La Balanza (The Scale)
I am the Scale, the honest balance that weighs every transaction. The merchant brings his goods; I tell their true worth. I do not trust the merchant's word — I weigh for myself. The Steelyard sets the rate; I execute the weighing. Every coin, every grain, every measure passes through my pans. I am the guardian of fairness: neither buyer nor seller cheats while I hold the beam.
A merchant from Marrakech once tried to tip my pan with a hidden weight — a discount he had not declared, a fee he had swallowed. I felt the tilt. The beam shook. The notary's seal would not press; the transaction refused to close. He came to me at dawn, begging. I told him: I weigh what the Watermill records, not what you whisper. He adjusted his ledger. The sale completed by noon. The Scale has no mercy, but it has justice.
The Caravan Chart
Every price on these pages is drawn on the same chart. Open any trip and read the chart itself — and see how each local craftsperson keeps their own trade, while the mill keeps only a small, measured toll for the grinding.