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The Croft Dossier

by Smagik

Bristol, 1887. Board of Trade inspector Sarah Croft arrives to investigate an impossible duplicate countersign in the harbour ledgers. She already knows how it was made: three nights earlier, she traced Clerk Elias Thorne's signature herself to force an audit of Captain Silas Vane's protected cargo route—the route named in her father's final private dossier. The forgery opens the books, but it also endangers an innocent clerk and gives Harbour Master William Graves grounds to bury every discovery as tainted. Across eight episodes, Sarah investigates the crime she committed, assembles a lawful case from evidence independent of it, and decides whether exposing the ring requires exposing herself.

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Sarah presents two ledgers bearing the same Thorne flourish, one of which she traced by pressure through prepared paper.

Di world

Bristol Harbour, 1887

Bristol Harbour, 1887: cargo legitimacy is made from ink, witness, weight, and institutional reputation. Sarah Croft has already violated that system to force it to examine itself. The evidence must remain period-grounded—pressure marks, iron-gall and carbon inks, watermarks, binding order, custody, tide tables, and sworn testimony; no ultraviolet lamps or modern forensic shortcuts exist.
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Who you go meet

  • Sarah Croft

    Board of Trade inspector

    Board of Trade inspector Sarah Croft arrives in Bristol with a disciplined command of maritime procedure and a personal stake in the harbour records. Her exact custody habits and battered leather folio make her a formidable presence on the rain-darkened quays.

  • Elias Thorne

    Chief harbour clerk

    Chief harbour clerk Elias Thorne treats exact penmanship and ledger custody as matters of professional honour. His distinctive countersign and private practice book place his hard-won reputation at the centre of the harbour audit.

  • Captain Silas Vane

    Master of the Sea Serpent

    Captain Silas Vane commands the Sea Serpent with polished hospitality, sharp commercial instincts, and fierce loyalty to his crew. A private cabin ledger and his knowledge of Bristol's tideways make him impossible for the inquiry to ignore.

  • Arthur Priestly

    Junior Customs House clerk

    Junior clerk Arthur Priestly records questions as carefully as answers and notices details senior officials dismiss. His pocket chronology, keyed to the harbour clock, gives a young employee an unexpectedly durable voice in the audit.

  • William Graves

    Bristol harbour master

    Harbour master William Graves pairs public patience with an exact understanding of Bristol's records, offices, and trading interests. His London-set watch and spotless hands reflect a man accustomed to directing the port without touching its ink.

Wetin you go expect

  • 8 episodes
  • Who you go meet Sarah Croft, Elias Thorne, Captain Silas Vane, Arthur Priestly, William Graves
  • Di world Bristol Harbour, 1887
  • We dey save your progress automatically.

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Smagik 27 story
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