diff --git a/src/world/loader.test.ts b/src/world/loader.test.ts
index 2254c85..0d8d04f 100644
--- a/src/world/loader.test.ts
+++ b/src/world/loader.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest'
-import { parseRoom, parseItem, parseEnding, parseEncounterNarration } from './loader'
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from 'vitest'
+import { parseRoom, parseItem, parseEnding, parseEncounterNarration, narration, registerEncounterNarrations, _resetEncounterNarrationRegistry } from './loader'
 
 const FOYER_MD = `---
 id: foyer
@@ -286,3 +286,27 @@ initialPhase: p
     expect(() => parseEncounterNarration(md, 'encounters/x.md')).toThrow(/no narration sections/i)
   })
 })
+
+describe('narration registry', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    _resetEncounterNarrationRegistry()
+  })
+
+  it('returns prose for a registered encounter and key', () => {
+    registerEncounterNarrations([
+      { id: 'rat', startsIn: 'cellar-stair', initialPhase: 'lurking', narrations: { lurking: 'watches' } },
+    ])
+    expect(narration('rat', 'lurking')).toBe('watches')
+  })
+
+  it('throws with available keys when key is missing', () => {
+    registerEncounterNarrations([
+      { id: 'rat', startsIn: 'cellar-stair', initialPhase: 'lurking', narrations: { lurking: 'a', resolved: 'b' } },
+    ])
+    expect(() => narration('rat', 'sleping')).toThrow(/no matching section.*Available: lurking, resolved/i)
+  })
+
+  it('throws when encounter is unknown', () => {
+    expect(() => narration('ghost', 'whatever')).toThrow(/unknown encounter id "ghost"/i)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/world/loader.ts b/src/world/loader.ts
index d90589e..0f17b63 100644
--- a/src/world/loader.ts
+++ b/src/world/loader.ts
@@ -154,3 +154,48 @@ export function parseEncounterNarration(raw: string, sourcePath: string): Parsed
     narrations,
   }
 }
+
+const encounterNarrationRegistry = new Map<string, Map<string, string>>()
+
+export function registerEncounterNarrations(docs: ParsedEncounterNarration[]): void {
+  for (const doc of docs) {
+    encounterNarrationRegistry.set(doc.id, new Map(Object.entries(doc.narrations)))
+  }
+}
+
+export function _resetEncounterNarrationRegistry(autoReregister: boolean = false): void {
+  encounterNarrationRegistry.clear()
+  if (autoReregister) autoRegisterEncounters()
+}
+
+export function narration(encounterId: string, key: string): string {
+  const map = encounterNarrationRegistry.get(encounterId)
+  if (!map) {
+    throw new Error(`narration(): unknown encounter id "${encounterId}"`)
+  }
+  const value = map.get(key)
+  if (value === undefined) {
+    const available = [...map.keys()].join(', ')
+    throw new Error(
+      `narration(): no matching section "## ${key}" for encounter "${encounterId}". Available: ${available}`,
+    )
+  }
+  return value
+}
+
+// Auto-register encounter narrations from co-located markdown files at module init.
+// This populates the registry BEFORE encounters.ts is evaluated (ESM evaluates dependencies first),
+// so encounters.ts can call narration() at top level without explicit ordering.
+// While src/mystery/world/encounters/ does not yet exist (Task 8 creates it), this is a no-op.
+const _encounterFiles = import.meta.glob<string>('./encounters/*.md', {
+  eager: true, query: '?raw', import: 'default',
+})
+
+function autoRegisterEncounters(): void {
+  for (const [path, raw] of Object.entries(_encounterFiles)) {
+    const doc = parseEncounterNarration(raw, path)
+    encounterNarrationRegistry.set(doc.id, new Map(Object.entries(doc.narrations)))
+  }
+}
+
+autoRegisterEncounters()