One: Reassignment

"Understood sir" replied Mia nodding deep in thought, and looking at the others to see if there were any other questions.

For a big ship like that one, a complete and through review will take time, maybe they could split in teams? "What do you say about spliting for review?" she asked the others "Half start from the cargo storage, the others with the crew registration. We can cover more ground like this"

Melanie salutes with a yes, "Yes sir!" before following her companions. She has never done a job like this and is somewhat nervous of making a mistake.

At Mia's suggestion, she says, "I'm okay with either."

Dendara nods firmly, her mouth slanting in suspicion as the lieutenant mentions his issues with the ship's captain.

"Understood. We'll handle it, sir."

She gestures to her companions, and as they walk toward Pier 24, she takes a casual look at the list of goods, just to get a sense of what the ship was supposed to be carrying.

"Let's start by making ourselves out to be little trouble, searching the ship on our own. If he starts balking, or getting agitated, I'd be more inclined to bring him with us. Don't hassle the crew unless we need to."

She raises a brow at Mia's recommendation.

"And I thought I was suspicious. Checking the crew? Not standard policy from what I heard. I'm not really for splitting up, especially in the hold of a ship."

Geoff was silent yet attentive during the short briefing with the lieutenant; looking at the clipboard, the ship when appropriate. When the lieutenant finished Geoff gave a quick salute and nod and left with the others.

"I agree with both Dendara and Mia," he says as he falls in line with them, "I'd rather not split up unless completely necessary but at the same time if the captain is so adamant about getting his crew on shore maybe there's something they want to bring ashore in a hurry that they don't want us to know about."

He thinks to himself about the Iron Feathers Syndicate and wonders if his dad had any dealings with them.

Knowledge (Local):
Dice Roll: 1d20+6
d20 Results: 4 (Total = 10)

Dendara looks at Geoff, nodding slightly.

"He was more eager to put in, which would require unloading. Getting his crew shore leave may simply be a convenient excuse. I would rather get the captain, check the hold, and then determine whether or not we should investigate the crew. If we find hidden compartments or smugglers' holds in the hold, it would be required that we'd question the crew anyways."

She offers the manifest to Geoff to look at as well, as she continues walking.

"While I'm loathe to miss anything on our first job, I also don't want to spend hours questioning innocent men."

"If they want to smuggle something in, we better know who are we dealing with" replied Mia to Dendara "I'd rather have that crew with names before they can blend in the crowds. If they do that we'll never catch them"

Geoff's comment actually made her pause a moment or think "Something... or somone. If it is cargo smuggling it should be things small enough to be hidden within a person. Potion ingredients, jewels, small artifacts. But they could also be trying to smuggle in someone, have them blend with the crew and then make them dissapear in the crowd" she said thinking aloud.

"Somehow we need to keep an eye on the main dock, and not let anyone leave the ship. What is the cargo, Dendara?"

Dendara laughs.

"Regardless of the order we do it in, the crew is stuck ship-side until we clear them and their cargo. Despite the Lieutenant's men being hard-pressed to handle everything, I'm sure his men have a good eye on the dock to prevent uncleared ships from unloading either men or goods. Right... the cargo..."

Dendara scans down the sheet, summarizing the items that are marked down as being loaded on the ship in question.

Knowledge Local

As the five Swords made their way up Pier 24 to the ship they had been assigned, they caught sight of its name painted on the side of its hull: The Herring. The crew were all up on deck as they arrived, with some of them climbing over the ruined sails and rigging, trying to make repairs on their own. A few others were milling about at the bow of the ship, close to the hatch that covered the cargo spaces below. They were all dressed in seafaring casual, and sported sidearms; cutlasses and daggers, mostly, though the rigging crew had crossbows slung over their backs.

The captain, identifiable by his tri-corned hat and red coat, stormed to the gangplank as the five made their way aboard. "I'm Captain Ogleby. Look, can we just get the customs questionnaire done quickly? We've been out at sea for weeks, and a storm's done tossed us about a right fashion. My men need some decent grub in 'em if I'm going to get any work out of the scalawags!"

"Good Morning Captain. I'm Sword Agnis and these are my comrades Songwood, Ptolemy, Oakstaff and Morrison" said Mia greeting the man politely "I know that the customs procedure for The Herring has been delayed and I apologize for that. We will take of it right now and once cleared you and your crew can enjoy your stay at the port while your ship is being repaired"

There was no need to antagonize the man from start and seeing the state of the ship, it is probable that the men are just starving for some real food and a real bed "We will start with the cargo manifest Captain, if you could guide us to your cargo hold, please?" she asked in what she hoped was a professional and diplomatic tone. It would be better if they could wander alone, but it could raise suspicions and they needed the man to cooperate. Hopefully one of the halflings will get the idea and wander while they are being guided.

As the captain turned around, she gave a pointed look to the others

Melanie gets the feeling Mia wants something to be done, but she is unsure of what. Melanie decides to just follow along and keep quiet for the moment, as Mia is handling the speaking well. She does not want to accidentally make the captain angry.