# Stonecross Directive — Early Summer, Year 1
**From:** Roadwarden of Stonecross  
**To:** Officers, Council, Work Crews, and the People of Stonecross  

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### I. Reference Custody & Record Formalization

With the public reweighing concluded, our independent standard certified without variance, and the restitution accord ratified before Belen and all four clans, our delegation has returned safely to Stonecross.

1. **Vaulting the Certified Reference Stone:**
   - **Ressa (Reference Custodian):** In the presence of Tovin, Willa, and myself, formally return the reference stone in its locked chest to the dry upland storehouse vault.
   - Inspect and record the new multi-clan wax seals and cord applied at Measure House. Enter the certified baseline, transaction notes, and witness signatures into our community master ledger. 
   - The vault remains locked under Ressa's sole key, with scheduled weekly environmental inspections to ensure complete protection against summer humidity and dust.
2. **Measure House Administrative Relations:**
   - Maintain regular, courteous contact with Belen, Sella, and Oren. While Oren remains on administrative caution under joint oversight, Stonecross will conduct all routine exchange business through standard duplicate tallies, reinforcing transparent record-keeping.

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### II. Upland Road & Roadside Shelter Operations

Under the ratified regional commercial accords, Stonecross committed to keeping the upland road open and the roadside shelter active as a hospitable waystation. We will honor this commitment thoroughly.

1. **Roadside Shelter Waystation Management:**
   - Establish a permanent rotating post at the roadside shelter for the summer season, staffed by a two-person crew (a Shelter Warden and an apprentice/scout) drawn on five-day rotations from our community watch.
   - **Amenities & Upkeep:** Maintain a continuous supply of dry split firewood, fresh drinking water piped from the upland spring, basic cooking hearths, and clean bedding straw. Keep a small reserve of grain cakes, dried salt-greens, and repair tools for traveling exchange parties.
   - **Waystation Registry & Intelligence:** The Shelter Warden will maintain a transit logbook, recording traveling parties, goods in transit (such as Reedhaven wicker sleeves or Hearthmere ceramic jars), origins, destinations, and road conditions reported from the valley.
   - **Emergency Shelter:** Ensure the shelter can comfortably accommodate up to eight visiting exchange witnesses or stranded merchants during sudden summer mountain downpours.
2. **Corridor Maintenance & Patrols:**
   - **Una (Road Forewoman):** Organize twice-weekly trail patrols along the full length of the upland road down to the valley junction. 
   - Crews traveling on foot will clear loose scree, fell overhanging deadwood, clear roadside culverts of summer storm silt, and inspect grade slopes for signs of creep.

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### III. Retaining Wall Completion & Draft Management

Early summer provides dry weather and solid ground—ideal conditions for concluding our permanent masonry work above the road.

1. **Finalizing Retaining Wall Masonry:**
   - **Una & Tovin (Stoneworker):** Advance the structural masonry on the shifting wall section from foundation level to full breastwork height.
   - Continue dressing heavy interlocking granite blocks at the upper bench quarry, shaping them with slight inward batter (slope) and gravel backfill to allow continuous drainage without trapping hydrostatic pressure.
   - As the stone wall reaches full design height, cap it with dressed coping stones and tie it into the solid rock outcroppings on either flank.
2. **Ox Welfare & Rotational Hauling:**
   - **Vann (Ox Keeper):** Take full advantage of dry roadbed conditions for ox-cart hauling, while strictly upholding our welfare rules.
   - Maintain the rotational schedule: no ox works more than two hauling shifts per five-day cycle, and hauling is restricted to the cool morning and late afternoon hours to prevent heat stress.
   - Pasture our resting oxen on the lush lower meadow clover and upland sweetgrass to build mass and stamina ahead of the late-summer and autumn harvest transport demands.

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### IV. Trade, Stoneworking & Exchange

With regional commercial accords now active and trade lanes opening, Stonecross should position its skilled trades to complement our neighbors' economies.

1. **Commercial Engagement:**
   - **Willa (Exchange Witness):** Monitor the flow of goods passing our shelter and Measure House. Coordinate with visiting trade agents from Barleybank, Reedhaven, and Hearthmere.
   - Explore barter arrangements: inquire if Hearthmere requires specialized stone mortars, grinding slabs, or slate tiles, or if Barleybank requires dressed millstones or grain-store foundation footings in exchange for forward grain credits or ceramic storage vessels.
2. **Local Stone Production:**
   - **Tovin:** Direct secondary stoneworking shifts in the quarry yard toward durable, high-value portable goods: quern-stones, whetstones, and squared lintels/hearthstones that can be readily transported without overburdening local carts.

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### V. Agriculture & Community Routine

1. **Terrace Cultivation:**
   - With warm weather accelerating crop growth, direct agricultural labor toward intensive terrace hoeing, weed suppression, and mulching to retain soil moisture in our steep, well-drained soils.
   - Reinforce stone terrace risers and check-dams to prevent soil runoff during sudden summer thunderstorms.
2. **Community Morale & Health:**
   - Celebrate our community’s successful representation and leadership at Measure House with a shared evening meal at the central hall.
   - Ensure clean water distribution and shaded work shifts during midday summer heat across all quarrying and agricultural crews.