Swamped

"I've heard things about Kandria," you say confidently, as if you know more than you actually do. "It's not a pleasant place to live, from what I hear."

"Not for people who aren't inclined to do what they're told, no. And I'd really rather not say more than that. Too much at risk."

"Mind if I take a guess?"

"Yes," she says angrily. "What if someone's listening?"

As an experienced eavesdropper yourself, you can't deny the possibility.

"Then let me show you something. If we are being observed, it'll be difficult to make out the details."

You pull the book out of your pouch.

"Would it be something like this?"

It's a guess, but it does make sense with what you know. If she were looking to get her hands on a banned book - or perhaps, to write a book she expects to get banned - that would fit with her comment on "hobbies".

She doesn't say anything in response. But her expression tells you quite clearly that you're on the right track.

You put the book away.

"Well. Perhaps we can talk about the details in a more secure place," you continue. "But I certainly wouldn't be against helping you send your letter a little more promptly."

She seems conflicted, but after a while she seems to accept that you probably know more than she'd like already.

"Fine. I'll stay here and wait for you to come back. But if you're not back in fifteen minutes, I'll just forget about the whole thing."

"That should be plenty of time," you agree. You promptly head down the ladder.

The officers' quarters are all in a hallway just off from the main offices, which aren't too far from the Roost. The offices don't tend to get a lot of patrollers at this hour; most of the focus is on the areas where people actually sleep, and the officers aren't subject to curfew.

Tonight, however, is an exception. There's someone standing on guard outside of... Vera Greenwoods' office, if you're remembering the layout correctly. And you can see four more patrollers wandering the area.

You don't know why they're here, but right now you're more concerned with getting past them. So how are you going to handle this?