Night settles over the Docks. Alexei’s officers keep Captain Banebeard restrained beside the sealed evidence packets, while harbor lights ripple across the damaged submersible.
Gremlin opens a protected call through Alexei’s custody relay, stripping location data and recording the channel without exposing the Docks, Sanguine’s position, or the route between them.
Alexei
The relay preserves lawful evidence and masks both endpoints. I will monitor the custody record, not the conversation.
The call connects to the Renewal Ball’s hidden server room. Sanguine appears only as a secured voice and encrypted silhouette, with no physical route revealed.
Sanguine
Gremlin. That is an unusually careful greeting. Tell me what Orda has done before my people mistake silence for safety.
Gremlin
Lady Orda planned to move a black ledger tonight. It contains political debts, favors, quiet removals, and promises made to officials. Banebeard identified her aide Vell and the courier route.
Sanguine
If that ledger reaches her allies, my cover and every arrangement protecting my network become leverage.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect Sanguine’s cover from Orda’s leverage
“I’ll help Alexei preserve the courier signal while shielding Sanguine’s cover.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Technology, rolled -1)
Gremlin routes the broadcast relay through Alexei’s custody system, splitting the courier signal from its metadata and replacing the route markers with a sealed forensic token.
The courier’s launch signal resolves cleanly: two confirmation pulses before docking, one afterward. The preserved feed reveals timing without exposing Sanguine’s server room, network, or location.
Alexei
Signal preserved and hash-matched. The evidence identifies the courier pattern, while every endpoint connected to Sanguine remains masked.
Sanguine
Elegant. You have given me the warning without giving Orda a weapon. My people can watch the dock without revealing who is watching.
Alexei’s console records the courier frequency, expected approach window, and foundation registration under independent custody. The protected call retains only Sanguine’s encrypted silhouette.
Sanguine
Send me the dock signal and the timing window. I will place eyes near the exchange, and no one will know whose interests they serve.
The relay confirms delivery of the sanitized signal. Alexei can lawfully intercept the launch, while Sanguine’s cover remains intact and Orda’s ledger route stays exposed.
Quest Complete
Protect Sanguine’s cover from Orda’s leverage
“I help Alexei intercept the courier launch”
SUCCESS (Legendary Technology, rolled -1)
Gremlin threads the broadcast relay through Alexei’s custody system, matching the courier’s two-pulse approach signal against harbor traffic while masking every protected endpoint.
Alexei
There. Foundation launch confirmed, approaching the customs exchange under the expected timing window. Interception teams are moving now.
The relay isolates the launch’s navigation handshake and feeds Alexei a lawful stop command. Harbor patrol craft close from two angles, leaving the courier no safe route around the berth.
Sanguine
My watchers confirm the approach. No one has seen my people, and no one will mistake their warning for a police operation.
The courier launch slows beneath the exchange’s shadow. Alexei’s officers board, secure the crew, and seize a lacquered ledger case before it can be transferred.
Alexei
The launch and ledger are secured. Its registration, crew statements, and custody transfer are preserved under warrant.
Gremlin’s relay captures the final docking pulse and seals the complete interception record. The black ledger is now in Alexei’s lawful custody, while Sanguine’s network remains concealed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Close the protected call with Sanguine’s trust intact
“I confirm the ledger is secured, thank Sanguine, and close the protected call.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Gremlin
The ledger is secured. Thank you, Sanguine. Close the protected call.
Gremlin’s confirmation enters the custody record. The encrypted silhouette acknowledges the exchange, then dissolves as the protected channel closes without revealing Sanguine’s position.
Alexei
Call closed. Both endpoints remain masked, and the ledger’s custody chain is intact.
Alexei’s officers keep the courier crew secured beside the harbor patrol craft. The lacquered case rests inside a tamper-evident evidence sleeve, its seal and transfer time displayed.
Alexei
We can open it under warrant at the secure customs office. The contents may identify officials who still believe Orda’s promises protect them.
Beyond the exchange, patrol lights sweep the dark water while the captured launch rocks against the berth. Alexei’s console highlights the warrant authority and the ledger’s sealed chain.
“Open the ledger under warrant”
SUCCESS (Legendary Investigation, rolled +3)
Alexei signs the warrant electronically, then orders an officer, a young adult human man with a lean build, dark skin, a square face, close-cropped black hair, and a navy evidence-services uniform to bring the tamper-evident sleeve to the secure customs office. Gremlin receives the ledger only after the custody transfer is recorded.
Alexei
Seal intact, transfer witnessed, warrant active. Open it under the cameras, and preserve every page exactly as found.
Inside the secure office, Gremlin photographs the sleeve, verifies its hash, and cuts the authorized seal. The black ledger opens beneath calibrated lights and dual recording systems.
His investigation moves swiftly through coded names, dates, favors, and discreet payments. The entries map Lady Orda’s influence across procurement offices, harbor permits, and several judicial intermediaries.
Alexei
This is more than a list of debts. It identifies officials who traded public authority for Orda’s private protection.
A hidden fold yields an unexpected advantage: a current access schedule for Orda’s airship, including guard rotations, maintenance windows, and the authorization phrase for her private command deck.
Alexei begins sealing page images into independent evidence packets as the ledger reveals one immediate lead: Orda’s next political meeting is scheduled before dawn at Mosaic City Hall.
Quest Complete
Close the protected call with Sanguine’s trust intact
New Gift: Unbreakable Mutual Trust