6 files changed, 54 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/internal/game/act.go b/internal/game/act.go
index 78f298d..654b65c 100644
--- a/internal/game/act.go
+++ b/internal/game/act.go
@@ -105,8 +105,12 @@ func (g *Game) startAction(sess *net.Session, verb, target string) {
 			return
 		}
 		var err error
-		obj, err = g.ObjectStore.Load(chosen.DefID)
-		if err != nil || !obj.IsInteractable() {
+		obj, err = g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, chosen.DefID)
+		if err != nil {
+			sess.WriteLine(fmt.Sprintf("There's nothing here to %s.", verb))
+			return
+		}
+		if !obj.IsInteractable() {
 			sess.WriteLine(fmt.Sprintf("You can't %s the %s.", verb, obj.Name))
 			return
 		}
diff --git a/internal/game/cmd_move.go b/internal/game/cmd_move.go
index a1b492e..4bf227c 100644
--- a/internal/game/cmd_move.go
+++ b/internal/game/cmd_move.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"thehouseoficarus/internal/engine"
 	"thehouseoficarus/internal/item"
 	"thehouseoficarus/internal/net"
+	"thehouseoficarus/internal/object"
 	"thehouseoficarus/internal/player"
 )
 
@@ -245,9 +246,15 @@ func (g *Game) seedRoomObjects(roomID int) {
 	}
 	g.World.EnsureObjectStates(roomID, ids)
 	for _, obj := range room.Objects {
-		def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(obj.ID)
-		if err != nil {
-			continue
+		var def *object.ObjectDef
+		if obj.Inline != nil {
+			def = obj.Inline
+		} else {
+			var err error
+			def, err = g.ObjectStore.Load(obj.ID)
+			if err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
 		}
 		g.World.SetObjName(roomID, obj.ID, def.Name)
 		if len(def.Aliases) > 0 {
diff --git a/internal/game/cmd_verbs.go b/internal/game/cmd_verbs.go
index 2ba1a7e..f2c4a18 100644
--- a/internal/game/cmd_verbs.go
+++ b/internal/game/cmd_verbs.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (g *Game) executeVerbs(sess *net.Session, args []string, rawInput string) {
 	var sectionGround []string
 
 	for _, st := range g.World.AllObjInstances(p.RoomID) {
-		def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(st.DefID)
+		def, err := g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, st.DefID)
 		if err != nil || def.Hidden {
 			continue
 		}
diff --git a/internal/game/look_entities.go b/internal/game/look_entities.go
index f6b58a1..def505a 100644
--- a/internal/game/look_entities.go
+++ b/internal/game/look_entities.go
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ func (g *Game) showRoomObjects(sess *net.Session, p *player.Player, room *world.
 	}
 	for _, objID := range order {
 		count := grouped[objID]
-		def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(objID)
+		def, err := g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, objID)
 		if err != nil {
 			continue
 		}
diff --git a/internal/game/look_target.go b/internal/game/look_target.go
index c5fb072..743844f 100644
--- a/internal/game/look_target.go
+++ b/internal/game/look_target.go
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func (g *Game) doLookTarget(sess *net.Session, input string) {
 	byDef := map[string][]world.ObjState{}
 	descByDef := map[string]string{}
 	for _, ist := range rawInstances {
-		def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(ist.DefID)
+		def, err := g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, ist.DefID)
 		if err != nil {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func (g *Game) doLookTarget(sess *net.Session, input string) {
 	if len(presentDefs) > 1 {
 		sess.WriteLine("That's ambiguous, which one?")
 		for _, defID := range presentDefs {
-			if def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(defID); err == nil {
+			if def, err := g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, defID); err == nil {
 				sess.WriteLine(fmt.Sprintf("  %s", def.Name))
 			}
 		}
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func (g *Game) doLookTarget(sess *net.Session, input string) {
 		instances := byDef[presentDefs[0]]
 		objDescText := descByDef[presentDefs[0]]
 		st := &instances[0]
-		def, _ := g.ObjectStore.Load(st.DefID)
+		def, _ := g.resolveObjectDef(p.RoomID, st.DefID)
 
 		if st.DefID == "estate_directory" {
 			g.lookEstateDirectory(sess)
diff --git a/internal/game/object_def.go b/internal/game/object_def.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e27aeb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/game/object_def.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package game
+
+import "thehouseoficarus/internal/object"
+
+// resolveObjectDef returns the ObjectDef for a room object instance. File
+// objects (the common case) resolve through the cached object store with no
+// disk I/O on a hit, and a store miss is just a map lookup; only inline objects
+// — which never live in the store — fall through to a freshly-read room, so
+// they keep live-edit semantics without slowing file-object lookups. defID is
+// the ObjState DefID (a normalized name for inline objects, a file id
+// otherwise).
+//
+// Use this from display or generic-handling sites. Sites that look up a
+// specific interactable behavior (gather/use-station/safespot/steal/etc.) may
+// call ObjectStore.Load directly: inline objects are guaranteed non-interactable
+// and simply fall through those sites' existing error guards.
+func (g *Game) resolveObjectDef(roomID int, defID string) (*object.ObjectDef, error) {
+	def, err := g.ObjectStore.Load(defID)
+	if err == nil {
+		return def, nil
+	}
+	if room, rerr := g.World.LoadRoom(roomID); rerr == nil {
+		for i := range room.Objects {
+			ro := &room.Objects[i]
+			if ro.Inline != nil && ro.ID == defID {
+				d := *ro.Inline
+				d.ID = defID
+				return &d, nil
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil, err
+}