It is day 13 of month 4, 1042, 09:00, in the Customs Hall on Crown Spire. For three months, crates of Rush have passed the hall with a correct stamp. The stamp belongs to Desk Nine, which closed last year when its clerk retired. The senior clerk Roland Fenwick signed the order to melt that stamp down. He kept it instead.
Fenwick lost a great deal at cards in the Laurel Salon. Vittor Lisk sold his debt to the Vesper Syndicate, and now Fenwick works for them. His noble sponsor is House Varro, so no one questions him without hard proof.
The Syndicate hauler Sandpiper docks at the lower wing of the Gilt Docks every ten days. It docks next on day 15 at 20:00. This time Fenwick has a better plan. Owen Carrick's fever medicine sits in the seized cage as lot 31, with Compact seals and a clean inspection mark. On day 15 at 23:30, after the hall shuts, Fenwick and the Syndicate's men will empty those crates and fill them with Rush. A hired bidder from the Ballast Decks will buy lot 31 at the auction on day 19 at 14:00. The Rush then leaves the hall with a Dominion auction stamp. The real medicine goes down to the Ballast Decks to be sold.
Benedict Dunmore (Customs Hall) wants proof he can put before the Council of Houses. He will not act on a guess.
Roland Fenwick (Customs Hall) wants his debt gone and no one looking at Desk Nine. If he is caught, he runs for the Ballast Decks.
Greer Stoke (Ballast Decks) runs the gang that moves Rush up the old service shafts. She wants her share and no trouble with the guard mages.
Vittor Lisk (Laurel Salon) sold Fenwick's debt. He sells anything to anyone, for a favour.
The crew is the Temperance crew, a Crown Spire recovery crew on the old prison brig Temperance. Margit Ostrander is the recovery agent every smuggler fears. Corvin Malek is an Ashen siphon who pulls the magic out of guard mages. Brunhild Ormsby is a retired Treasury auditor who can feel a broken promise in a ledger. Mirabel Ancelin is a young knight sworn to House Varro, Fenwick's sponsor. The player runs one of them. The GM runs the other three as companions.
Wilda Bexley is dock master of the lower Gilt Docks. Julien Ravel is a junior clerk in the hall. Owen Carrick is a Compact courier pilot whose medicine sits in lot 31. They are NPCs who follow their descriptions.
Stat blocks. Roland Fenwick does not fight. If cornered he gives up. The Syndicate dock hands use Syndicate Enforcer, with Syndicate Headhunter and Rush Brute for the hard work. Greer Stoke's lieutenant uses Syndicate Underboss, and her men use Syndicate Headhunter and Rush Brute. The Sandpiper's skipper uses Raider Captain, and his crew use Compact Raider and Syndicate Enforcer. Hall guards use Spire Guard Mage. Iron Union envoys are aboard for peace talks, so any gun drawn in the hall brings 4 Spire Guard Mages and a Spire Magister in 1d4 rounds. Encounter math for four level 12 characters is Low 8,800, Moderate 14,800 and High 18,800.
The hall, day 13, 09:00. A crate from the Sandpiper passes Fenwick's table at 09:30 with the Desk Nine stamp. A DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check shows the ink is fresh, and Brunhild Ormsby has Advantage on it. A DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check sees Fenwick sweat when the stamp is looked at. Lot 31 sits in the north cage. Owen Carrick's fine is 80 Crowns. Benedict Dunmore listens from his raised desk. He says plainly that he needs the stamp, the crates and a witness.
The records room. Julien Ravel's keys open it. Two hours and a DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) check match every Desk Nine crate to Fenwick's shifts and to the Sandpiper. Brunhild Ormsby does it in one hour. A DC 14 check finds the order to melt the Desk Nine stamp, signed by Fenwick.
The berth list, Gilt Docks. Wilda Bexley's list shows the Sandpiper at berth 14 every ten days. Watching it unload on day 15 at 20:00 needs a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. A DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check sees two dock hands carry four plain crates to the hall's cargo lift, not to the inspection tables.
The swap, Customs Hall, day 15, 23:30. Fenwick lets in 2 Syndicate Headhunters, 2 Rush Brutes and 2 Syndicate Enforcers by the cargo lift. They open lot 31 and fill it with Rush. A crew hidden among the crates (DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) group check) can watch Fenwick use the Desk Nine stamp. Benedict gives a written order to watch the cages at night after a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Margit Ostrander has Advantage, because her recovery work has never embarrassed him. Wilda Bexley can vouch for the crew too. Encounter. 2 Syndicate Headhunter, 2 Rush Brute and 2 Syndicate Enforcer, 7,700 XP, Low (budget 8,800). Fenwick runs for the lift with the stamp in his coat. Catching him needs a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check or a shot that does not hit the crates. Caught with the stamp, he talks after a DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation) check.
The medicine, Ballast Decks. The real medicine goes to a storeroom under the water tanks. Greer Stoke will sell it back for 60 Crowns, or give it up after a DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) check that shows her the guard mages are coming. Owen Carrick has Advantage if he comes, because Compact crews pay her well. If the crew forces it, her men fight. Encounter. Greer's lieutenant, 3 Syndicate Headhunter and 4 Rush Brute, 16,300 XP, High (budget 18,800). Greer Stoke does not fight. She leaves by a service shaft when two of her men drop. The rest give up when the lieutenant drops.
The skipper, Gilt Docks. If the swap goes wrong, the Sandpiper tries to leave at once. Wilda, or anyone at the clamp wheel, can lock the berth clamps with a DC 14 Strength check. Then the skipper fights to reach the controls. Encounter. 1 Raider Captain, 2 Syndicate Enforcer and 6 Compact Raider, 6,000 XP, Low (budget 8,800). The crew give up when the skipper drops.
The salon. Vittor Lisk will sell the size of Fenwick's debt and the name of the buyer for a favour owed. A DC 17 Wisdom (Insight) check shows he enjoys the trouble too much.
The auction, Customs Hall, day 19, 14:00. If lot 31 still holds Rush, a quiet man from the Ballast Decks bids 15 Crowns. Owen Carrick may bid too. With proof in hand, Benedict stops the sale and opens lot 31 in front of the whole hall. Fenwick tries to slip out by the west doors. A DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check spots him.
Day 15, 20:00. The Sandpiper docks and unloads.
Day 15, 23:30. Lot 31 is emptied and refilled with Rush.
Day 16, 06:00. The Sandpiper leaves. The medicine is in the Ballast Decks.
Day 17, 23:00. If anyone looked at the Desk Nine records, 2 Syndicate Headhunters wait outside that person's quarters.
Day 19, 14:00. Lot 31 sells for 15 Crowns. The Rush reaches the noble levels within a week.
Day 25. The Belvair clinic writes that eleven fever patients died while it waited.
Good. Fenwick is arrested with the stamp, the medicine reaches Belvair with a Dominion stamp, and Benedict has his proof.
Mixed. The medicine is saved but Fenwick escapes to the Ballast Decks, or Fenwick is caught but the medicine is sold.
Bad. Lot 31 sells, the Rush goes up the shafts and the clerk who looked too closely is in danger.
Benedict Dunmore pays 320 Crowns to each crew member from the hall's reward fund.
Owen Carrick's fine is dropped, and his crates leave stamped and free.
Benedict offers the Sealed Packet Courier Run gig. The note says to carry his sealed report to the Council of Houses on Aurica, for 1,200 Marks.
Benedict gives Julien Ravel his old Crystal Tester and remembers every crew member by name.
Heroic Inspiration for saving the medicine or protecting a witness at real risk.
House Varro. Fenwick's sponsor protests the arrest to the Council. A Varro agent asks the crew to change their story for a large sum. Mirabel Ancelin is sworn to House Varro, and the agent comes to her first.
The shafts. Greer Stoke lost a shipment. She wants it paid back, in Crowns or in work.
The salon's list. Fenwick says other clerks owe Vittor Lisk too. He gives three names, and one of them works in the Licence Vaults.