A quay at two levels
The upper surface is a place for carts and offices. Lower steps lead to the water, where a boat's position changes with the tide. A person waiting above can see that a vessel is present without seeing whether anyone has come ashore. The district gives arrival several distinct moments rather than one simple time.
The list beside the window
Expected boats are written on a board that is easier to read from inside than from the quay. Someone outside taps the glass for an update. The clerk turns the board instead of copying it, briefly transforming an internal working list into a public announcement. Small corrections acquire a wider audience than their author intended.
A letter held for a vessel
Correspondence is sometimes left for people who are expected to arrive by water. A delay makes the office a temporary post room. The fiction follows a letter moved from one shelf to another as its expected recipient becomes less certain, showing how a journey can alter the meaning of a carefully written address.
From the fictional county archive
Vessel sighted in the bay. Do not mark the delivery received until the stores have been brought up from the landing.
Continue through the archive
Places in Sounding Quay
Original world fiction published by Somatry. These location stories expand the setting for readers; they are not case evidence, walkthroughs or a list of confirmed playable DLC missions.