Tova Brann opens the workshop roster and the rules for ward representation at the Lower Ward meeting hall. Before anyone moves a cart or changes a mark, the crew checks a workbench token each apprentice receives before the evening meeting. The grain fall air brings its own pace to the passage.
The latest page holds 36 apprentices listed by trade. Tova Brann reads the previous count (38) before the next mark is made. It is a small pause, long enough for the people at the rail to hear what the number leaves out.
Guild stewards argue that apprentices lack independent contracts; the apprentices say they already carry independent duties and risk. The current record does not settle that disagreement. The difference between those accounts is visible here: a rule on the board and a working condition just beyond it.
A field check has compared the written rule with the place where it is used. The entry belongs to the open-book review file at the Lower Ward meeting hall. The next check will be made by another crew, asked to repeat the measure without borrowing the first crew’s conclusion.
When the shift closes, the file remains beside the marked place. The table has asked the guilds to produce their current contract forms. Until then, the route, schedule or allotment stays as it was at the opening bell.
