A passage keeper attends to the physical safety and customary use of a common passage. The role may rotate among households; it is not the office of a living House's Keeper. Closing a dangerous route does not, by itself, extinguish a right to cross.
Authority and Limits
The passage keeper inspects steps, reports damage, arranges warnings and asks the responsible households for repairs. Where a gate must be shut immediately, the keeper records why and who was told. They cannot turn an emergency closure into private ownership.
A Local Story
One story tells of a keeper who carried a warning board through three quarters before finding a place where everyone agreed it could stand. The story is repeated when a repair is simpler than deciding who may order it.