Alleria leads L'Sara through rain-slick alleys toward Warehouse Seven, copper hair tucked beneath her hood. The ledger stays secured beneath L'Sara's cape as river mist thickens ahead.
Alleria
The receiving office is on the far side. We use the culvert, keep low, and reach the broken-circle clerk before the tide bell.
A rusted grate appears beneath the warehouse foundations. Black water threads through it, carrying the stink of river mud and spoiled cargo from the dark opening.
L'Sara T'Lvanni
The culvert is narrow, and the river stench masks other smells.
Alleria crouches beside the grate and lifts its loosened edge. Above, hurried footsteps cross the receiving floor, making dust sift through cracks in the masonry.
Alleria
No bell yet. Once it rings twice, the shipment moves. We still have a little darkness on our side.
She slips into the culvert and pauses just beyond the grate, leaving room for L'Sara to follow. Each movement through the cramped passage pulls at the bruised shoulder, while Warehouse Seven's unseen workers hurry overhead.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the genuine manifest
“I keep the ledger secure and seek the broken-circle clerk's genuine manifest.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
L'Sara follows the culvert beneath Warehouse Seven, keeping the ledger dry beneath her cape. Ahead, a grated drain opens beneath the receiving office, where workers sort crates above.
Through the grate, a slim young adult woman waits beside a shuttered desk. Her brown hair is braided close, and a blue wool vest bears the warehouse seal; one ink-stained hand guards a hidden ledger.
Alleria
There. The broken circle is on her tally board. That must be our clerk.
Alleria eases the grate upward. Above, three warehouse workers move crates toward the river doors, their noise masking the quiet scrape as L'Sara slips into the receiving office.
Mara Venn
You carry the estate ledger. Good. I am Mara Venn, and this is the genuine manifest you came for.
Mara drawsMara, with a freckled face and a chipped front tooth, draws a folded manifest from beneath the desk and places it in L'Sara's reach. Its wax bears the broken-circle mark, and the listed cargo matches the false spoiled tallies.
Alleria
We have it. The shipment is not spoiled at all, and the river route names its true destination.
The genuine manifest is secured alongside the ledger before the tide bell sounds. Above them, the workers continue their hurried loading, unaware that the records have changed hands.
Quest Complete
Trace the estate network's dealings
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Good→Great
Quest Complete
Secure the genuine manifest
+ New Item Acquired
genuine manifest