The locker room hums with bad light and worse air. Mallory stands by the bench, all twitching fingers and a grease-stained cigarette. Evans keeps his head down over the detonator case. The mission dossier sits open between them.
Sharp Archer steps in, and both men look up at once. A third figure near the lockers straightens, a compact woman in a service coat with a steward’s armband, holding a tin mug like she belongs here and nowhere else.
The Operative
Good, you are all here. This is Miss Agnes Bell, quartermaster’s clerk. She has seen the rolling stock sheets.
Agnes Bell
I have seen enough to know the cargo wagon is real, and the timetable is tight. If your men are late, the train will be gone.
Mallory
Late is one thing, miss. Blowing the wrong rail to hell is another.
Evans finally looks up, thumb still resting on the detonator housing. Mallory taps the dossier page with a nail, waiting for Archer’s call. Agnes Bell stays near the lockers, quiet now, watching for the decision.
✓ Quest Accepted
Assemble a four-man demolition team
✓ Quest Accepted
Confirm the sabotage plan is sound
“I go to the team and ask what they need. I advise the combat load outs while they decide the demolition load outs.”
SUCCESS (Good Tactics, rolled +0)
Sharp Archer closes the distance to the bench. Mallory and Evans make room without a word, and the dossier page shifts under Archer’s hand.
Sharp Archer
What do you need from me?
Mallory jabs the paper with two fingers, then points to the men’s gear and back to the page, setting the order of things in his head.
Mallory
If you are handling the line, I need a clean warning and a clear exit. No heroics on the rail.
Evans
And I need the load checked. If the kit is off, I want to know before we leave this room.
Sharp Archer gives them the quick, hard inventory the room needs, firepower for cover, tools kept separate from the charges, eyes on the timetable and the marked page.
The Operative watches the exchange, then folds the dossier page half over the timetable as if measuring a lie against it. Agnes Bell’s mug lowers an inch.
Agnes Bell
That mark on the page was not there when I filed the sheets.
Mallory stops tapping. Evans goes still over the detonator case. The room tightens around the page, and everybody is looking at the same flaw now.
“Is the dossier page tampered with?”
NO (VeryLikely, rolled 94)
Sharp Archer leans in to inspect the ink under the harsh light of the locker room bulb. The mark is merely a smudge of grease from a previous handler, and the timetable remains authentic.
“Is the dossier free of sabotage?”
YES, BUT (VeryLikely, rolled 81)
The dossier is indeed free of sabotage, yet the ink smudge obscures a critical secondary note regarding the train's departure platform.
“Is the departure platform still readable?”
NO, AND WORSE (Even, rolled 90)
The ink has bled deep into the paper fibers, turning the platform number into an illegible, dark blotch. Worse, the moisture from the smudge has begun to dissolve the surrounding text, rendering the entire departure schedule a useless ruin.
Sharp Archer
The intel is gone, and we are flying blind.
“Is there another copy of the timetable?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 56)
The Operative searches the heavy steel cabinet for a duplicate, but the shelf holds only empty folders and dust. No other copy of the timetable exists in the room.
“Is the departure platform still recoverable?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 58)
The ink has bled entirely into the paper fibers, leaving the platform number a shapeless, dark stain. No amount of squinting or careful handling can restore the lost information.
“I press the Operative for another source”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled -1)
Sharp Archer lowers the ruined page and fixes the Operative with a steady look. The locker room goes quiet except for the tick of a drying pipe.
Sharp Archer
I need another source. Someone who can confirm the platform.
The Operative
Then we go to the station clerk who filed it, or the signal office. If the record exists, they will know it.
Agnes Bell
And if the record was altered on purpose, there may be a second copy in the duty log.
The Operative reaches for a pencil, but the tip snaps on the edge of the table and skitters away.
Mallory
We are wasting time in a room full of empty shelves. Point us at the next lead.
At the far end of the table, the marked dossier page lies warped and blotched, its stain a dead clue that still demands a live answer.
“I ask the station clerk who filed it”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Sharp Archer goes straight to the point. The Operative's answer is immediate, and the room shifts with it.
The Operative
The clerk who filed it is at the station. You ask her now, before she vanishes.
Agnes Bell is already moving, snatching up the warped dossier page as if it might still be useful. The snapped pencil rolls off the table and taps the floor.
Agnes Bell
I know the clerk's duty window. If anyone saw the platform entry, it was her.
Mallory takes the ruined page, studies the stain, and gives a tight nod toward the door.
Mallory
Then we are done sitting here. Show us the station.
Sharp Archer gets the answer he came for, but the price lands at once, the pencil broken, the room's last copy of the record spoiled in someone else's hand.
The Operative turns for the exit, already reaching for his coat, as if the next room in the station matters more than this one.
Reach the station clerk and learn who filed the timetable
Quest Complete
Confirm the sabotage plan is sound
Skill Upgrade: Tactics Good→Great
+ New Item Acquired
Warped dossier page