Nilsar climbs Veshmyr’s signal tower with Tomas, Edda, Bram, and the restrained Osmund Rell. Below, the seized fleet waits at the merchant quay while the ship captain holds the ships and prisoners.
Wind snaps through the tower’s crowded flags. Signal tablets line the stone ledge beside brass bells, tide marks, and painted instructions for merchant, patrol, and emergency departures.
Tomas
Master Rognvald, this tablet is newer than the others. It gives a departure window and names northern recipients beneath the routing marks.
Tomas brushes salt dust from the tablet and reads the names aloud: Hadrik Voss, Selka Norr, and the Nordhaven counting house. A second line orders departure at the third tide bell.
Osmund Rell
Those recipients are not ordinary buyers. Merrow used northern protection to move cargo beyond Veshmyr’s reach, and this notice may lead you to the men shielding him.
Tomas
If we follow the notice, we may expose the whole network. If we use it openly, someone at the northern end may learn that Veshmyr has fallen.
Edda watches the flags while Bram keeps Osmund’s restraints secure. The coded route, the tide window, and the waiting fleet offer opportunity, but the tower’s next signal could announce their victory or betray it.
“Speak with Captain Soren about the chance and if it is worth the risk or if they should return to port?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Nilsar Yarb
Captain Soren, the northern notice offers profit and a path into Merrow’s network. Is it worth the risk, or should we return to port?
Soren climbs to the signal tower and studies the tablet without touching it. Nilsar lays the Patrol Documents beside the Harbor Ledgers, then opens the Rell Family Papers.
The Patrol Documents establish which signals and escorts carry lawful authority. The Harbor Ledgers match the northern recipients to protected cargo movements, while the Rell Family Papers tie those movements to Merrow’s misuse of the seal.
Soren Vask
We should pursue it, Rognvald. Returning now protects the prize, but it abandons the network and leaves Merrow’s northern partners time to scatter.
Soren traces the departure window and recipient names with one finger. The records give him a defensible course: sail under the captured authority, keep the fleet together, and preserve the evidence for any challenge.
Soren Vask
It is worth the risk. We take the third tide bell, follow the notice toward Nordhaven, and keep the ships and prisoners under control. If the northern buyers resist, we turn back with our gains intact.
The decision is settled: the fleet will pursue the northern route rather than return to port. Soren takes the tablet, while Nilsar retains the documents that make their claim credible.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the Nordhaven counting house
Nilsar Yarb leaves Veshmyr signal tower behind and arrives at Nordhaven.
“Sail towards Nordhaven with Sorens flagship Sea Wolf leading the now 10 ship strong fleet.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
Nordhaven rises around the fleet in gray morning light, its timber piers crowded with warehouses, salt-stained cranes, and black-painted counting houses. Sea Wolf leads the ten ships into a sheltered basin.
Harbor bells remain silent, but armed dock officers watch from the quay. Near the largest counting house, a middle-aged man in a dark wool coat and a young adult woman with a red scarf wait beneath the northern routing mark.
Soren Vask
Keep the fleet closed and the prisoners aboard. We have arrived under their notice, but not under their trust.
The man steps onto the quay first, carrying a sealed ledger case. The woman follows, Selka, a young adult woman with a slim build, fair skin, dark hair under a blue cap, and a red wool scarf, with two harbor clerks, her gaze moving from the captured ships to the flags and armed crews.
Hadrik Voss
Rognvald Blackmule, I presume. Your notice bears our routing mark, but ten ships and armed crews exceed the passage described. State your authority.
Selka Norr
And tell us whether Caldus Merrow still commands the cargo. If he does, Nordhaven will not quietly receive it.
Behind Nilsar, Soren’s ships settle against the piers without collision, their lines drawing tight in perfect order. The harbor officers hold their ground, while Hadrik, a middle-aged man with a broad build, weathered skin, short gray hair, and a dark wool coat, opens the ledger case and waits for an answer.
“We ran into some trouble on the way here and ended up with some extra loot from roaming traders. The cargo is here for delivery but is there something wrong with Caldus Merrow controlling it?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Nilsar Yarb
We met trouble on the route and took additional goods from roaming traders. The cargo is here for delivery, but is Caldus Merrow still authorized to control it?
Nilsar presents the Patrol Documents with the Harbor Ledgers and Rell Family Papers. Records Research aligns the shipments and routing marks, while Identifies Authority distinguishes the crown seal, Merrow’s office, and the delivery notice.
Hadrik Voss
No. Merrow’s authority ended when Osmund Rell’s seal was exposed as misused. He cannot lawfully receive this cargo, and Nordhaven will not honor his claim.
Selka Norr
He was our broker, not our master. Merrow arranged the northern carriers and took payment for protected passages, but he had no right to command this shipment once his fraud was known.
The Harbor Ledgers confirm Selka’s distinction: Merrow’s entries concern brokerage and payment, while the crown routing mark protects delivery. The Rell papers prove the seal was borrowed, not transferred.
Hadrik Voss
Deliver the listed cargo under the notice, and we can record the extra goods separately as prizes taken on the road. Merrow’s name will not appear as its controller.
Selka Norr
If you brought proof of his routing fraud, give it to us with the delivery. Nordhaven will receive the shipment, recognize your claim to the extra loot, and sever Merrow’s access to both.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Merrow’s routing fraud to Nordhaven
“I have good news then, our captain here Soren is now in command of all this loot and the shares that come from it and what can be sold. We also happen to have the reports but i think you can pay a little extra.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Nilsar Yarb
Then we have good news. Captain Soren commands the loot, its shares, and whatever can be sold. We also carry reports of Merrow’s fraud, so I think you can pay a little extra.
Nilsar places the Patrol Documents beside the Coastmere ledgers and Rell Family Papers. Records Research matches cargo and routing marks; Reads Legal Records separates lawful delivery from Merrow’s fraudulent control, while Identifies Authority confirms Soren’s command over the collection.
Hadrik Voss
The documents support your claim. Nordhaven will add a premium for the protected shipment and pay an additional reporting fee for proof that Merrow abused the crown routing mark.
Selka Norr
I will calculate the premium against the ledgers now. The extra payment will be substantial, but once recorded, Merrow’s fraud becomes Nordhaven’s matter as well as yours.
Selka compares each shipment against the Harbor Ledgers while Hadrik verifies the seals and routing entries. They record Soren as claimant and approve extra silver for the evidence and lawful delivery.
Hadrik Voss
The payment is granted, but understand the cost. Soren’s claim will be entered publicly, and you will be named as the man who brought Merrow’s fraud into Nordhaven. Your discretion is spent.
Soren Vask
Let it be entered. We take the premium, preserve the reports, and make Merrow answer for every protected shipment he diverted.
Quest Complete
Expose Merrow’s routing fraud to Nordhaven