Dema Orr opens the gate’s release board and the ward cistern level marks at the North Sluice above the Lantern Stair. Before anyone moves a cart or changes a mark, the crew checks a stone channel that narrows at the final bend above the lower cisterns. The thaw season air brings its own pace to the passage.
The latest page holds 31 measured release turns. Dema Orr reads the previous count (33) 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.
Keepers point to a steady total at the gate; residents point to a sharper fall in the last two cisterns. 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 new complaint or proposal has been entered under a dated docket. The entry belongs to the closeout hearing file at the North Sluice above the Lantern Stair. 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. A mason crew will inspect the final bend during the next low-flow window. Until then, the route, schedule or allotment stays as it was at the opening bell.
