The second tide bell rolls through Warehouse Seven, shivering dust from the beams. L'Sara still holds the genuine manifest and ledger as the river doors swing wide.
Mara Venn
There. The marked cargo is leaving now. If the barge takes it downstream, the manifest will be useless to us.
Mara points toward the quay. Three laborers shoulder sealed crates beneath the warehouse lamps, their boots splashing through rainwater toward a waiting barge.
Alleria
Estate colors. I saw those sashes in the tannery yard. We must pursue them immediately, before that shipment clears the quay.
One laborer glances back at the receiving office, then lowers his head and quickens his pace. The barge crew casts off a rope while river fog coils around the pilings.
Mara Venn
The side stair reaches the quay faster than the main doors. Take it, and you may catch them before the current carries the barge out.
The side stair waits beside the desk, narrow and slick with rain. Alleria moves toward it, while Mara remains by the receiving books and the open office grate.
✓ Quest Accepted
Intercept the estate shipment
“I take the slick side stair two steps at a time toward the quay.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
L'Sara takes the slick side stair two steps at a time, descending from the receiving office toward the quay as rainwater streams beneath her boots.
Her lead boot skids on the third step. She catches the rail, but her shin scrapes hard against the stone before momentum carries her safely to the bottom.
Alleria
There! You made it. The marked crates are already at the waterline.
L'Sara reaches the quay, rain striking her hood and the slick stones shining beneath the warehouse lamps. The departing barge lies only a short sprint away.
Three Warehouse Laborers haul the sealed crates across the quay while the barge crew pulls the vessel from its moorings. River fog curls around the hull.
Alleria
We are at the quay. Move before they disappear into the fog!
“I leap onto the departing barge”
FAILURE (Great Agility, rolled -1)
L'Sara launches from the quay, boots clearing the widening gap as the barge slides into the fog. Her fingers catch the wet stern rail for one breath, then slip free.
She drops hard onto a low mooring post instead of the deck, crouching there as the current pulls the vessel beyond an easy jump. The barge's trailing cargo ladder swings just out of reach.
Alleria
L'Sara! The service punt beneath the quay! Cut it loose and you can follow them through the pilings!
Rain beads on the post beneath L'Sara's boots. Below the quay, a narrow service punt rocks against its tether, half-hidden by the pilings and close enough to reach by descending.
Across the widening water, the Warehouse Laborers stack the marked crates beneath the barge's awning. One turns toward the commotion, but the fog swallows L'Sara's silhouette.
Alleria
I will find another way along the quay. Do not let that shipment vanish downstream!
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the service punt
“I cut the punt's tether and climb aboard.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
L'Sara drops from the mooring post to the service punt, landing low as its boards rock beneath her boots. The tether strains against an iron ring below the quay.
She draws one short sword and cuts through the wet rope in a single clean stroke. The severed tether splashes away, and the current swings the punt free.
L'Sara catches the punt's short oar and shoves hard against the pilings. The little craft slips beneath the quay, following the barge into the river fog.
Alleria
Good! Keep beneath the pilings until you reach the barge's stern. I will draw their eyes from the quay.
Above, Alleria breaks into a run along the rain-slick quay. The Warehouse Laborers vanish beneath the barge's awning as muffled voices carry through the fog.
The service punt clears the last piling and rides free on the dark current. Ahead, the barge's lantern glows through the mist, close enough for pursuit.
Quest Complete
Reach the service punt