The Returning Rack
From a job
Cargo: Unstamped bolt springs (contraband)
“The crate bears no registry stamp, and the shipping agent pays in advance.”
Possible rewards: Endless Quiver
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Bolt-Maker
At the delivery port1 Deliver the unstamped bolt springs.
Orrin Shotwell crafts ballista bolts in a cellar beneath a tea shop. He dumps out the smuggled springs and counts them eagerly. "These power a recovery rack that catches spent bolt casings and feeds them right back into the magazine. I need it combat-tested—and there's a Compact toll sentry up the lane that has fined me nine times."
- Mount the prototype rack and test it against the toll sentry.He bolts the spring-loaded recovery rack beneath your ammo locker and vengefully marks the toll sentry's post on your chart.
- [Gunner] Have crewmate test the rack on the firing range instead.Crew: Gunnercrewmate fires forty bolts into a target barrel on the range, and the rack cleanly recovers twenty casings. Thrilled, Orrin records the test figures three times.+1 Gunnery skill XP
- Take your delivery pay and leave.He pays your twenty-silver delivery fee and returns to his springs.+20 silverThe questline ends here.
Under the Bolt Locker
Right away2Orrin lies on his back beneath your ammo locker adjusting the tension screws. "At standard tension, it catches one casing in two. For fifteen silver to cover my extra springs, I can crank the catches tight so it recovers two out of three."
- Keep the standard tension setting for free.He sets the catches to standard tension and loads four crates of bolts from his own stock into your locker.+4 bolts
- Pay 15 silver to set the catches tight for higher recovery.Costs 15 silverHe installs every spare spring he owns, tuning the rack until it hums with tension, and stocks your locker with four bolts.+4 bolts
- [Repair 2] Have crewmate file and tune the catches to high tension for free.Crew: Repair 2+crewmate precision-files each catch while Orrin holds the lantern, achieving the tight two-in-three recovery tension without costing you a single coin.+4 bolts+1 Repair skill XP
The Firing Match
Right away3Orrin taps his pencil against the tally board. "Shooting a stationary barrel won't convince buyers on its own. Tomorrow there's a gunnery competition on this range with a silver prize. Win the match using my rack in front of the crowd, and my design is proved—or you can still go test it in live combat against that toll sentry."
- Enter the gunnery competition.
- [Gunnery 2] Have crewmate shoot the competition to guarantee victory.Crew: Gunnery 2+crewmate puts on a masterclass, sweeping first place for a fifty-silver prize while demonstrating the recovery rack before the entire range.+50 silver+1 Gunnery skill XP
- Skip the tournament and test the rack against the toll sentry in combat.He bolts the recovery rack beneath your ammo locker and marks the toll sentry's post on your chart.
The Nine-Fines Sentry
Sail to The Nine-Fines Sentry (1–3 passages away)4 Test the bolt-maker's recovery rack in combat against the toll sentry.
The brass toll sentry hovers over the sky lane with its citation register open on a mechanical arm, scanning your hull number to issue a fine.
- Open fire and test the recovery rack on the sentry.The spring rack clatters beneath your deck with every volley, catching and recycling your spent bolt casings.Battle: Clockwork sentry · Long range
- Declare the prototype rack to the sentry and apply for a patent stamp.The sentry pauses, closes its citation book, and extends a measuring arm to inspect your ammo locker for patent registration.
- Pay the 20 silver toll fine and abandon the test.Costs 20 silverThe sentry prints a toll receipt and lets you pass. When you return with the rack untested, a disgusted Orrin sends his apprentice to unbolt it from your ship.The questline ends here.
- Leave it for now.You pull back out of range before the sentry finishes recording your hull number.
Proven in Action
Right away5 Report the test results back to Orrin Shotwell.
Orrin reads the test tally with glee: half your spent casings came right back into the magazine. "I won't register it with the Compact, which means I can't sell it openly—so I'm happy to leave the prototype mounted in your ship where no inspector will look."
- Keep the returning bolt rack mounted on your ship.He tightens every catch himself, permanently cutting your bolt ammunition usage across every battle.Relic: Endless QuiverThe questline ends here.
- Show him the 2-in-3 recovery tally from the high-tension setting.Amazed that two out of every three casings were recovered, Orrin leaves the returning rack installed on your ship and packs your locker with eight crates of free bolts.Relic: Endless Quiver+8 boltsThe questline ends here.
- Let him take the prototype back in exchange for 60 silver and 10 bolts.He unbolts the prototype for his shop, packs your ammo locker with ten bolts, and pays you sixty silver for running the trial.+10 bolts+60 silverThe questline ends here.
- [Tinker's Bench] Use your bench to build him a second rack to sell on the black market.Room: Tinker's BenchYour Tinker's Bench fabricates a second unit that his cellar tools couldn't manage. He leaves the original rack installed on your ship and pays you fifty silver, though the Compact registry catches wind of the unlicensed trade.The questline ends here.
Patent Registration
Right away6The sentry stamps your bolt locker and prints a registration slip: DEVICE REGISTERED TO THIS VESSEL. INVENTOR: UNLISTED. Whatever Orrin wanted, the rack is now legally registered—and the sentry waits with its stylus poised for you to name the inventor.
- Put Orrin Shotwell's name down as the inventor.The Compact docks Orrin for his nine unpaid fines and then grants him the patent. He'll be rich within a year—though furious at you for registering it—and you collect a hundred-silver finder's fee when his apprentice reclaims the prototype.+100 silver+1 The Compact standingThe questline ends here.
- Claim you invented the rack yourself and keep it aboard. (-30 silver)You register the patent in your own name and keep the returning rack in your locker, though a furious Orrin bills you thirty silver for the smuggled springs.The questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord