Dusk settled across the registry yard while workers carried the first roof beams toward the repaired eastern wall. Old canvas still leaked above the doorway, though fresh timber had begun turning the office into somewhere people could survive rain.
Marrick sat behind the public desk with Seliza's returned trade ledger open near one elbow. His spectacles slipped whenever his eyes moved between the gold total and the construction marks covering several pages.
"Eighty thousand gold arrived with the wagons," he said as Hajin entered beside the payroll chest. "The escort counted every sealed pouch before crossing the square, then demanded our receipt beneath two witnesses."
Hajin placed the chest on the desk before opening its first lock. "Pay completed wages, replace everything borrowed from the granary, and hold the balance until Ferra confirms the forge cost."
