The Chandler's False Deck
From a job
Cargo: Unstamped tallow (contraband)
“The supply merchant wants the cargo unloaded after dark and asks how deep your hold is.”
Possible rewards: Caulking Kegs Folded Hold
5 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Shipwright's Back Room
At the delivery port1 Deliver the unstamped tallow.
Supply merchant Orla Dunmore wipes sawdust from her apron and leads you into a hidden shipwright's loft behind her shop. "I build folding smuggling decks that Excise inspectors can't detect with their measuring rods," she says. "I'd fit one into your hold if I had my forty planks of seasoned larch—but they went down on a sunken timber barge last spring."
- Ask where the timber barge sank so you can salvage the planks.She marks a river bend on your chart. "Forty planks of seasoned larch, still roped to the deck. Watch yourself—the Excise anchored a marker buoy over the wreck to catch whoever comes back for it."
- [Repair 2] Have crewmate inspect her hidden hinges before getting the location.Crew: Repair 2+crewmate studies her concealed joinery for an hour and picks up two clever carpentry tricks. Orla marks the sunken barge on your chart along with the exact hour the Excise patrol changes watch.+1 Repair skill XPReveal 2 waypoints
- Take your delivery pay and leave.She pays you for the tallow plus a small bonus for unloading quietly after dark.+15 silverThe questline ends here.
The Timber Barge
Sail to The Sunken Timber Barge (2–4 passages away)2 Salvage the seasoned larch planks from the sunken barge.
The sunken barge rests in six feet of murky river water, its stack of larch planks still roped to the submerged deck. An Excise marker buoy bobs overhead, and an armed Excise cutter sits anchored a short way upstream with a watch lantern lit.
- Haul the planks up by hand under cover of darkness.
- [Lutrine] Send crewmate underwater to slice the ropes quietly.Crew: Lutrinecrewmate slips over the side without a ripple and cuts the lashings underwater. The larch planks float up one by one on the far side of the barge, out of sight of the patrol cutter.
- [Boarding Harpoon] Winch the entire timber stack aboard in one fast pull.Room: Boarding HarpoonYour harpoon winch shrieks as it rips the entire bundle of planks free in one heave. You race downriver before the cutter can raise anchor, though her lookout spots your ship's markings.+1 heat
- Report the submerged timber to the Excise cutter for a legal finder's fee.The Excise lieutenant pays you a forty-five silver finder's fee and confiscates the larch for the Crown shipyards. Orla Dunmore will soon hear of it.+45 silver+1 The Crown standing−1 heat
- Leave it for now.You pull back from the river bend. The submerged planks have waited a year; they can wait a day longer.
Forty Planks of Larch
Right away3 Deliver the salvaged larch planks to Orla Dunmore.
Orla meets you at a hidden reed jetty below the bend and raps her knuckles against the salvaged planks. "Solid seasoned larch. There's enough here to build a concealed folding deck in your hold, or to double-frame your hull ribs for combat—but not both. Which do you want?"
- Have her build the concealed folding smuggling deck.Working for two nights straight, she installs a false deck that folds flat against the hull ribs—completely undetectable to customs rods.Relic: Folded HoldThe questline ends here.
- Have her reinforce your hull frames and pay you for the leftover wood.She bolts the heavy larch planks across every frame to toughen your hull, and pays you twenty silver for the leftover timber.+3 max hull+20 silverThe questline ends here.
- [Smuggler's Nook] Have her build the folding deck and soundproof your Smuggler's Nook.Room: Smuggler's NookShe installs the concealed folding deck and uses the remaining larch to soundproof your Smuggler's Nook against customs searches.Relic: Folded Hold−2 heatThe questline ends here.
- Show her your official Crown bill of sale and have her build the folding deck.She reads the Excise receipt twice and laughs aloud. She builds the hidden deck and logs the Crown-bought timber into your ship's papers as legal hull repairs—plus hands you twenty silver.Relic: Folded Hold+20 silverThe questline ends here.
The Lieutenant's Question
Right away4Lieutenant Corin Vale watches his crew hoist the seasoned larch aboard the Excise cutter. "Cabinet-grade larch doesn't sink itself beside a reed bank, captain—somebody stashed it here for smuggling work. Give me their name and the Crown shipyard will reinforce your hull for free. Or claim you found it by chance and be on your way."
- Give him Orla Dunmore's name in exchange for Crown hull reinforcement.He logs her name without surprise. The Crown shipyard bolts heavy new frames into your hull free of charge—while downriver, Orla's shop is shuttered under an Excise seizure seal.+2 max hull+1 The Crown standing−1 The Undertow standingThe questline ends here.
- Claim you found the barge by chance and keep Orla's name out of it.He studies you for a moment, then logs the timber as "found adrift." Just below the river bend, a woman with a handcart is waiting on the bank.
- Pay 60 silver to buy the confiscated timber legally from the Crown.Costs 60 silverThe lieutenant is a practical officer and the Crown yards have plenty of wood. For sixty silver, he transfers the larch planks back to your deck along with an official Crown bill of sale.
Orla Hears the News
Right away5Orla Dunmore is waiting at a reed jetty below the bend with a handcart full of tools. "You turned my larch over to the Crown, but you kept my name out of the lieutenant's log," she says. "That's half a favor, so I'll repay you halfway." She gestures to the offcuts, hinges, and caulking kegs in her cart. "Not enough timber for a folding deck, but I can still outfit your hull."
- Have her outfit your hull with fast-sealing caulking gear.She mounts caulking kegs beside every hatch and drills your crew on patching hull breaches in seconds.Fitting: Caulking KegsThe questline ends here.
- [Smuggler's Nook] Have her soundproof your Smuggler's Nook and supply caulking gear.Room: Smuggler's NookShe lines your Smuggler's Nook with heavy offcuts so it sounds solid when inspectors tap the bulkheads, and leaves you a set of caulking gear plus fifteen silver.The questline ends here.
- Just ask for 30 silver in cash.She counts thirty silver out of her apron pocket and wheels her cart back up the path.+30 silverThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord