The capital gate closed its central inspection court before Ferra's wagon reached the final approach. Blue-robed guild officers crossed the merchant lanes, their boots striking hard enough to turn every waiting face toward the incoming evidence.
White hazard markers appeared in a ring around the separated ceramic cradle. Freight drivers pulled their carts aside, and a porter dropped a bundle of copper rings while trying to clear the marked road.
The gate crew stared first at the cradle, then at Hajin's silver badge. One officer pressed the badge against a ranking relay without a word.
Blue light climbed above the relay device, forming the provisional twenty beside the sealed hearing decision. Restrictions followed in smaller lines, including the requirement that the evidence remain witnessed during every transfer.
