The Quiet Room
Anywhere in the sky
From a job
Cargo: Unstamped lead sheeting (contraband)
“"No questions asked," the shipping agent says, before asking three of his own.”
Possible rewards: Leadglass Ribs
6 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Lead-Worker's Cellar
At the delivery port1 Deliver the contraband unstamped lead sheeting.
You deliver the lead to a hot cellar workshop where a gnome artificer named Tibbet Ruse hammers lead sheets into curved wall ribs. "Dead-magic weather silences ship rooms and stalls spellcasting," he explains. "Lead-lined ribs block that silence. The Crown taxes and stamps every pound of lead so only royal warships can shield their rooms—which is why a local lord hired me in secret to forge an unstamped set for his keep. All I need now is a smuggler to deliver them."
- Inspect the finished lead ribs and consider smuggling them for him.He sets down his mallet and gestures toward the back room. "Come see the finished work, then."
- Leave the cellar and report his illegal lead workshop to the Excise office.You leave him at his workbench and walk up the hill to the Excise customs house, where the night inspector's lamp is burning.
- Take your delivery pay and leave.He pays you ten silver for the lead delivery and returns to his hammering.+10 silverThe questline ends here.
Fourteen Shielding Ribs
Right away2Behind a false wall of coal sacks lie fourteen curved ribs of laminated lead and glass, each as tall as a man. "Mounted behind room paneling, these cut the duration of dead-magic silence in half. My noble buyer ordered ten ribs, and I always forge four extras in case customs seizes a crate. Deliver the ten he ordered, and the four spare ribs are yours to keep or sell."
- Pack the lead ribs in crates stenciled as 'Roof Gutters' and smuggle them.He packs the fourteen ribs in sawdust and stencils ROOF GUTTERS across both crates. "If an Excise cutter stops you, stick to the story—nobody pries open roof gutters."New job: Lead-lined shielding ribs
- [Gnome] Have crewmate help him balance and disguise the crates.Crew: Gnomecrewmate and Tibbet Ruse line and weight the crates so they ring like cheap tin if tapped. Tibbet pays crewmate twenty silver for the expert help before loading the 'Roof Gutters' into your hold.+20 silverNew job: Lead-lined shielding ribs
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate demand a 25-silver hazard advance in case of an Excise search.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate points out the heavy fines your ship risks if caught carrying unstamped lead. Tibbet Ruse pays twenty-five silver up front and stencils the crates as 'Roof Gutters'.+25 silverNew job: Lead-lined shielding ribs
- Refuse the smuggling job and report his workshop to the Excise office instead.You leave him at his workbench and walk up the hill to the Excise customs house, where the night inspector's lamp is burning.
The Excise Customs House
Right away3A tired customs inspector listens to your report beside a single lamp. "Unstamped lead shielding, eh? I can raid the gnome's cellar tonight and pay you the standard informer's cut. Or you can carry those ribs to the noble buyer while my Excise cutter shadows you an hour astern—catching both the lord and the artificer red-handed for double the reward."
- Take the immediate informer's fee and let him raid the cellar tonight.The inspector pays you thirty silver, clears your ship's record, and leads a raid that cleans out the cellar workshop before nightfall.+30 silver+1 The Crown standing−1 heat
- Agree to the sting operation and carry the ribs with the Excise cutter shadowing you.He pays you thirty silver up front. You return down the hill, tell Tibbet Ruse you'll carry his 'Roof Gutters' after all, and set sail with the Excise cutter trailing unseen behind you.+30 silverNew job: Lead-lined shielding ribs
A Lord Afraid of Silence
At the delivery port4 Deliver the smuggled lead-lined ribs to the noble buyer.
Your buyer is a young household mage waiting at a private dock. She counts the lead ribs in the crates and pauses. "Tibbet sent fourteen ribs, and my lord's Casting Room only requires ten." She glances along your ship's interior bulkheads. "The four spares are yours by smuggler's custom—my carpenters can fit them behind your room panels today, or I can buy them off you."
- Have her carpenters install the four spare lead ribs behind your ship's room panels.
- Fire a signal flare to summon the shadowing Excise cutter and spring the trap.The Excise cutter swoops into the dock with battle lanterns blazing before the mage finishes counting. Having caught both the noble buyer and the contraband, the customs inspector pays you eighty silver on the pier and clears your record.+80 silver+2 The Crown standing−2 heatThe questline ends here.
- [Gnome] Have crewmate install the spare ribs in secret without using local carpenters.Crew: Gnomecrewmate fits the four ribs behind your room panels overnight without leaving a single visible seam, shielding your rooms from silence—and the impressed household mage pays twenty-five silver to watch how it's done.Relic: Leadglass Ribs+25 silverThe questline ends here.
- Sell the four spare ribs to the household mage. (95 silver)She pays ninety-five silver from her lord's treasury to line his private bedchamber as well.+95 silverThe questline ends here.
After the Cellar Raid
Right away5The customs raid uncovers the false wall and all fourteen lead ribs—though Tibbet Ruse himself escaped up the coal chute with his favorite mallet. Satisfied with the seizure, the inspector spreads the confiscated goods across the customs house floor and invites you to claim one additional reward at Crown valuation.
- Take the Crown valuation in silver. (55 silver)The Crown values confiscated lead cheaply, but pays out fifty-five silver on the spot.+55 silver+1 The Crown standingThe questline ends here.
- Claim the gnome artificer's workbench tools and brass device.You claim his mallets, his rib gauge, twenty silver, and a clever brass ship's device that the customs officers mistook for an ordinary desk lamp.Device: a random device+20 silverThe questline ends here.
Customs Inspection
Right away6 Deal with the Excise cutter waiting outside the dock.
The informer wasted no time. As you cast off, an Excise cutter blocks the harbor mouth, and her lieutenant boards you with a list of your ship's rooms in hand. "Strip the wall paneling off, Captain—all of it." Getting caught with unstamped lead behind your bulkheads means a heavy fine and a black mark on your ship.
- Fight the cutter.The lieutenant folds his inspection list, returns to his cutter, and orders his gunners to open fire.Battle: Excise cutterIf you win:+30 silverThe questline ends here.
- Submit to the customs inspection and hope the panels pass the check.
- [Forged papers] Present a forged Crown tax certificate for the lead ribs.1 forged papersThe lieutenant checks the forged tax stamp, copies its serial number into his logbook with a salute, and clears your ship without a fine.−1 forged papers−2 heatThe questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord