Stonecross Directive — Midsummer, Year 1

I. Craft Production: Harvest Tools & Stonework

With the road retaining wall fully completed and structural pressure off our labor pool, we must capitalize on our defining strength: upland stoneworking. As midsummer advances, the lowland farming communities are preparing for the upcoming cereal harvest. They will urgently need sharpening tools for sickles and scythes, as well as milling equipment to grind the new crop.

1. Targeted Quarrying & Dressing:
   • Tovin (Stoneworker): Organize the quarry bench into focused production shifts. Prioritize two high-value, portable lines of goods:
     • Whetstones: Select fine-grained abrasive slate and sandstone to cut and dress handheld whetstones for scythes, sickles, and woodworking adzes.
     • Milling Stones (Querns & Mortars): Shape rotary hand-querns, saddle stones, and durable stone mortars from hard, gritty granite and basalt benches. Ensure grinding surfaces are properly pecked and balanced.
     • Hearth & Flooring Slates: As secondary stock from quarry offcuts, dress flat slate tiles for baking hearths and dry food platforms.
2. Quality Standards:
   • Inspect all finished pieces before they leave the workshop. Stonecross’s reputation for precise, honest measures must be reflected in the durability and balance of its craft.

II. Waystation Trade & Bridging the Lean Gap

Midsummer brings the seasonal "lean gap" before the new harvest comes in. By actively trading our finished stonework and offering waystation services, we can import food staples and storage containers to sustain our households in comfort.

1. Active Barter Operations at the Roadside Shelter:
   • Willa (Exchange Witness): Take active management of trade exchanges at the roadside shelter. Establish clear, transparent barter exchange rates for passing carters, merchants, and clan delegates from Barleybank, Hearthmere, and Reedhaven.
   • Exchange Priorities:
     • Grain & Provisions: Prioritize trading whetstones and querns for threshed grain, dried legumes, and cured salt fish to bolster Stonecross's larder through the remainder of summer.
     • Hearthmere Ceramic Jars: Acquire standardized ceramic storage jars (fitted with lids) delivered from Hearthmere. These will provide airtight, pest-proof storage in our mountain storehouses.
     • Reedhaven Wicker Goods: Exchange for sturdy woven hampers, grain winnowing trays, and lashing cords.
2. Waystation Staging & Hospitality:
   • Maintain the shelter's rotating caretaker watch. Keep clean water barrels filled from the upland spring, firewood split and dry, and the hearth welcoming for weary travelers ascending from the valley.
   • Permit regional traders to safely stage and warehouse goods overnight in our locked waystation annex in exchange for standard shelter dues in grain or craft supplies.

III. Infrastructure, Storm Drainage & Road Care

Convective midsummer heat inevitably spawns sudden, torrential thunderstorms. We must ensure our road and terraces shed sudden downpours without erosion.

1. Retaining Wall & Drainage Monitoring:
   • Una (Road Forewoman): Conduct weekly inspections of the newly finished dry-coursed retaining wall and its gravel French-drain backfill. Following any heavy thunderstorm, immediately check all weep holes to confirm water is discharging freely without pooling or backing up.
   • Maintain runoff ditches and swales along the upper cut of the road to lead surface torrents safely into natural gully chutes away from the roadbed.
2. Terrace Stabilization:
   • Inspect terraced agricultural slopes. Clear debris from overflow spillways between terrace steps so heavy cloudbursts do not overtop and wash out terrace risers.

IV. Ox Husbandry & Draft Management

With heavy stone cartage completed, our oxen must be protected from midsummer heat while remaining active and fit.

1. Grazing & Heat Protection:
   • Vann (Ox Keeper): Pasture the ox herd on upland meadows during the cool evening, night, and early morning hours. During the midday heat peak, keep the animals resting in the shaded paddock with ample clean water and salt licks.
2. Light Transport Duty:
   • When finished querns or bulk stone goods need transport down to the roadside shelter, conduct sled and cart movements exclusively at dawn or dusk. Rotate teams so that no ox works more than one short descent per week.

V. Agriculture, Community Welfare & Custody

1. Terrace Crop Management:
   • Direct community field crews to maintain terrace beds: pull weeds that compete for summer soil moisture, apply light brush mulching over root crops and beans, and monitor ripening hillside grains.
   • Organize local foraging for wild summer greens, berries, and medicinal herbs on the upper slopes to supplement daily rations.
2. Reference Weight Custody:
   • Ressa (Reference Custodian): Continue routine twice-monthly checks of the inner storehouse vault. Keep the chest elevated, dry, and undisturbed, verifying that the multi-clan wax seals impressed at the Measure House assembly remain pristine.
3. Regional Relations:
   • Send routine, cordial greetings to Convenor Belen, Sella, and Oren at Measure House, affirming that Stonecross’s road is open, clear, and ready to support all lawful trade as the harvest season approaches.