Having a personal financial interest in Fred, Ferian follows after Zendara when she departs. Doing something is better than simply standing around.
Edwin says, "OK, let's go see Fred's mother, and then swing by the farm. If we have to split up, I can go with you, Professor."
"Right then!" smiled Dr Munroe, "Lets go. Miriam will figure out to wait for us here or at the ship no doubt."
He then lead the way to the imposing Port Authority building. Ten minutes later Dr Munroe was arguing with a functionary just outside who was trying to tell them that the building was off limits for those without official business and that a meeting with Eliza without an agenda didn't count as official business. "Oh for crying out loud!" he cried, "This is a public building, and we are members of the public. Eliza's office isn't part of the restricted area, surely it's up to her if she will see us or not?" Obstinately the man replied, "Can't you read Sir? The poster clearly states the Harbourmaster's new rules, no entrance except for approved purposes."
"Oh really!" replied Dr Munroe, "And what makes you think that drivel is worth the paper it's written on?"
"Well he is the Harbour Master Sir..."
The conversation went on in this nature for some time, and at one point Dr Monroe winked at you.
Zendara had no idea why Doctor Munroe was winking, but she hoped he wasn't trying to flirt. Clearly, Miriam would have her head if so, and she liked Miriam.
This whole thing about no agenda was hogwash. They should have just said they wanted to talk about clearing the ship to leave, but whatever. She waited until the annoying functionary was distracted and then slipped off to find Eliza anyway.
Edwin wasn't sure what the wink was about either, but maybe he was trying to keep the functionary occupied. He followed Zendara when the opportunity arose.
Ferian finds Dr. Munroe's behavior rather odd. What was the point of all of it?
When some of his companions sneak off, Ferian stays with Dr. Munroe for now. If the man was losing his whits, he might need the support.
Xindyra gets the hint pretty much instantly, and gives a quick hand gesture of 'excellent' before heading off with her companions.
Yukarii was rather surprised at the sudden change in procedure at the dockyards and realized quite quickly that it had to be because of them being found on the ship the night before. When the professor suddenly started arguing with the guard Yukarii was baffled for a moment as she tried to understand what was going on, particularly when he winked at them.
Yukarii was rather caught offguard with what seemed to be flirtatious behavior from the Professor and as a consequence completely missed everyone but Ferrian slipping away.
She didn't realize they were gone at first as she was focused on the Professor's odd behavior and by the time she did realize it she figured it wasn't worth worrying about as someone needed to keep an eye on the Professor. Yukarii stepped back into the crowd for a minute or two so she could call forth Yukaari inside of her again and then slipped back up to stand next to the Professor and watch for anyone who might try to accost him.
Zendra and XIndrya surreptitiously step out of the official's line of sight leaving him none the wiser. When Edwin started to follow the man whirled round demanding, "Wait son, what did you say your business was here?"
But Dr Munrow stepped in between them wagging his finger, "Don't change the subject man! You haven't answered my question! As a concerned citizen I'd like to know under which law Korrin thinks he has the authority to restrict access to a public building. Chapter and verse now man, you haven't got all day..."
The man turned back to Dr Munrow with a deep sign and with a strained voice he replied, "Now look here! As I've explained at least three times Mr Korrin is the duly appointed Harbourmaster and that is all the authority he needs. This is the port authority building and he is the port authority..."
The conversation / argument went on in this fashion for some time.
Inside Zendra, Edwin and XIndrya walk to Eliza's office without anyone trying to stop them. The queue this time was only ten minutes and then they find themselves back in Eliza's office. When she sees them she gives a nervous laugh, "Back again so soon? How can I help?" Still there was a smile in her eyes despite the nerves.
Zendara tells Eliza that the college is sponsoring a scholarship, and that they have chosen her son to receive it. She also gives her the first payment that the group agreed upon earlier, and tells her that those will continue.
Then she explains that they are going to court and ask whether she is willing to write a statement. She finishes with
You are in no way required or expected to, Eliza. To be clear, the scholarship and our trip to court are completely separate and one will not affect the other. We just want you to be able to offer the truth without feeling trapped by a financial burden. You are free to make your own choices, whatever those are.
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Edwin stopped when the official challenged him. He was about to make an excuse about being lost, when Dr. Monroe distracted him once more. He took the opportunity to follow Zendara and Xindyra to Eliza's office.
When Zendara brought up the scholarship, he added, "We understand the difficult position that you are in, and want to shield you from any improper repercussions that might occur from dealing with us."
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Eliza looks shocked when you explain about the scholarship and the letter of introduction. A tear rolls down her cheek as she whispers, "I have no idea how thank you, you can't know what that would mean for us. A way out of that shared hovel of a flat on Skipton road! It's no place for a growing lad like Fred, he has to sleep under the staircase and there's no window and the ceiling is so low he's always bashing his head... A proper education, wow, maybe he can have the life I dreamped of for him!"
For the first time in years Eliza knew hope!
When the topic of writing an affidavit comes up she chews on her lip before declaring, "Ah screw it Korrin's an ass! He'll fire me for it, but I'll do it. But when it comes to dirt on city officials you know a letter won't satisfy the courts, I'll have to go there in person..."
As you speak, from of Eliza's one tiny window you notice several large transport vessels glided into one of the remote customs inspection docks. Gulls wheel about in great mobs, moving from ship to with their ululating cries as they search for food. More common near inland seas, flocks of Gulls are hardly a rare sight and often harass food transports.
(pass)
Eliza, I can tell that this scares you. My hope is that the court will remove Korrin and appoint you as the interim harbormaster until they can find a replacement. However, you know this town better than I do. If you think it will accomplish nothing to write an affidavit, then please, don't do it. I don't want you to lose your job for nothing.
(fail)
Edwin looked out the window as Zendara talked with Eliza.
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Xindyra was too excited about potentially pulling one on th harbor master, that she was not focused enough to read Eliza's expression.
"Hmm?", Xindyra walks up to have a closer look through the window.
"Those look like Kez military transports, but they don't fly any colors."
"I have heard they sell off vessels they deem too old for current day service. These however, do not seem that old to me."
"Eliza, what sort of affiliated vessels do usually come through this particular port?"
Eliza smiled sadly, "They'll want me to testify in person. I think I'll do it... You see, not for the first time Fred came home with a black eye last night. Wouldn't say what happened but I know it was Korrin, the man's got a vicious temper especially when he's been drinking which is most days of late."
Eliza glanced at Xindyra before replying soto-voce, "We get all sorts. Not sure about that one but I wouldn't be surprised if it was stolen. One of the wheezes Korrin runs goes like this: Sometimes unsavory types. No lets call them what they are, pirates. Sometimes Pirates capture a vessel and want to sail it legitimately. That's really difficult to do since if the authorities suspect a ship is stolen they will impound it and try and find it's rightful owners. So what they do is this, they take a stolen ship to one of their islands, get a cheap paint job done to muddy the books, take on a moody cargo and deliberately go where they know it'll get inspected and impounded for contraband. Ships impounded for customs offenses are renamed and repainted and auctioned off. Generally this is quite a strong deterrent for smugglers, but for these special auctions, well I think you can guess who tends to win them especially when they're run unannounced after dark on the weekend in an off-limits warehouse..."
Sounds like you have a lot of information for the court. This corruption needs to be stopped.
Zendara says this unironically, despite her own hypocrisy in having worked for pirates in order to get her airship experience. To her, she did what she had to do and that is all behind her now, although certainly others might not see it that way.
Do you have any evidence of his wrongdoings to gather up before we escort you out of here?
Ferian continues listening to Dr. Munroe's conversation while wondering how his companions are faring.
"Gonna need both sets of Ledgers for the last six months if we're gonna prove anything. I have the key to the archives, but we'll need to make sure that busybody Rawlins isn't there. He's the accountant, one of Korrin's pet's who'll run to his master at the first sign of trouble..." replied Eliza with distaste.
You learn from Eliza that Rawlins is a middle aged weasel of a man who lingers around the archives like a bad smell. He finesses the numbers passed to the civic authorities and runs two sets of books, one containing the official numbers and another containing the real ones. Rawlins himself sounds like a sneering bigot although no match for you, still he's the type to hide behind the law so Eliza recommends subtlety and misdirection if you encounter him. The office is up stairs in the restricted zone but hardly anyone goes there.
Zendara gets a grin on her face and says Be right back.
She slips back into the front court area to find Yukarii, and whispers to her that they need a distraction for a man named Rawlins. Might be up her alley if she's interested. She explains that he might be lingering around the archives.
Edwin wasn't sure exactly what Zendara had in mind, but he said to Eliza,"We'll arrange a distraction for Mr. Rawlin's."
"Good, best if we can do this without him realising what's happened." nodded Eliza before adding, "Let me know if you have any questions?"
Yukarii was startled when Zendara whispered to her but, given that she was watching for trouble she was able to avoid giving things away. Quickly pulling Yukaari back inside of her mind Yukarii followed Zendara and asked her, "Who am I distracting Zendara-san?" Yukarii seemed rather confused as she went and tried to find out what she needed to know.
Zendara apologizes and reviews the events since she has seen Yukarii in order to catch her up. Then she explains again about the man named Rawlins, and points out the archive, where he is known to hang out.
So, basically, we just need him fully engaged / distracted so that he doesn't wander in and notice us getting the books.
I don't know what he looks like specifically, I'm sorry. Perhaps you could go up and ask around for him as though you were supposed to give him a message from Harbormaster Korrin or something?
Or, if this isn't something you want to do, no problem. It's definitely something that could make anyone uncomfortable, so if it does, just say the word. I'm sure I can bluff him another way.
Yukarii listened to what was being asked of her as they went towards the archives and didn't seem particularly offended by. If anything she was slightly amused as she said, "So you wish to...what is the phrase...pump me out as a distraction Zendara-san?"
Before Zandara left, Eliza gave you a description of Rawlins, "A sallow weed of a man, with thin arms and legs. He's about 5'5" with greying hair and an incongruously swollen belly. One intern likened him to a spider and was fired the same day. He likes his tanktops and is stupidly proud of his salt and pepper handlebar moustache. His voice is annoyingly wheedling, in a way that makes you want to punch him. If he's ever had a girlfriend I've never heard of it, although I've had the misfortune of working with him for the past fifteen years."
Zendara passes on the description to Yukarii.
Well, I wouldn't put it exactly that way. I've only noticed that you seem to enjoy some flirtation, and in this case that enjoyment could help us a lot as a distraction. I would actually personally encourage you to not let it go farther than that, since the man sounds particularly repulsive, but of course that is your call. What do you think? Want to do it, or should I arrange a different distraction?
Yukarii listened to how Zendara described the man and her clarification made it clear that Yukarii's attempt at humor went unnoticed. "I believe I can keep him suitable distracted Xendara-san. Do you know where I will find him at?"
Not exactly Yukarii. He is supposed to hand out in the archives, but I'm not sure exactly where, sorry.
Edwin waited in the office for Zendara to return. He asked Eliza, "Are you coming with us to get the ledgers? If not, we'll need a description, and details on where to find them."
Nodding in understanding Yukarii said, "Understood." She looked at the surrounding buildings and asked, "Which one is the archives?" Once it was pointed out to her Yukarii said, "I will go on ahead, send someone to find me when you are done so I know I have distracted him long enough." With that Yukarii slipped ahead and entered the archives before Zendara could reach them and entered the building.
After entering the archive building Yukarii began to make her way around the place looking for Rawlins. She figured by the description of him he should be fairly easy to recognize but the real question was where to look? Perhaps the best place to start is his office, Yukarii thought.
Oh you have a secretary fetish now Yukarii-chan? I approve. Yukaari said, Maybe we can convince us to treat us like a bad secretary and bend us ovMPH!
Shush Yukaari, this man is not one we will want to play with,or let play with us. We only need to distract him long enough for the others to finish their task. Understood?
There was a sullen silence in the vaults of Yukarii's mind and she finally sighed, Help me do this and we can play with the next man or woman we find attractive if they will have~us, Yukarii though in a singsong tone. This seemed to mollify Yukaari enough that she would behave...for now at least. The whole time Yukarii wandered the halls looking for Rawlins' office or the man himself.
After Yukarii sets off in search of Rawlins, she returns to Eliza and tells her that she sent someone as a distraction.
Eliza gives Edwin a wry smile, "The direct route is rest simple, but it takes you past half a dozen of Korrin's busybodies and that'll be no good." She opens her desk, takes out a large bundle of keys before explaining, "I have a route in mind that will let us avoid them but it's a bit roundabout. I'll just shut up here and show you the way."
She locks the office placing an out for lunch sign on the door before leading you through a maze of corridors and up a dozen staircases and through nearly as many locked doors before ending up on a rooftop catwalk. There is a spectacular view of the harbour and the spires of Chelmsford which seem to reach up to the heavens, each crowned with a skyfort were tiny ant like men and women patrol and tend to the great siege weapons.
Over the harbour you see the plume of water from the miskatronic river as it plunges over edge into the abyss. The sun glints off the muddy water contrasting with the deep blue of the sky which extends impossibly low, beyond where the horizon should be.
Various air ships buzz about going two and fro and yet more gulls wheel about in great mobs which descend one certain ships before wheeling off to another. To your left you can see the isolation docks where the Dawn treader stands alone and a bit further off the customs impound dock which currently has five ships of various sizes in it. On the right you see the hulking presence of the visiting Kez warship.
Eliza stops to look and smiles, "I've always loved the view up here. Anyway let's cross over and head down the stairwell." You cross over to the other side along the narrow catwalk and Eliza unlocks a service door and leads you down ten flights of stairs before suddenly turning off on a nondescript landing. She leads you past a series of seemingly unused offices before ending up at locked doors marked Archives.
Speaking quietly she tells you, "The archive room is 80 feet by 40 and full of rows of cabinets. I know exactly which ones to open and I have the keys. We just need to keep Rawlins busy for five minutes. Various people have access to the archives and Rawlins won't know all of them. Unless you have another plan if asked you could claim Mr Jennings the head of legal asked you to find some files. Perhaps six months berthing records for the Southern Star Costa ships. That'll keep him busy at the opposite end of the room for some time. I suggest we meet back here once we're done."
With that she unlocks the door. You can't see him immediately, there's row upon row of filing cabinets which tower over your heads. You can however hear him whistling a tune, which he is murdering pretty horribly.
Edwin looked out at the view of the docks and commented, "There seems to be a fair bit of activity on the impounded ships. The sailors are moving things around on the decks. Is that normal?"
After looking for a minute, he followed Eliza down to the archives. He said to the others, "I'll go and see how Yukarii is fairing with Rawlins."
He quiettly moved towards the sound of the whistling, trying to remain out of sight from the tune murderer.
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"No! My goodness you must have sharp eyes!" replied Eliza before squinting into the distance, "Ah yes I see them now. We should probably report this to the magistrate later, those docks are supposed to be off limits to all but customs officials. There's no way they could get there without Korrin's involvement."
Ferian has the others catch him up quickly on what took place and quickly accedes to their plan. He has Zephyr follow along in the skies before perching outside near the service door to watch for trouble. Ferian orders the bird to give a loud squawk should he see any signs of trouble.
The Sylph decides he might be best served by keeping watch as well, so he lingers near the Archives' entrance, keeping watch for trouble. He ends up mostly just staring at the ground.
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Yukarii, much to her amusement, ended up in the same place as everyone else was in her search for Rawlins and knew that it was time to do her part. She made her way through the aisles towards the whistling and when she found him decided that he was every bit as unpleasant looking as she had been told. Swallowing her distaste Yukarii approached him and asked, "Are you the one called Rawlins? I've heard this filing system is your creation. It is the best, most orderly filing system I have ever seen, could you tell me how you created it?"
Zendara allows Eliza to do her job, but watches where she is closely, and makes sure she is always between her and Rawlins, providing a visual shield in case Yukarii can't keep all of his attention.
Rawlins startled at Yukarii's approach and when he'd had a look at her his eyes nearly popped out of his head and he blurted out to her chest, "Erm... Really? Who told you that?! It's my life's work naturally, but I wasn't aware that anyone had noticed!"
Behind Zendara Eliza place her hand over her mouth and quiet as a mouse tiptoed to the other end of the room where she began efficiently searching for the required documents.
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Yukarii gave the man a brilliant smile and, seeing where the man's eyes were focused, she placed one arm beneath her breasts, and the elbow of her other on the palm of the one below them. This, of course, caused her assets to be "displayer" even more given the cut of her clothing, which revealed a small portion of her cleavage, and said, "Oh, I can not remember their name, I have hard time with your names here. Your language is so different from my own that sometimes it is hard to pronounce them right let alone remember as much as I try. What inspired your system, how did you create it? You must be smart man to do so."
Suddenly bashful Rawlins replied, "Oh I well uh. Yes well my filing system is based on the Arrantz Decimal system but with enough refinements and improvements that I can truly call it my own. I have a half monograph on the subject that I should file with the University in case they want to upgrade. Look it's really very simple at heart. Suppose we wanted to look something up, oh I don't know... Amity coster's annualised docking fees. Well we use these two code books to look up the numbers for both of them. Table A-15 contains the number for Amity: 37125 and over here in table D-317..." He flips through a very large tome full of cramped text and traces a finger, "And now we have the number 9812. We compute the product of those which of course is 364270500. Naturally we don't have 364 million records here, so we need to compute the modulus of that to the base 100000 which is 70500. So from that we can deduce it's in row 7, file 05 and item 0. Simple eh?"
He then leads Yukarii over to row 7 and walks down its length until the relevant file is found and opens a very deep narrow drawer filled with cards. Rather triumphantly he announces, "Here we go!" as he pulls out a paper card filled with yet more cramped handwriting. Beaming back to Yukarii he exclaims, "Wonderful isn't it!"
To Zendara, Eliza mouths, 'One minute more...'