The Magician's Assistant

21

Rachael walked down the dock with Gramps, Erika, and a few investigators in tow. It was a bright and sunny day. The ocean was relatively calm.

Dozens of ships were docked around. There were small fishing boats, but most of them were large merchant ships.

The large merchant ships had a wide variety of designs. Many were painted with exotic motifs and distinct color schemes. Sculptures of different creatures and sea life decorated most of the bows.

The dock was bustling with sailors and dock workers. They loaded and unloaded cargo, and all of them shot nervous glances at the group of investigators.

"It's the ship at the very end of the pier," an investigator said.

There was a particularly large ship waiting for the group at the very end of the pier. It was covered in metal plating painted a bright yellow color. It's bow was undecorated and shaped for cutting through ice. The yellow paint had been worn off of the front.

The ship was tied to the pier at several points. It's gang plank was extended, creating a bridge to the vessel.

A man was sitting on a pile of crates nearby, whittling wood. A collection of small wooden figures, presumably carved by him, sat on the crates. He looked exceptionally bored.

The group approached the sailor, who looked at the party with great interest.

"Have you finally gotten our paperwork done?" the sailor asked.

"Sorry, but we're here to ask you some questions," Rachael answered.

"We already told you. We weren't going to drop off anything illegal. The cargo manifest clearly says that-"

Rachael pulled out the lock picking tool.

"We found this. Does it look familiar?"

The sailor walked over and took the lock picking machine. He found the engraving and examined it for a moment.

"It looks like one of ours, but I don't know what it would be doing out here. Let me get the captain,"

The sailor walked onboard the ship. Several minutes passed.

"It's too hot out here," Erika said.

"You can handle it," Rachael said.

The sailor returned with another man. He was better dressed and seemed to take good care of himself.

"So, what's all this business about my ship's cargo?" he asked.

The captain led the group through the ship. He listened as Rachael explained the situation as they walked. The group reached the ship's hold. It was dark, and filled with large wooden crates.

As they walked. Erika suddenly jumped back with a loud yelp.

"What is it?" Rachael asked.

"I think a rat touched me!" Erika answered.

"A rat? How does someone like you get bothered by that?"

"It caught me off guard, alright?"

The captain walked over to one of the crates.

"I can prove for a fact that none of our cargo is missing. The shipping manifest lists out the exact number of each item we're carrying. We can confirm that not a single one has been taken off the ship," he explained.

He walked over to the closest crate.

"We'll start with this one,"

He went to unlock the large padlock that kept the crate shut. As soon as he touched its metal surface, the lock fell apart in his hands.