### Month's Work and Accomplishments

Throughout early autumn, village efforts focused on securing the landing, stores, and craft before heavier weather sets in.

**Boats and the Mooring:** Both fishing boats were hauled safely above the high-water line on the inner beach between runs. During slack water, Kiri dove to inspect the outer mooring and discovered the rope chafing against a submerged stone edge, which had caused the float to jerk sharply. The snag was cleared, and the mooring was re-rigged with sound, tested cordage. With craft safeguarded from sudden ebb strains, Ruan's net crews fished the sheltered inner inlet safely, bringing in catches for sorting and preservation.

**Infrastructure, Stores, and Hearth:** Work crews erected drying racks on the upper ledge, enabling split fish and roots to cure off the ground in the breeze without taking up space needed for sleeping mats. The leaky seam in the landing hall roof was re-thatched and pitched, sealing the hall against rot and damp ahead of mid-autumn rains. Split firewood was stacked and sheltered under lean-tos off the wet soil. Around the central hearth, Wen kept the fire tended and the wellhead clear, while the children suffering from seasonal coughs were kept warm and have now recovered. Ves reports that household stores of roots, meal, and dried fish remain well-managed.

**Hospitality Rule:** An explicit village rule was established at the landing hearth with Del, Ves, and Ruan. Custom is honored on the first night: any arriving visitors will receive a dry shelter and a guest meal placed visibly at the edge of the hearth. On the second morning, the village's terms will be spoken plainly: guests may stay only if they contribute reciprocal labor—such as net mending, cordage twisting, or wood hauling—or else receive travel rations and depart peacefully.

### Upland Reconnaissance

Seli completed her three-day scouting journey along the alder path west to the stream ford and lower meadow. She confirmed that the trail remains fully passable in early autumn. Near the ford, she found fresh goat and pack tracks along the water's edge, and looking upward, she sighted dwellings perched on the high upland shelf. Adhering to instructions, she observed without making direct contact or revealing herself, then withdrew eastward to Ternhaven to report her findings.

### Unresolved Pressures and Observations

* **Upland Neighbors:** The fresh tracks and visible dwellings confirm that people and pack animals are active near the upper ford, but their numbers, disposition, and whether they are Del's traveling basket menders or another community remain unconfirmed.
* **Changing Season:** The cool, intermittent rains of early autumn will soon transition into heavier mid-autumn downpours and stronger late-autumn winds. While roofs are sealed, wood sheltered, and drying racks filled, long-term winter stores will require continued management.
* **Water and Travel:** While the inner mooring has held firm since being re-rigged, safe navigation remains bounded inside the hooked bar; open water surveys of the wider sound have not yet been attempted.