The Short-Weight Seal
From a job
Cargo: A Guild auditor (passenger)
“She pays her passage in advance and asks which ports have never fined your ship.”
Possible rewards: Guild Auditor's Seal Guild Master's Seal
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Auditor at Work
At the delivery port1 Carry the Guild auditor to her destination port.
Your passenger, Auditor Marta, marches straight from your gangway to the Guild weigh-house and demands the cargo records. By noon, the port agent is sweating through his coat. "Every cargo load out of this port for three years was stamped ten percent heavier than it weighed to pocket the difference," she tells you. "I need you to carry these books to the regional Guild hall before he burns them."
- Take the weigh-house books and deliver them to the Guild hall.She wraps the books in oilcloth and stamps the knot with wax. "Watch your stern—the port agent has enough money to hire mercenaries to sink these."New job: Weigh-house books
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate copy the most damning pages before you set sail.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate copies six pages of fraud by lamplight and leaves the copies with the harbor guard as insurance. Then you load the sealed books aboard.+1 The Guild standing−1 heatNew job: Weigh-house books
- Accept a 40-silver bribe from the corrupt port agent to look the other way.The port agent counts forty silver into your hand while the auditor watches coldly from the weigh-house door, noting your ship's name.+40 silver−1 The Guild standing
- Wish her luck and continue on your course.She pays the remainder of her fare to the last coin and returns to her audit.+10 silverThe questline ends here.
Mercenaries off the Pier
At the delivery port2 Deliver the weigh-house books to the regional Guild hall.
As you approach the port, a hired mercenary cutter blocks the pier with her guns run out, waiting to intercept the oilcloth parcel. Behind her, a clerk stands waiting on the steps of the Guild hall.
- Fight past the mercenary cutter to reach the pier.The mercenary cutter slips her mooring cable and moves in to attack!Battle: Bounty hunters · Close rangeIf you win:+15 silver
- [Helm 2] Thread the ship low under the dockside cargo cranes.Crew: Helm 2+crewmate skims the hull right under the heavy crane jibs with inches to spare. The mercenary cutter can't follow and doesn't dare fire into a Guild pier.−1 hull
- Betray the auditor and sell the books to the mercenary captain.The mercenary captain pays you the sixty silver the port agent promised, then weights the parcel and drops it into the river while the Guild clerk watches from the steps.+60 silver−2 The Guild standing
The Port Agent's Errand
Right away3Port Agent Aldous Renny shuts the weigh-house door behind you. "That auditor only has the public books. My real accounts are hidden under the floorboards, and she'll search here next." He pries up a plank and pulls out two thin account books. "Smuggle these to my cousin's counting house and she'll pay you another fat purse. Or name your price just to keep quiet while I find another ship."
- Smuggle his secret account books to his cousin's counting house.He wraps the books in sailcloth and knots the cord twice. "Deliver that straight to my cousin Hesper—nobody else opens it."New job: Wrapped account books
- Double-cross him: take his secret books and hand them straight to the auditor.Auditor Marta's eyes light up as she flips through the pages. "His true cargo weights, signed by his own hand!" She binds both sets of books into a single oilcloth parcel. "Get these to the Guild hall—he'll definitely send hired guns after you now."+1 The Guild standingNew job: Weigh-house books
- Demand 20 silver for your silence and walk away.He pays the twenty silver without blinking. Out on the pier, the auditor is still watching from the weigh-house doorway.+20 silver+1 heat
The Master's Seal
Right away4 Hand the weigh-house books over to the Guild Master.
The Guild Master reviews the fraud records for an hour in silence, then takes the corrupt agent's brass seal and smashes it on the hearthstone with a hammer. "The Guild pays its debts, captain. You can take a Master's Seal for your ship, or a hundred silver in cash."
- Take the Master's Seal for higher contract pay.He stamps your manifest board with wax and hands you the brass die. From now on, every port contract you take pays at a Guild Master's rate.Relic: Guild Master's SealThe questline ends here.
- Take the silver reward.He counts out a hundred newly minted silver coins and enters your ship in the Guild's favored register.+100 silver+1 The Guild standingThe questline ends here.
- [Quartermaster] Demand back pay for the cheated barge crews.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate presents the full list of cheated vessels. The Guild Master sighs and signs the restitution order: the crews get three years of back pay, you receive forty silver, and a grateful barge captain sends his steadiest deckhand to join your crew.+2 The Guild standingNew crewmate: Deckhand+40 silverThe questline ends here.
- Present the port agent's secret account books alongside the public records.Comparing the secret weights against the falsified stamps gives the Guild Master open-and-shut proof. He awards you both the brass Master's Seal and a forty-silver witness bonus.Relic: Guild Master's Seal+40 silverThe questline ends here.
The Guild Blacklist
Right away5Before you can cast off, a young Guild runner hands you an unsigned warning note: "The Guild blacklists captains who take bribes from crooked agents. If you want your ship's name cleared, testify against Aldous Renny and his weigh-house fraud." The runner waits for your answer.
- Give a sworn statement against the port agent to clear your name.The runner records your testimony—enough to issue an arrest warrant. A week later, the Guild removes your ship from the blacklist and pays a small informant's fee.+25 silver+1 The Guild standingThe questline ends here.
- Tell the runner where your quartermaster left the copied pages with the harbor guard.With six pages of hard proof already in the harbor guard's hands, the port agent is arrested within the week. The Guild pays you fifty silver as an official witness and restores your standing.+50 silver+2 The Guild standingThe questline ends here.
- Tear up the warning note and keep the agent's bribe.The runner shrugs and walks off. Your ship remains in poor standing with the Guild, but the bribe stays in your pocket.The questline ends here.
The Counting House
At the delivery port6 Deliver the port agent's secret books to his cousin's counting house.
The cousin, Hesper Renny, weighs the parcel in her hand without opening it. "Aldous paid you to smuggle these, though the Guild would have paid you more to turn them in." She sets a heavy purse of silver on the table, and beside it a brass Guild Auditor's Seal. "I'm paying you to forget this street ever existed. Take whichever reward suits your ship."
- Take the 70 silver.The purse is heavy with clean coin. As you leave, she feeds the incriminating pages into her iron stove one by one.+70 silver−1 The Guild standingThe questline ends here.
- Take the Guild Auditor's Seal.It is an official brass seal her clerks use to stamp favorable shipping contracts. With it aboard, every Guild hall will pay you preferred rates without asking questions.Fitting: Guild Auditor's SealThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord