A Network of Apparatchiks

Ralofir Oceanstar is the assistant to the chief of staff of the commander of the destroyer squadron of the fifth battlegroup of the first fleet of the Armada Correllon's Revenge. Ralofir has a problem. He believes he is being framed for corruption. Somehow, documents are showing that he is embezzling funds and equipment. He does not know where they are going but he knows he did not sign the orders for fund and equipment to be distributed.

Plot points/Scenes

Ralofir Oceanstar is the assistant to the chief of staff of the commander of the destroyer squadron of the fifth battlegroup of the first fleet of the Armada Correllon's Revenge. The party can encounter the Armada in Wildspace randomly, but is usually docked at Dragonrock. Ralofir also is not typically in combat on the ship. Ralofir was in combat a few times and earned his post.
Ralofir has a problem. He believes he is being framed for corruption. Somehow, documents are showing that he is embezzling funds and equipment. He does not know where they are going but he knows he did not sign the orders for fund and equipment to be distributed. He will offer the party 1500gp if they can find the culprits. He has the following leads.
1. Whoever did it has access to the squadron commander's office and authority to use his signature stamp.
2. Whoever did it has a bank account with a non-elven bank and houses the goods in a warehouse outside the elven district.
3. Whoever did it had to have had connections in the docks ward of the city and the provost marshal's office to get the equipment out and into other parts of the city since the docks ward has the central hub of cabs and carters.
Ralofir asks the party to be discreet and try and find honest people to work with as he has no idea how deep the conspiracy goes. He is convinced it is a conspiracy. He tells them to ask the most trustworthy people they know. Most of all, he entreats them to collect as much hard evidence as they can. He will give them a gem that can record sounds and images.
If the party has completed the Priest's Lost Gauntlet quest, they will be reminded of a trustworthy official in the Docks Ward and can go talk to Podyachy Boris Fedorovich Khilkov. If not, they can ask Brassons who will say he knows someone who works there and send them to Boris Khilkov.
Khilkov will tell the party that he has found some irregularities as well. Equipment and money seem to be coming from several different places: the Gem Cutter's Guild, the IEN Provost Marshal's Office, several streltsy precincts, and, to his shock, one prikaz. He recognizes the prikaz as being under the clerkship of someone other than a Khilkov. It is in a small part of Dragonrock called the Knife. It is right outside the docks ward and the government district. There are two docks there that are leased to the Sindiath Line for exclusive use.

At the Edge of the Knife

Heading down to the Knife, the party will see that there are fewer streltsy patrols. The prikaz is a small, dirty building, teetering on the edge of the asteroid. Few carts come here as well. Entering the office, the party finds a human male with a scruffy black beard and dirty kaftan. He is Gregori Lebedev, the Dyak of the Knife Prikaz. If the party question him about the missing equipment, he will feign ignorance. Surface thoughts include thoughts about ledgers, paperwork, work orders. A DC 18 insight check reveals that these thoughts are more specific than general anxiety about his job. A lower insight check reveals that Lebedev does not care about his job that much.
If the party knock out Lebedev, they can search the office and find the ledgers he is thinking about underneath a few floorboards. These ledgers give enough information that there is a network of receptionists and lower clerks who have been funneling money and equipment to various places, but the main location is in a place called “the Pit” which is run by someone called the Authority who answers to the Pakhan. The ledger contains instructions for finding the Pit. Using a series of passcodes among the Apparatchiks, they will be guided to the Pit. Their next location is the Gem precinct of the Golden Hills District, the one run by Lt. Suvorov.

The Lines of a Network

The password to give to Cherrup Roundstone, the receptionist there is “The first step is to see the need for power.” Roundstone will respond with, “The second step is seizing it for yourself” and give them a piece of paper with the address of a member of the Seekers and the password, “The third step is to use power.” The house of Seeker Josiah is in the Celesitial District. He will return answer with, “The fourth step is to use power without mercy.” He will give an address to the receptionist at the IEN Provost Marshal’s office, Darion Rigel, and the password, “The seventh step is to gather all power to yourself.” Rigel will respond, “The eight step is to make others exercise your power.” He will give an address to a Sindiath Line warehouse near the elven district.
(See map for warehouse) It is a testing ground for those seeking the Pit. The initiated will have other ways of entering.

1. Main Gate: Down Rigor Street is a warehouse with a yard enclosed with a 20 foot high wall with a metal gate. The gate is locked with an arcane lock. It can be unlocked with the last passphrase. There is a glyph of warding and a glyph of warning on the gate in case the lock is dispelled or the wrong password given. DC for detecting is a DC 18 Investigation check. Further up the street are double doors that lead into the warehouse. It is similarly guarded. 
2. Yard: A small courtyard contains a wagon for transporting goods. Several boxes reside here with various goods inside such as rations, clothing, and other ship supplies. Barrels hold water. Stone steps lead down to a docking area. Wooden stairs lead to the second floor of the warehouse. 
3. Loading Dock: A small spelljammer with a rudder of propulsion sits docked under a large crane. A small door with the sign "Breakroom" on it. It is locked, DC 15 slight of hand. There is an open bay door about 10 feet up overlooking the loading dock where the crane reaches up to bring goods down to the ship. 
4. Spelljammer: A small cargo barge is chained here. It is not large enough for long distance travel, but is used for moving good around the circumfrence of Dragonrock or bringing them to a ship too large to dock. There is little deck besides a covered pilot's cabin with controls for the rudder of propulsion. 
5. Roof: The roof is tiled and has eight windows cut into the roof. The glass are frosted and the interior is not visible besides vague shapes on a DC 20 investigation check which would reveal that there are people inside. 
6. Trap Door: The trapdoor leads into the basement. There is an arcane lock on the door. There is also a glyph of warding and a special glyph that, when triggered, will create a portable hole over the the opening if the alarm goes off. 

7. Carriage Door: A mess of shelves line the room. About 10 feet above are gantries that look down on the warehouse floor. There is a ladder the gantries above to the right as you enter the double doors. To the right is a set of stairs going up and one going down. The lights that are illuminated are small candles, making dim light
8. The Stacks: Stacks of crates and barrels are arranged haphazardly, creating narrow pathways for movement. Many of these containers bear innocuous labels disguising their illicit contents and true origins. Shadows cling to the corners, concealing the true nature of the goods stored here. There are double doors that lead to the yard. 
Among the shelves are alleyblades, the guards/workers of the warehouse. If the party cannot convince them that they are part of the operations (DC 20 Persuasion), they will attack if taken unawares. If the party trips an alarm, they will hide and try to ambush. Four are the floor. 
9. Breakroom: A long table and some chairs sits in the middle of the room. A lavatory, pantry, and water trough are behind the doors in the room. On the far side of the room is a door to the courtyard. 

10. Foreman's Office: There is a 50% chance the foreman is in the office. If the party trip the alarms, then they barricaid the door.  It takes three rounds for him to barricade the door and three to destroy all the evidence that connects the warehouse to the Tenth Pit. A DC 10 perception check reveals he is tearing paper, ostensibly destroying evidence.  Surface thoughts are that he is destroying evidence. 
The evidence is the following: Smuggling Manifests: The foreman's desk holds a hidden compartment containing manifests detailing the shipments arriving at the warehouse. The manifests are coded and use disguised terminology, but with scrutiny, the party can decipher references to illicit goods and their origins.
Correspondence with Apparatchiks: Piles of letters and messages are scattered across the desk. These communications reveal a network of Apparatchiks involved in the operation. Coded language and aliases are used to maintain secrecy, but the frequent mentions of key figures and locations provide documented links to the places the party already visited. One documents the murder of a gnome in the Golden Hills District and reveals the murderer: Cherrup Roundstone and Semyon Konstantinovich Gorchakov, son of Konstantine Grigorovich Gorchakov. 
Coded Ledger: A ledger containing financial records and transactions is secured in a locked drawer. The entries detail payments made to various individuals, ships, and factions, indicating the flow of money within the Tenth Pit's operation. Decoding the ledger shows that Gorchakov banking houses are holding the accounts that recieve funds from streltsy princincts, prikazs, and the IEN. There is a single point of contact for the accounts: Sergei Konstantinovich Gorchakov, the nephew of Konstantine Grigorovich Gorchakov, the heir of Count Gorchakov
Shipping Logs: Hidden beneath a false bottom in a filing cabinet are shipping logs that link specific shipments to decommissioned ships. The logs reveal a pattern of acquiring vessels, stripping them of valuable components, and disposing of the remaining hulls discreetly. Alexi Holstmann is the person in charge of this effort and is responsible for managing the orders. 
Tenth Pit Insignia: A discreet compartment in the foreman's office contains Tenth Pit insignias, uniforms, and other paraphernalia. This physical evidence ties the warehouse and its activities directly to the notorious criminal organization.
Hidden Safe: A well-concealed safe contains sensitive documents, including agreements with other criminal factions and influential figures within Dragonrock. These documents shed light on the Tenth Pit's alliances and the extent of their influence in the city. They work with the Chainmen to traffick people in and out of the city. 
11. Gantries: There are five alleyblades in the gantries and the loading platform. They will attack the party. 

13. Storage: Storage 14. Storage: More Storage. There is a secret passage on the far wall. There are some scratch marks on the floor that show that something has been dragged toward the wall.  15. Weapons and Prison: To the north is a storage caged locked and containing several weapons and bits of armor for repair. Inside  16. 
The door in the basement has an arcane lock that only opens when given the password, “The ninth step is to shroud your power in darkness.” The door will answer, “The tenth step is to enter the darkness of the pit.”
(See map for underground area)
The underground area is

Parent Plot

The Man of Long Shadows

Related Characters

• Grigori Popov
• The Pakhan

Related Organizations

• Lampadniks
• The Cult of the Necronomicon