By dawn, three supply wagons waited outside the registry with their tarps tied down. Their drivers sat on the benches and refused every order to unload.
Hajin saw them from the roof while Ash slept against his chest. One small hand stayed tangled in his coat through the cold morning.
Marrick arrived carrying cargo passes stamped with the same red seal. He laid the papers flat and read the blocking clause aloud.
{Cargo restricted under emergency regional quarantine authority issued by the capital. Passage denied pending review, appeal to be filed at the registry.}
Hajin asked, lowering his gaze to the wagons below, "What were they carrying?"
"Refined coal, kiln brick, and the nails Ferra requested," Marrick replied while rubbing ink from his thumb. "Seliza paid before the Flint captain sent everything home again."
The forge needed coal more than another defiant speech about regional pride. The stamped papers gave the Patriarch a cleaner weapon than any sword.
