The Case of the Curious Coalition Housing Inspector

Book Text
The Case of the Curious Coalition Housing Inspector

While walking through Longshadow Alley in Freeport, I encountered a very curious Coalition Housing Inspector. It is rather odd to encounter a housing inspector in any of Freeport;s foreign housing districts. The Overlord's government does not attend to the upkeep of most of these districts, that is quite obvious by the appearance of any of these neighborhoods. So I find it odd to meet Inspector Rylana struggling to answer my questions about her business in Longshadow Alley. I do not trust her words. Perhaps I should follow her and see what she is really up to.

I followed Inspector Rylana to a broken down house in Longshadow Alley. True, there are many broken down houses in this district, but in this particular rubble filled dwelling, the inspector found something that interested her. I went to take a look at what might interest the Coalition Housing Inspection and found a bedroll. This bedroll was quite elaborate, not the bedding of the common folk of this neighborhood. The patchwork blanket appeared to be formed of silk and scales. Such an odd pairing of fabric and hide is usually reserved for the eccentric citizens of Freeport.

Inspector Rylana's curious trek through Longshadow Alley did not end in the broken down dwelling where I found the odd bedding. I shadowed the inspector to a boarded up house. It was obvious this home was condemned, but with so many condemned houses, why should an inspector stop at one and ignore the rest? I crept towards the boarded up door to have a look at what interested the inspector. Resting upon the ground was one of the planks of wood that used to board up the door. There were curious runes on the board, magic script. I am no supreme scholar of the Academy of Arcane Science, but I do believe this was some form of coded communique.

The Coalition Housing Inspector strolled down to the malodorous docks of Longshadow Alley. Why would a housing inspector bother with the port? Certainly, they do not consider the pier to be a dwelling, even though it acts as one to the many homeless Teir'Dal immigrants. No, she came here for other reasons. She glanced over a tattered parchment that was tossed upon the dock. I took a look for myself and found that it was a forgotten shipping manifest. It belonged to a ship called the 'Nerius Breaker.' It made an unannounced stop in Longshadow Alley to receive some kegs of elixir from the local magic shop. The ship has long since raised anchor.

It seemed as though Inspector Rylana had to make a withdrawal from the local bank, for that is where she next led me to. After observing her from afar, I noticed that the withdrawal she had to make was not in Freeport currency, but rather, in clues. Being a bit of a sleuth myself, I took a look at what she spent her time inspecting. There was an ornate cashbox in the bank hall. It looks as though the clerks had been busy unloading whatever was inside. Someone had made a large deposit and it was not a local resident by the looks of the craftsmanship of the cashbox. Whoever dropped this off was either very rich or in some very big debt.

I thought I might shadow Inspector Rylana a bit more, as she has the starring role in my current investigation notes. As before, my actions were rewarded. The inspector stopped off in the local blacksmith's shop. She had a few harsh words for the smithies as she pointed to an object in the rear of the shop. I went to take a look at what could raise the fury of a housing inspector. What I found was an ornate dagger. The blade was lined with magic runes and if my memory serves me well, the symbol on the handle was none other than the symbol of the Academy of Arcane Science. Such a grand item is not intended for battle, but rather, the wall of a sorcerer supreme.

Inspector Rylana continued her so called inspection of the Longshadow Alley. I was not surprised to see her next stop led me not to a housing complex, but rather to The Bauble, the local magic shop. She entered the arcane depository requesting to see export logs. Her reasons for doing so seemed to persuade the scribe, but I am sure his words are filled with lies. I took a look at the logs as well and found that the shop had exported a large crate with a rust monster inside to a ship called the "Nerius Breaker." This was the ship I read about at the docks, but it was supposed to be picking up kegs of elixir, not a rust monster.

I had some doubts about Inspector Rylana of the Coalition Housing Inspection and it seems that my doubts were reinforced by the evidence of my investigation. It is my belief that the inspector is a government servant, but not one bound to the Coalition of Tradesfolke. I believe she is a special agent of the Freeport Militia or the Overlord! She seemed to be undercover and on the trail of a fugitive. This fugitive must hail from the Academy of Arcane Science's arch mages. That mage must have also paid a high price to escape Freeport under the watch of the Freeport Militia. But my investigation is complete. Inspector Rylana is no housing inspector. Case closed.