diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index ece7a70..99ebd5f 100644
--- a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "adept",
-  "version": "2.12.0",
+  "version": "2.12.1",
   "description": "Development-workflow skills: design, TDD, adversarial review, shipping, and campaign orchestration for Claude Code and Codex.",
   "author": {
     "name": "David Christensen"
diff --git a/.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh b/.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh
index 2bba930..5f1f992 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh
@@ -1347,6 +1347,61 @@ STUB
     expect_error_code "$d/.e3" E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN
   fi
 
+  # A later positive witness keeps the undeclared-rename verdict, but the earlier fault still
+  # needs a trace. The unrelated workflow names debt.sh, a successor whose basename did not
+  # change, so gate_paths does not treat that workflow as protected; gate_existed_at's broader
+  # closed witness set still sees it after the SELF_DIR probe for debt.sh faults.
+  d="$SCRATCH/gate_witness_outranks_fault"
+  mkdir -p "$d/docs/debt" "$d/.github/scripts/profiles" "$d/.github/workflows"
+  git -C "$d" init -q .
+  git -C "$d" config user.email test@example.invalid
+  git -C "$d" config user.name "check-records test"
+  cat >"$d/.github/workflows/unrelated.yml" <<'YAML'
+name: unrelated
+on: push
+jobs:
+  note:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo debt.sh
+YAML
+  git -C "$d" add -A
+  git -C "$d" commit -qm "before the gate"
+  b=$(base_of "$d")
+  cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/check-records.sh" "$d/.github/scripts/"
+  cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/profiles/debt.sh" "$d/.github/scripts/profiles/"
+  chmod +x "$d/.github/scripts/check-records.sh"
+  write_record "$d" "0001-first.md"
+  git -C "$d" add -A
+  stub_bin="$SCRATCH/git-witness-outrank-bin"
+  mkdir -p "$stub_bin"
+  cat >"$stub_bin/git" <<STUB
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [ "\$1" = ls-tree ]; then
+  for arg in "\$@"; do
+    if [ "\$arg" = .github/scripts/debt.sh ]; then
+      printf 'fatal: fixture-fault: simulated object store error\n' >&2
+      exit 128
+    fi
+  done
+fi
+exec "$real_git" "\$@"
+STUB
+  chmod +x "$stub_bin/git"
+  run_case "a real gate witness outranks an earlier fault" 1 E-GATE-EMPTY-SET "$d" \
+    BASE_SHA="$b" PATH="$stub_bin:$PATH"
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the outranked gate fault is reported"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN beside the verdict' \
+    'the incomplete gate-witness search was silent' '::warning::W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: '
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the fault path and status are retained"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'gate fault path and status named' \
+    'the gate warning did not name the failed witness' \
+    '.github/scripts/debt.sh: .*git exit 128'
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the no-answer scan error stays suppressed"
+  expect_no_match "$d/.err" 'E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN suppressed' \
+    'the positive witness was replaced by the no-answer fault' \
+    '::error::E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: '
+
   # gate_existed_at has two witnesses, and `renamed_gate` above happens to satisfy both at
   # once (its base-ref workflow names "check-records.sh", which is also the literal
   # basename sitting in SELF_DIR at that ref) — so neither witness is individually proven.
@@ -2044,11 +2099,39 @@ STUB
   b=$(base_of "$d")
   git -C "$d" mv docs/debt/0005-b.md docs/debt/0006-b.md
   write_record "$d" "0002-c.md"
+  write_record "$d" "0003-d.md"
   git -C "$d" add -A
   stub_bin="$SCRATCH/git-renumber-outrank-bin"
-  write_ls_files_stub "$stub_bin" docs/debt/0002-c.md
+  mkdir -p "$stub_bin"
+  real_git=$(command -v git)
+  cat >"$stub_bin/git" <<STUB
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [ "\$1" = ls-files ]; then
+  for arg in "\$@"; do
+    case \$arg in
+    docs/debt/0002-c.md | docs/debt/0003-d.md)
+      printf 'fatal: fixture-fault: simulated index read error\n' >&2
+      exit 128
+      ;;
+    esac
+  done
+fi
+exec "$real_git" "\$@"
+STUB
+  chmod +x "$stub_bin/git"
   run_case "a real renumber outranks a candidate fault" 0 - "$d" \
     BASE_SHA="$b" PATH="$stub_bin:$PATH"
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the outranked fault is reported"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'exit=0 W-RENUMBER-SCAN' \
+    'the incomplete renumber search was silent' '::warning::W-RENUMBER-SCAN: '
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the last candidate fault is retained"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'last fault path and status named' \
+    'the warning did not name the last candidate fault' \
+    'could not read the index entry for docs/debt/0003-d.md, exit 128'
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the positive renumber action survives"
+  expect_match "$d/.out" 'renumber destination still reported' \
+    'the positive renumber result was lost' \
+    'note: docs/debt/0005-b.md was renumbered to docs/debt/0006-b.md'
 
   # check_gate_files, on the gate file itself. A gate file present and tracked read as removed,
   # which reported E-GATE-GONE -- the gate accusing the change of deleting a file that is
diff --git a/.github/scripts/check-records.sh b/.github/scripts/check-records.sh
index ec19ebe..19d8726 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/check-records.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/check-records.sh
@@ -596,6 +596,11 @@ $candidate"
       else
         used_renumber_targets=$candidate
       fi
+      if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+        path_exists_status=$fault_status
+        renumber_fault_path=$fault_path
+        return 3
+      fi
       return 0
     fi
   done <<<"$records"
@@ -949,6 +954,10 @@ check_no_disappearances() {
       renumbered_elsewhere "$base" "$record" || renum_status=$?
       case $renum_status in
       0) info "note: $record was renumbered to $renumbered_to (content unchanged)" ;;
+      3)
+        warn_full "W-RENUMBER-SCAN: $record: found renumber destination $renumbered_to after an incomplete search (could not read $renumber_fault_path, exit $path_exists_status)"
+        info "note: $record was renumbered to $renumbered_to (content unchanged)"
+        ;;
       1) err "E-GONE: $record is no longer a record at that path (deleted, moved, untracked, or renamed with its content changed) — resolve records in place with a '> **Resolved by ...**' banner" ;;
       # Reported instead of E-GONE, never alongside it: whether the record moved is exactly what
       # could not be established — by a candidate witness that did not run, by a candidate the
@@ -1074,7 +1083,8 @@ gate_known_basenames() {
 # result is checked non-empty before use: unguarded, an empty result makes the git argument
 # "${base}:/name", and depending on git's tree lookup an absolute-looking path can still
 # resolve — checked explicitly rather than relied on to fail closed.
-# Three-valued: 0 a witness found the gate, 1 no witness did, 2 a witness could not run.
+# Four outcomes: 0 a witness found the gate after a complete search, 1 no witness did, 2 no
+# witness answered because a scan faulted, 3 a witness found the gate after an earlier fault.
 # Neither witness used to capture its status, so a scan fault was indistinguishable from every
 # witness genuinely finding nothing — and the caller reported that as I-GATE-BOOTSTRAP, an
 # exit-0 informational line, instead of the fatal E-GATE-EMPTY-SET an undeclared rename owes.
@@ -1093,7 +1103,13 @@ gate_existed_at() {
       status=0
       path_exists_at "$base" "${rel}/${name}" || status=$?
       case $status in
-      0) return 0 ;;
+      0)
+        if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+          path_exists_status=$fault_status
+          return 3
+        fi
+        return 0
+        ;;
       1) ;;
       *)
         fault_status=$path_exists_status
@@ -1110,7 +1126,13 @@ gate_existed_at() {
     status=0
     git grep --no-color -qF "$name" "$base" -- .github/workflows 2>/dev/null || status=$?
     case $status in
-    0) return 0 ;;
+    0)
+      if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+        path_exists_status=$fault_status
+        return 3
+      fi
+      return 0
+      ;;
     1) ;;
     *)
       fault_status=$status
@@ -1120,7 +1142,8 @@ gate_existed_at() {
   done < <(gate_known_basenames)
 
   # A positive witness returns above, so it outranks a fault on any other witness: evidence
-  # the gate existed is not weakened by an unrelated probe failing.
+  # the gate existed is not weakened by an unrelated probe failing. Return 3 rather than 0 in
+  # that case so the caller can report the incomplete search without changing its verdict.
   if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
     path_exists_status=$fault_status
     return 2
@@ -1197,6 +1220,10 @@ check_gate_files() {
     gate_existed_at "$base" || existed_status=$?
     case $existed_status in
     0) err "E-GATE-EMPTY-SET: no gate file from the base ref is protected — a rename must declare its predecessors in GATE_PREDECESSORS" ;;
+    3)
+      warn_full "W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: $gate_witness_path: a later witness established that a gate existed at $base after this read failed (git exit $path_exists_status)"
+      err "E-GATE-EMPTY-SET: no gate file from the base ref is protected — a rename must declare its predecessors in GATE_PREDECESSORS"
+      ;;
     1) info "I-GATE-BOOTSTRAP: no gate existed at $base — this is the change installing it" ;;
     *) err_full "E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: $gate_witness_path: could not determine whether a gate existed at $base (git exit $path_exists_status)" ;;
     esac
diff --git a/docs/adr/0043-report-outranked-scan-faults.md b/docs/adr/0043-report-outranked-scan-faults.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43c0527
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/adr/0043-report-outranked-scan-faults.md
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# 0043 — Report outranked scan faults from the caller
+
+## Status
+
+Accepted (2026-08-27)
+
+## Context
+
+`renumbered_elsewhere` and `gate_existed_at` search several independent witnesses. A fault
+from one candidate must not outrank a later positive result: a real renumber destination or
+evidence that the gate existed remains valid. Both predicates therefore remember faults and
+return success as soon as a positive result appears. That preserves the verdict but discards
+the fact that part of the search did not run.
+
+[ADR 0005](0005-scan-faults-are-reported-not-collapsed.md) requires a predicate to return a
+distinct fault value and its caller to report it. Although ADR 0005 is formally superseded,
+[ADR 0024](0024-a-failing-repository-probe-is-not-evidence-of-absence.md) withdraws one
+consequence while carrying its three decisions forward unchanged. Those decisions do not define
+an outcome that combines a positive answer with a reportable, outranked fault, and the existing
+error channel would incorrectly turn an incomplete but decisive search into failure.
+
+## Decision
+
+An outranked scan fault is reportable. A multi-witness predicate that finds a positive result
+after an earlier fault returns a distinct `positive-with-fault` status while preserving its
+ordinary positive-result globals. Its caller emits one full-severity warning naming the failed
+read and its exit status, then performs the same positive-result action it would have performed
+for ordinary success.
+
+When several reads fault before the positive result, the predicate retains and reports the last
+fault encountered. The warning is a trace that the search was incomplete, not an inventory of
+every failed read; earlier faults are not reported individually.
+
+The two sites use rule-specific warning codes: `W-RENUMBER-SCAN` and
+`W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN`. A search with no positive result keeps ADR 0005's existing fault return
+and error diagnostic. A search with no fault keeps its existing success or negative return.
+
+## Consequences
+
+The gate's exit status remains unchanged when a positive witness outranks a fault. Operators and
+CI logs gain a stable trace showing that the answer was reached incompletely, with deterministic
+selection when several reads fault. Callers acquire a fourth predicate outcome and must keep its
+warning and positive action adjacent so later edits do not accidentally turn the warning into a
+failing verdict or omit the positive action.
+
+The warning is emitted with `warn_full`: an outranked external-read fault is independent of a
+record's grandfathered shape and is not downgraded. The two mirrored gate scripts and their test
+suites remain byte-identical.
+
+## Considered & rejected
+
+**Keep outranked faults silent.** judgment: observability; a correct verdict does not make an
+external read that never ran irrelevant, and silence prevents an operator from distinguishing a
+complete search from an incomplete one.
+
+**Return the existing fault status and fail the gate.** verified: issue #87 identifies fixtures
+where a later candidate or witness supplies a genuine positive result; treating the unrelated
+fault as decisive would reverse the established verdict rather than report how it was reached.
+
+**Emit the warning inside each predicate before returning success.** judgment: fit; it would
+violate the caller-reporting boundary carried forward by ADR 0024 and make the predicate
+responsible for both search and presentation.
+
+**Add a side-channel global while continuing to return ordinary success.** judgment:
+maintainability; every caller would have to remember to inspect optional state after an
+indistinguishable success, recreating the silent omission this decision is meant to prevent.
diff --git a/docs/workflow/plans/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults.md b/docs/workflow/plans/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..99fa4c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/workflow/plans/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults.md
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+# Report outranked scan faults — implementation plan
+
+**Issue:** #87
+
+**Decision:** [ADR 0043](../../adr/0043-report-outranked-scan-faults.md)
+
+**Spec:** [design](../specs/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults-design.md)
+
+**Branch:** `feat/report-outranked-scan-faults-87`
+
+**BASE_BRANCH:** `main`
+
+## Global constraints
+
+- Shell remains compatible with Bash 3.2, uses tab indentation, `#!/usr/bin/env bash`, and
+  `set -euo pipefail` where a file already carries them.
+- Use only existing shell facilities and helpers; add no dependency or public API.
+- `.github/scripts/check-records.sh` stays byte-identical to
+  `skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh`; their `check-records-test.sh` suites also stay
+  byte-identical.
+- Status `3` means `positive-with-fault`. It reports the last fault encountered, emits a warning,
+  and preserves the status-0 action and process verdict.
+- Exact guardrails: focused `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh`; mirrored record gate
+  `just records`; full repository suite `just verify`. CI invokes the same suite through
+  `just ci`.
+- Host architecture is `x86_64`; no target architecture is declared; relationship is
+  `no-target-declared`. The host uses GNU userland. Repository targets are not inferred from it.
+- ADR index coupling is `not coupled`: `docs/adr/README.md` is deliberately a directory policy,
+  not an index table.
+
+## Task 1 — add failing regression coverage
+
+**Files:** modify `.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh`; mirror the exact file to
+`skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh` only after the focused test is red.
+
+**Interfaces:** consumes existing helpers `write_ls_files_stub`, `run_case`, `expect_match`,
+`expect_error_code`, and the `renumber_match_outranks_fault` fixture. Produces assertions for
+`W-RENUMBER-SCAN`, `W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN`, last-fault selection, and unchanged positive actions;
+Task 2 must satisfy them without changing their expected codes.
+
+1. Extend `renumber_match_outranks_fault` so two earlier candidate index reads fault with
+   distinguishable paths before `docs/debt/0006-b.md` matches. Keep expected exit `0`, then assert
+   `.err` contains `::warning::W-RENUMBER-SCAN:`, names the later faulting candidate and its exit,
+   and `.out` still names the real renumber destination. The path assertion specifically proves
+   the predicate copied its local `fault_path` into caller-visible `renumber_fault_path`.
+2. Add a gate fixture whose protected set is empty, whose first two `ls-tree` witnesses fault with
+   distinguishable paths, and whose later workflow witness finds the former gate basename. Assert
+   exit `1`, `E-GATE-EMPTY-SET`, `W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN` naming the second fault, and absence of
+   `E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN`.
+3. Run `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh` bare. Expected: non-zero, with the first new
+   warning assertion failing because neither caller emits the new code. This red result is the
+   TDD proof; do not alter production code before observing it.
+4. Apply the same completed edits to the skill asset mirror and confirm
+   `cmp -s .github/scripts/check-records-test.sh skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh`.
+
+**Acceptance:** both fixtures reach a later positive witness after earlier injected faults; the
+focused suite is demonstrably red for the missing warnings; both test mirrors are identical.
+
+**Rollback:** revert only the two fixture edits; no scratch tree is retained by a completed suite.
+
+## Task 2 — implement the fourth predicate outcome
+
+**Files:** modify `.github/scripts/check-records.sh`; mirror it exactly to
+`skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh`.
+
+**Interfaces:** consumes Task 1's exact warning codes and ADR 0043's status-3 contract. Preserves
+`renumbered_to`, `renumber_fault_path`, `gate_witness_path`, and `path_exists_status` for callers.
+Produces status `3` from `renumbered_elsewhere` and `gate_existed_at`; Task 3 relies on both script
+mirrors being identical and the focused suite being green.
+
+1. In each predicate's positive-result branch, return `3` when `fault_status` is non-zero and
+   return `0` otherwise. In `renumbered_elsewhere`, copy both local retained values before return:
+   `path_exists_status=$fault_status` and `renumber_fault_path=$fault_path`. In
+   `gate_existed_at`, copy `fault_status` to `path_exists_status`; its caller-visible
+   `gate_witness_path` already changes with every fault.
+2. In the `renumbered_elsewhere` caller, add a status-3 case that emits
+   `warn_full "W-RENUMBER-SCAN: $record: found renumber destination $renumbered_to after an incomplete search (could not read $renumber_fault_path, exit $path_exists_status)"`
+   and then prints the same renumber note as status 0.
+3. In the `gate_existed_at` caller, add a status-3 case that emits
+   `warn_full "W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: $gate_witness_path: a later witness established that a gate existed at $base after this read failed (git exit $path_exists_status)"`
+   and then emits the same `E-GATE-EMPTY-SET` error as status 0.
+4. Apply the same production edits to its skill asset mirror. Run
+   `cmp -s .github/scripts/check-records.sh skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh`.
+5. Run `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh` bare. Expected: exit 0 and the suite's
+   `0 failed` summary.
+
+**Acceptance:** status 3 preserves the positive verdict/action; one full-severity warning reports
+the last retained fault; ordinary statuses 0, 1, and 2 retain their behavior; mirrors match.
+
+**Rollback:** revert the caller and predicate cases together; a partial rollback would leave a
+status value without a consumer or a consumer no predicate can reach.
+
+## Task 3 — prove the tests bite and finish repository integration
+
+**Files:** modify `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`; no other source file is expected.
+
+**Interfaces:** consumes Task 2's green focused suite and identical mirrors. Produces installable
+plugin version `2.12.1` and final guardrail evidence for delivery.
+
+1. Temporarily neutralise only the `renumbered_elsewhere` status-3 caller warning. Run
+   `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh` bare and require non-zero with the new
+   `W-RENUMBER-SCAN` assertion failing. Restore the exact production line without committing the
+   mutation.
+2. Temporarily neutralise only the `gate_existed_at` status-3 caller warning. Run
+   `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh` bare and require non-zero with the new
+   `W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN` assertion failing. Restore the exact production line without committing
+   the mutation.
+3. Run `./.github/scripts/check-records-test.sh` again. Expected: exit 0 with every suite assertion
+   passing and the summary reporting `0 failed`.
+4. Change `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` version from `2.12.0` to `2.12.1`; this is a PATCH because
+   no invocation contract or capability is added.
+5. Run `git diff --check`, then `just records`, then `just verify`, all bare. Expected: exit 0;
+   record mirrors compare byte-identically; all record tests pass; all repository gates and prek
+   checks pass without warnings.
+
+**Acceptance:** both controlled faults turn the focused suite red; the restored implementation is
+green; version `2.12.1` is parseable and greater than the base version; full guardrails pass.
+
+**Rollback:** restore `2.12.0` only when reverting the entire branch. Never leave implementation
+changes at the old version because installed plugin caches would not receive them.
diff --git a/docs/workflow/specs/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults-design.md b/docs/workflow/specs/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults-design.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..226b031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/workflow/specs/2026-08-27-report-outranked-scan-faults-design.md
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+# Report outranked scan faults — design
+
+Issue: #87. Decision: [ADR 0043](../../adr/0043-report-outranked-scan-faults.md).
+
+## Scope and outcome
+
+The record gate will preserve a positive result when one witness succeeds after another witness
+faults, while reporting that incomplete search through a warning owned by the predicate's caller.
+The change is limited to `renumbered_elsewhere` and `gate_existed_at`, their callers, mirrored
+copies, and regression coverage. Other scan-fault sites remain owned by their existing issues.
+
+## Contract
+
+Both predicates retain their current three outcomes and add status `3` for
+`positive-with-fault`:
+
+- `0`: positive result, complete search up to the decisive witness;
+- `1`: negative result;
+- `2`: fault with no positive result; and
+- `3`: positive result after an earlier independent scan fault.
+
+For status `3`, the predicate preserves the same positive-result globals as status `0` plus the
+existing fault-location and fault-status globals. The caller emits one `warn_full` diagnostic and
+then executes its status-0 action. `renumbered_elsewhere` uses `W-RENUMBER-SCAN` before its
+renumber note. `gate_existed_at` uses `W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN` before the existing
+`E-GATE-EMPTY-SET` result. Neither warning changes the process exit status.
+
+If multiple reads fault before the positive result, the existing fault globals retain the last
+fault encountered. The warning reports that fault only; it signals an incomplete search rather
+than inventorying every failed read.
+
+## Components and data flow
+
+`renumbered_elsewhere` remembers the first or latest candidate fault as it does today. When a
+later canonical-content match is found, it returns `3` rather than `0` if a fault was remembered.
+Its caller reports the saved `renumber_fault_path` and `path_exists_status`, then prints the
+existing renumber note.
+
+`gate_existed_at` likewise returns `3` when a later filesystem or workflow witness succeeds after
+a fault. `check_gate_files` reports the saved `gate_witness_path` and `path_exists_status`, then
+emits the same empty-protected-set error used for an ordinary positive witness.
+
+The source and test mirrors under `.github/scripts/` and
+`skills/tome-of-lore/assets/` are edited identically. The plugin patch version is bumped so the
+change is installable.
+
+## Error handling and compatibility
+
+Status `2` remains the only no-answer fault and keeps its existing error diagnostic. Status `3`
+is deliberately a warning because the positive evidence still decides the predicate. All shell
+changes remain compatible with Bash 3.2 and use existing globals and emitters; no dependency or
+public API is added.
+
+## Testing
+
+The existing `renumber_match_outranks_fault` fixture will assert exit 0, the real renumber note,
+and `W-RENUMBER-SCAN` naming the failed candidate read and exit status. A new gate fixture will
+make one `ls-tree` witness fault before a later real witness succeeds, assert the existing
+`E-GATE-EMPTY-SET` verdict, and assert `W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN` names the failed witness and status.
+At one site, the fixture will fault two reads before the positive result and assert that the
+warning names the last fault, pinning the deterministic selection rule without duplicating the
+same policy test at both callers.
+
+Each new assertion must bite: temporarily neutralising the status-3 caller branch must make its
+focused suite fail, after which the implementation is restored. `just records` proves fixture
+behavior and mirror identity; `just verify` is the final repository guardrail.
+
+## Alternatives
+
+Keeping the fault silent, failing on it, reporting inside the predicate, and using an optional
+success side channel are rejected in ADR 0043. The selected fourth outcome is the smallest design
+that preserves both caller-owned reporting and the established positive verdict.
diff --git a/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh b/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh
index 2bba930..5f1f992 100755
--- a/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh
+++ b/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records-test.sh
@@ -1347,6 +1347,61 @@ STUB
     expect_error_code "$d/.e3" E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN
   fi
 
+  # A later positive witness keeps the undeclared-rename verdict, but the earlier fault still
+  # needs a trace. The unrelated workflow names debt.sh, a successor whose basename did not
+  # change, so gate_paths does not treat that workflow as protected; gate_existed_at's broader
+  # closed witness set still sees it after the SELF_DIR probe for debt.sh faults.
+  d="$SCRATCH/gate_witness_outranks_fault"
+  mkdir -p "$d/docs/debt" "$d/.github/scripts/profiles" "$d/.github/workflows"
+  git -C "$d" init -q .
+  git -C "$d" config user.email test@example.invalid
+  git -C "$d" config user.name "check-records test"
+  cat >"$d/.github/workflows/unrelated.yml" <<'YAML'
+name: unrelated
+on: push
+jobs:
+  note:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo debt.sh
+YAML
+  git -C "$d" add -A
+  git -C "$d" commit -qm "before the gate"
+  b=$(base_of "$d")
+  cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/check-records.sh" "$d/.github/scripts/"
+  cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/profiles/debt.sh" "$d/.github/scripts/profiles/"
+  chmod +x "$d/.github/scripts/check-records.sh"
+  write_record "$d" "0001-first.md"
+  git -C "$d" add -A
+  stub_bin="$SCRATCH/git-witness-outrank-bin"
+  mkdir -p "$stub_bin"
+  cat >"$stub_bin/git" <<STUB
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [ "\$1" = ls-tree ]; then
+  for arg in "\$@"; do
+    if [ "\$arg" = .github/scripts/debt.sh ]; then
+      printf 'fatal: fixture-fault: simulated object store error\n' >&2
+      exit 128
+    fi
+  done
+fi
+exec "$real_git" "\$@"
+STUB
+  chmod +x "$stub_bin/git"
+  run_case "a real gate witness outranks an earlier fault" 1 E-GATE-EMPTY-SET "$d" \
+    BASE_SHA="$b" PATH="$stub_bin:$PATH"
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the outranked gate fault is reported"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN beside the verdict' \
+    'the incomplete gate-witness search was silent' '::warning::W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: '
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the fault path and status are retained"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'gate fault path and status named' \
+    'the gate warning did not name the failed witness' \
+    '.github/scripts/debt.sh: .*git exit 128'
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the no-answer scan error stays suppressed"
+  expect_no_match "$d/.err" 'E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN suppressed' \
+    'the positive witness was replaced by the no-answer fault' \
+    '::error::E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: '
+
   # gate_existed_at has two witnesses, and `renamed_gate` above happens to satisfy both at
   # once (its base-ref workflow names "check-records.sh", which is also the literal
   # basename sitting in SELF_DIR at that ref) — so neither witness is individually proven.
@@ -2044,11 +2099,39 @@ STUB
   b=$(base_of "$d")
   git -C "$d" mv docs/debt/0005-b.md docs/debt/0006-b.md
   write_record "$d" "0002-c.md"
+  write_record "$d" "0003-d.md"
   git -C "$d" add -A
   stub_bin="$SCRATCH/git-renumber-outrank-bin"
-  write_ls_files_stub "$stub_bin" docs/debt/0002-c.md
+  mkdir -p "$stub_bin"
+  real_git=$(command -v git)
+  cat >"$stub_bin/git" <<STUB
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+if [ "\$1" = ls-files ]; then
+  for arg in "\$@"; do
+    case \$arg in
+    docs/debt/0002-c.md | docs/debt/0003-d.md)
+      printf 'fatal: fixture-fault: simulated index read error\n' >&2
+      exit 128
+      ;;
+    esac
+  done
+fi
+exec "$real_git" "\$@"
+STUB
+  chmod +x "$stub_bin/git"
   run_case "a real renumber outranks a candidate fault" 0 - "$d" \
     BASE_SHA="$b" PATH="$stub_bin:$PATH"
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the outranked fault is reported"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'exit=0 W-RENUMBER-SCAN' \
+    'the incomplete renumber search was silent' '::warning::W-RENUMBER-SCAN: '
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the last candidate fault is retained"
+  expect_match "$d/.err" 'last fault path and status named' \
+    'the warning did not name the last candidate fault' \
+    'could not read the index entry for docs/debt/0003-d.md, exit 128'
+  printf '  %-4s %-44s ' "" "the positive renumber action survives"
+  expect_match "$d/.out" 'renumber destination still reported' \
+    'the positive renumber result was lost' \
+    'note: docs/debt/0005-b.md was renumbered to docs/debt/0006-b.md'
 
   # check_gate_files, on the gate file itself. A gate file present and tracked read as removed,
   # which reported E-GATE-GONE -- the gate accusing the change of deleting a file that is
diff --git a/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh b/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh
index ec19ebe..19d8726 100755
--- a/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh
+++ b/skills/tome-of-lore/assets/check-records.sh
@@ -596,6 +596,11 @@ $candidate"
       else
         used_renumber_targets=$candidate
       fi
+      if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+        path_exists_status=$fault_status
+        renumber_fault_path=$fault_path
+        return 3
+      fi
       return 0
     fi
   done <<<"$records"
@@ -949,6 +954,10 @@ check_no_disappearances() {
       renumbered_elsewhere "$base" "$record" || renum_status=$?
       case $renum_status in
       0) info "note: $record was renumbered to $renumbered_to (content unchanged)" ;;
+      3)
+        warn_full "W-RENUMBER-SCAN: $record: found renumber destination $renumbered_to after an incomplete search (could not read $renumber_fault_path, exit $path_exists_status)"
+        info "note: $record was renumbered to $renumbered_to (content unchanged)"
+        ;;
       1) err "E-GONE: $record is no longer a record at that path (deleted, moved, untracked, or renamed with its content changed) — resolve records in place with a '> **Resolved by ...**' banner" ;;
       # Reported instead of E-GONE, never alongside it: whether the record moved is exactly what
       # could not be established — by a candidate witness that did not run, by a candidate the
@@ -1074,7 +1083,8 @@ gate_known_basenames() {
 # result is checked non-empty before use: unguarded, an empty result makes the git argument
 # "${base}:/name", and depending on git's tree lookup an absolute-looking path can still
 # resolve — checked explicitly rather than relied on to fail closed.
-# Three-valued: 0 a witness found the gate, 1 no witness did, 2 a witness could not run.
+# Four outcomes: 0 a witness found the gate after a complete search, 1 no witness did, 2 no
+# witness answered because a scan faulted, 3 a witness found the gate after an earlier fault.
 # Neither witness used to capture its status, so a scan fault was indistinguishable from every
 # witness genuinely finding nothing — and the caller reported that as I-GATE-BOOTSTRAP, an
 # exit-0 informational line, instead of the fatal E-GATE-EMPTY-SET an undeclared rename owes.
@@ -1093,7 +1103,13 @@ gate_existed_at() {
       status=0
       path_exists_at "$base" "${rel}/${name}" || status=$?
       case $status in
-      0) return 0 ;;
+      0)
+        if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+          path_exists_status=$fault_status
+          return 3
+        fi
+        return 0
+        ;;
       1) ;;
       *)
         fault_status=$path_exists_status
@@ -1110,7 +1126,13 @@ gate_existed_at() {
     status=0
     git grep --no-color -qF "$name" "$base" -- .github/workflows 2>/dev/null || status=$?
     case $status in
-    0) return 0 ;;
+    0)
+      if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+        path_exists_status=$fault_status
+        return 3
+      fi
+      return 0
+      ;;
     1) ;;
     *)
       fault_status=$status
@@ -1120,7 +1142,8 @@ gate_existed_at() {
   done < <(gate_known_basenames)
 
   # A positive witness returns above, so it outranks a fault on any other witness: evidence
-  # the gate existed is not weakened by an unrelated probe failing.
+  # the gate existed is not weakened by an unrelated probe failing. Return 3 rather than 0 in
+  # that case so the caller can report the incomplete search without changing its verdict.
   if [ "$fault_status" -ne 0 ]; then
     path_exists_status=$fault_status
     return 2
@@ -1197,6 +1220,10 @@ check_gate_files() {
     gate_existed_at "$base" || existed_status=$?
     case $existed_status in
     0) err "E-GATE-EMPTY-SET: no gate file from the base ref is protected — a rename must declare its predecessors in GATE_PREDECESSORS" ;;
+    3)
+      warn_full "W-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: $gate_witness_path: a later witness established that a gate existed at $base after this read failed (git exit $path_exists_status)"
+      err "E-GATE-EMPTY-SET: no gate file from the base ref is protected — a rename must declare its predecessors in GATE_PREDECESSORS"
+      ;;
     1) info "I-GATE-BOOTSTRAP: no gate existed at $base — this is the change installing it" ;;
     *) err_full "E-GATE-WITNESS-SCAN: $gate_witness_path: could not determine whether a gate existed at $base (git exit $path_exists_status)" ;;
     esac