Morning in Hak-Ulm's central square after Tasso's claim. The tax ledger sits on a plank table under cold blue mist and red waxlight.

The village tries to understand what a new lord actually means in practical terms.

Leas pulls Tasso away from the crowd to explain how fragile Hak-Ulm really is.

A sign of an approaching outsider interrupts the village's uneasy morning.

Korr emerges from the pine mist with the relaxed confidence of someone who expected fear.

Korr tests the village chain of authority and learns Tasso is the new legal problem.

Korr starts asking about locations that matter to the old mine claim.

Korr's harmless tone turns more obviously predatory as he asks about shiny rocks after rain.

Tasso reads the hidden legal pressure around Korr.

Tasso confirms Korr is trying to trigger a legal claim, not merely scout the area.

Korr implies the old mine may not be depleted, pushing villagers toward a reaction.

Leas and the villagers prepare to drive Korr away, but Tasso blocks the move before it becomes a rebellion report.

Tasso narrows the issue and makes Korr reveal the claim mechanism without admitting it cleanly.

Tasso makes sure the stamp clause can be witnessed properly before spending a seal.

Tasso draws the stamp. Korr understands too late that the boy is not bluffing.

Tasso speaks the exact clause and stamps Korr before he can escape the wording.

Korr tries to say the forbidden topic and the magic destroys each word before it forms.

Korr tries to talk around the forbidden subject, but every attempt concerning the claim crumbles.

Korr considers violence, but Tasso turns even that into a legal warning.

Korr tries to invoke Vandel and the claim, but the sealed topic mangles the threat.

Korr leaves Hak-Ulm humiliated, but his parting threat makes clear he is not harmless.

The village exhales, but Leas immediately counts the cost of Tasso's choice.

Tasso explains Korr's contract and why spending a seal on speech was not a joke.

The chapter ends with Korr vanishing into the mist and Tasso facing the cost of defending Hak-Ulm.