diff --git a/skald-core/src/forge.rs b/skald-core/src/forge.rs
index b6f7790..c5c206b 100644
--- a/skald-core/src/forge.rs
+++ b/skald-core/src/forge.rs
@@ -206,9 +206,10 @@ impl Forge {
     /// drift. This is the QC gate before a story goes to narration,
     /// where repetition a silent reader skims becomes glaring.
     ///
-    /// MAX effort: unlike the prose-craft passes, catching every
-    /// near-duplicate across a whole book is real reasoning work and
-    /// worth the spend (same posture as the canon audit).
+    /// HIGH effort: finding repeated passages and motif reuse is
+    /// comparison work, not deep reasoning — high-effort Opus does it
+    /// well in minutes. A max-effort pass over a whole-book input
+    /// (quarter-million chars) runs an impractical hour-plus.
     pub async fn prose_audit(&self, full_story: &str) -> anyhow::Result<PassOutput> {
         let prompt = format!(
             "Audit the complete story below for repetition, template tics, \
@@ -220,9 +221,9 @@ impl Forge {
             prompt,
             model: Some(self.model.clone()),
             system: Some(SYSTEM_PROSE_AUDIT.to_string()),
-            effort: Some(Effort::Max),
-            // A max-effort audit over a whole book genuinely runs long —
-            // 1800s strands it. 3600s covers a 50k+-word story.
+            effort: Some(Effort::High),
+            // High effort over a whole book lands in minutes; 3600s is
+            // a generous ceiling that won't bite.
             timeout_secs: Some(3600),
             ..Default::default()
         };