The Sealed Note's Dangerous Price

Story So Far

The protagonist operates within a shadowy network of covert dealings centered around Dunmore Street. They first establish contact with Harwick at his assay office through a carefully orchestrated drop involving a brass weight, then return to their shop, Fealoké's Sundries and Repair, to prepare for a meeting.

Upon waking to rain and foundry bells, the character reviews a broadsheet revealing a land records dispute tied to Harwick and Associates and a man named Aldric Voss. They gather their tools—lockpicks, smoke bombs, and other devices—and head to Dunmore Street in worn shopkeeper's clothes, leaving behind any obvious weapons.

At Harwick's office, the clerk initially rebuffs them before Harwick himself emerges from the back rooms. Harwick acknowledges the broadsheet and the connection to Voss, admitting the records they seek are elsewhere but offering to reveal their location for payment. He mentions a suspicious phrase—"loose thread"—that belongs to someone named Drest and notes a potential leak involving a clerk at the canal authority.

The situation grows complicated when the protagonist delivers payment details to Harwick, confirming an earlier job's completion. Harwick suspects a man named Orvyn Tetch in the back may have been the source of the leak, as only three people knew the drop location.

The tension escalates when Tetch himself appears and directly confronts both Harwick and the protagonist, demanding to know who sent them to inquire about a building and a lease holder named Callow. The protagonist stands firm, asserting their independence and value, which causes Tetch to reconsider and hint at future employment.

Tetch reveals an impending inspection at Drest's warehouse on Greyveil Canal, filing by solicitor Brenn over a lease dispute. He offers the protagonist work: retrieve sealed records from a locked east wing room within three to four days, preferably that very night, before the inspection occurs. Harwick privately notes that the canal authority is unattended after the sixth bell, offering a window of opportunity.

When the protagonist demands full details and better compensation—twenty gold upfront and twenty upon completion—Tetch reluctantly agrees, placing the coins on the counter. The protagonist takes the payment while Harwick observes their options narrowing and the stakes rising around the canal authority building.