The Court Escapement
From a job
Cargo: Escapement jewels (valuable)
“Precision ruby bearings no bigger than seeds, guarded on the dock until the moment you cast off.”
Possible rewards: Clockmaker's Escapement
8 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Clock Court
At the delivery port1 Deliver the ruby escapement jewels.
Ludo Fennimore, Master of the Clock Court, sets the tiny rubies into a fist-sized brass mechanism that ticks like rapid rain. "This master escapement lets a ship's gun deck crank and reload itself automatically between volleys," he explains. "It must reach our trade agent across the border. You brought the rubies safely—now carry the finished escapement."
- Accept the sealed crate for delivery across the border.He nails the lid shut himself and stamps three wax seals across it—though when your crew lift the crate, it feels suspiciously heavy for a fist-sized piece of brass.New job: The Court escapement
- [Gnome] Have crewmate press an ear to the sealed crate before leaving.Crew: Gnomecrewmate listens closely against the wood. "There's nothing ticking inside this crate—it's packed with solid lead." Ludo flushes crimson and hurriedly dismisses his clerks from the room.
- Take your delivery pay and leave.He pays your twenty-silver delivery fee and turns back to his workbench.+20 silverThe questline ends here.
Lead and Sawdust
At the delivery port2 Deliver the sealed Court crate to the agent across the border.
At the border port, the Court's agent breaks the seals and dumps the crate onto the dock: nothing but lead weights and sawdust. She doesn't look surprised. "Ludo sends a sealed decoy every year to draw off hijackers while the real escapement travels on an unmarked courier sloop. Only the unmarked sloop is now two days overdue."
- Offer to track down the overdue courier sloop.She plots the courier's secret route on your chart. "Recover the real escapement and the Clock Court will pay handsomely."
- Demand hazard pay for acting as a decoy before you go searching.Annoyed, she pays you forty silver in danger money from her desk and marks the overdue courier's route on your chart.+40 silver−1 The Compact standing
- Tell her you already knew it was a decoy and completed the run as contracted.Impressed by your professionalism, she pays your fifty-silver decoy fee without complaint and marks the missing courier's route on your chart.+50 silver
Behind Locked Doors
Right away3Once the clerks are gone, Ludo locks the office door and backs against it, clutching his tweezers like a dagger while the real escapement ticks on the workbench between you. "Who tipped you off? My border agent, or the syndicate thieves?"
- Tell him the truth: your gnome crewman heard there was no ticking inside.He glances from the lead-filled crate to your crew and lowers his tweezers with a sigh. "Eleven years I've run this decoy trick, and a sharp pair of ears undoes it in a minute."
- Say nothing and let him think you have inside informants.Convinced you are plugged into the intelligence underworld, he nervously counts thirty silver out of his waistcoat as a retainer to keep you on his side.+30 silver
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate negotiate an official hush-money retainer first.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate names a fifty-silver consulting fee and drafts it as an official Court courier retainer so Ludo can pay it out of Court funds. Relieved to have it on paper, Ludo signs and pays on the spot.+50 silver+1 The Compact standing
The Quiet Courier
Sail to The Quiet Courier (2–4 passages away)4 Find the overdue courier sloop carrying the real escapement.
You find the courier sloop forced under a dark rock shelf with her running lamps out. An unmarked black corsair cutter is lashed alongside her, and raiders are passing a small, heavy parcel across the rails.
- Attack the corsair cutter and recover the escapement.The raiders hack through the mooring lines and swing their cutter around to fight.Battle: Sky pirates · Close range
- [Boarding Harpoon] Harpoon the corsair cutter at point-blank range.Room: Boarding HarpoonYour harpoon punches deep into the cutter's quarterdeck, winching the raiders alongside before they can cast off.Battle: Sky pirates · Close range
- Signal a nearby Compact border patrol and stay out of the fight.A Compact patrol ship arrives by dusk, arrests the raiders, and secures the escapement—paying you a thirty-silver finder's reward.+30 silver+1 The Compact standing
- Leave it for now.You slip back into the cloud bank before the raiders spot your sails.
The Master's Proposal
Right away5 Hear out the Master of the Clock Court.
"Every year hijackers target the official sealed crate," Ludo explains. "So every year I pack the sealed crate with lead, and send the real escapement on an unscheduled ship nobody watches. Carry the real escapement for me in secret for double pay, carry the lead decoy for fifty silver up front, or shadow my courier sloop as a hidden escort."
- Smuggle the real escapement across the border in a tobacco tin.He hands you a battered tobacco tin containing the ticking mechanism wrapped in a wool sock.New job: A tobacco tin
- Take 50 silver up front to keep quiet and haul the lead decoy crate.He pays you fifty silver on the spot and has his clerks load the lead-filled decoy crate onto your deck. "Just look surprised when my border agent opens it."+50 silverNew job: The Court escapement
- Act as a secret escort trailing his unmarked courier sloop."A shadow escort nobody expects," he says approvingly, marking the courier sloop's route on your chart. "She sails tonight—stay a day behind her and watch for hijackers."
The Real Escapement
Right away6 Decide whether to keep the real escapement or deliver it.
Wrapped inside an old wool sock in a tobacco tin, the master escapement ticks away steadily. The rescued courier crew are locked in their hold, and nobody else knows you recovered the tin.
- Keep the master escapement and install it on your own gun deck.Installed under your battery deck, the escapement cranks your guns automatically between volleys—though the Clock Court soon realizes who made off with their prize.The questline ends here.
- Deliver the escapement tin to the Court's border agent.Relieved to have the real mechanism intact, the agent pays you a hundred silver and has the Court's shipwrights upgrade your Battery Deck.Upgrade: Battery Deck+100 silver+1 The Compact standingThe questline ends here.
The Patrol Captain's Report
Right away7With the raiders clapped in irons and the escapement tin secured, the patrol captain approaches your rail. "In my official report to the Clock Court, I can write the simple truth—that you signaled us and stood off—or I can report that you pinned the raiders down in combat until we arrived, which carries a ninety-silver bounty. Or, since this pirate cutter is unregistered, you can take her best cannon off the books."
- Have her file an honest report to earn the Court's trust.She records the honest account, earning your ship high standing with the Compact authorities and clearing your record.+1 The Compact standing−1 heatThe questline ends here.
- Have her write the combat report so you can claim the 90 silver bounty.The Clock Court pays out the ninety-silver combat bounty, while the patrol captain quietly pockets a copy of both reports for future leverage.+90 silverThe questline ends here.
- Take the corsair cutter's best cannon off the books instead.Her crew winch the pirate cutter's heavy cannon onto your gun deck before dark. "Unregistered, like everything else aboard her—as far as my log is concerned, it never existed."Weapon: a random weaponThe questline ends here.
The Court's Agent
At the delivery port8 Deliver the smuggled escapement tin to the Court's agent across the border.
The border agent opens the tobacco tin, listens to the crisp beat of the ruby escapement, and shuts the lid with a nod. "Delivered on schedule and untampered with. Take your pick: a hundred and forty silver, or the Court's spare master escapement fitted to your gun deck."
- Have the Court's spare escapement installed on your gun deck.Bolted beneath your gun deck, the Clock Court's master escapement automatically cranks every cannon between shots.Relic: Clockmaker's Escapement+1 The Compact standingThe questline ends here.
- Take the 70 silver.She counts out a hundred and forty silver—double the standard courier rate, just as Ludo promised.+140 silver+1 The Compact standingThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord