the caravan had crossed under the posted scale agreement. “Bai paid the same fee as every carrier. I watched him leave with the receipt.”
