Quid Pro Quo

**Quid Pro Quo** is the third main case in *The Sinking City*, following Lost at Sea and preceding Fathers and Sons.

## The Fish Market

> *Throgmorthon's expedition was attacked in the depths beneath Oakmont. Professor Harriet Dough, expedition's leader, was captured. The others were all left to die.*
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> *The attackers all had distincly fish-like features. Innsmouth Syndrome as the locals call it.*
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> *One of the assailants was killed in the fight. He carried a dagger and a peculiar golden amulet which resembled a fish eye.*
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> *This can't be the only attack they have carried out. There must be evidence of more such crimes throughout the city.*
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Charles begins this new case by going to the Police Department, in Coverside. Looking in the archive (Violent crimes - Suspects - Instruments of crime), he finds Police report №19-0451 which reports on an incident at the Fish Market located at corner of Orchard Ave and Holy Fire Ln . This is the next destination. There, Reed meets a woman giving away fish for free. He asks her if this is were he can find the EOD. She tells you she's a representative, going by the name of Anna. She explains that the EOD is a charitable organization run by volunteers, but not yet official, its aim being to help "*ease the suffering in our city as much as we can*". They help by providing fish for the hungry, fixing the homes of the poor and patrolling at night for wylebeasts and bandits, as well as "*whatever needs doing*".
Charles asks to meet the EOD leadership, but Anna tells him he needs a rank in the organization first, to prove himself and to show he's worth their time. He agrees and tells her about his Navy and detective skills.

> "*The sea provides ! It turns out we have a job that's a perfect fit for you !"*
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The job is to investigate their fish storage, where someone had tried to break in last night. The guard scared him off but they're afraid he'll come back. The EOD has been giving away as much fish as they can to avoid it in the hands of thieves. Anna asks Charles to find the thief, and gives him the address of the storage room as well as a password to tell the guard : *I serve the sea*. The address is : Shells, on Hawking Ln between Warren Rd and Liberty Rd.

## The fish storage

Reed finds the guard, an Innsmouther, in front of the door, and tells him the password and the reason of his visit. The Innsmouther presents himself as Daryl Grimes. Daryl tells the story : a man snuck in while he was upstairs to steal the fish, Daryl almost got him with a harpoon but the thief got away.

> *"He got away, that dain. But I wonder, why steal what you can get for free ?"*
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Charles asks some more questions and just learns that the thief didn't have time to steal anything. The guard gives him the key, and Reed can starts looking by himself after fighting with some wylebeasts.

* The harpoon is stuck in a crate right in front of the door.
* A crate of fresh fish, still smelling of the sea, in front of the stairs leading to the basement.
* A fancy looking bottle, looking as if it has been taken from a lab. It is on the other side of that staircase. There is some kind of powder at the bottom, probably the dangerous kind.
* At the bottom of the stairs, you find one of those cat-lobster hybrids roaming the streets of Oakmont. It is lying dead next to a half-eaten fish. Charles uses his Mind's Eye and discovers it was the cat's last meal.
* There is a hidden door in the basement, revealing a torture chamber.
* Upstairs, you find a table covered with unfinished wooden and can examine one of them.
* There is also a rack with impressive tools.
* A letter from the orphanage is on the book pile on the table.

Reed can now use retrocognition.

1. The thief is standing in front of the fresh fish crate and mentions a certain Professor Westerbrook.
2. The thief pours the poison from the bottle in the other crate, but makes noise.
3. Grimes, who is upstairs, takes his harpoon.
4. He throws it at the thief.

Combining clues with the Mind Palace, Reed has several new informations : the EOD is giving away poisoned fish and he will have to visit the university. He informs Daryl of the poisoning, who begs him to not tell Anna it was his fault. You can either choose to say you will or will not denounce him. If you choose the second, he will punish himself by staying on duty for the next month, without a day off.

Reed goes back to the Fish market and informs Anna of his discoveries. She plans to stop the distribution. When Charles asks her what he should do with the poisoner, she tells him she should bring an end to him, which he refuses. She then just says to report to her when he finds him, and asks what Daryl was doing when it happened. You can either tell the truth or say he was knocked out in the fight with the thief.

## The University

You can talk to a man standing next to a door with a "Closed for maintenance" sign. Reed asks him if he recognizes the bottle. The man says they have hundreds of the kind, and suggests to take it to the Department of Medicine to get it analyzed. Charles also asks about Westerbrook and who is also in the Department.

Once at the location, you meet Samuel. He says the bottle is from their lab but that he needs to run some tests to determine what's inside. He will do it in exchange for a service : clearing the lab from wylebeasts.

Reed explores the basement after clearing it, and find some disturbing things.

* A dissected Stygian with a document entitled Experiment log, part one next to it. The log says the creature is resistant to poisons as well as acid and electrocution. The professor also says he heard the name of the creature while having a vision.
* Behind the dissecting table, Charles can look at the serious equipment.
* A dead Acheronian with a document entitled Experiment log, part two. The creature can apparently be reanimated weeks after its death, and live without half its organs.

After Charles tells Samuel that the lab is clear, he can run the tests on the bottle, which turns out to be ricin. The university possess a certain amount of it for study and that it's probably where the bottle was taken from, as it is rare. Samuel says only Westerbrook has the key to the poison storage, and that his office is upstairs alongside Professor Cavendish's. He then tells Charles that both have been away : Westerbrook has been sick for a few days, and Cavendish is on vacation. They probably live somewhere in Advent.

Charles can find several "*EOD is banned!*" posters around. If he interacts with them, he finds a note saying that any mention of the organization on the university's grounds can lead to dismissal or expulsion.

Professor Westerbrook's desk is in the corridor. You can find a Note from Prof. Westerbrook on it, where he goes off about his office that's still not been repaired and that he either gets Cavendish's office or won't step foot into this building again.

In Cavendish's office, Reed finds a tool used to make a copy of a key and a Draft of an article on the EOD. Mind's Eye guide you to the other side of the corridor, right to the poison storage which contains bottles exactly like the one found on the crime scene.

With the help of the Mind Palace, things become clear that Cavendish is the poisoner. Charles takes off to pay his house a visit, after finding his address from Cavendish's profile at the Oakmont City Hall (Citizens - Citizen records - Advent) : Advent central, St. Michael's Rd, between Carpenter St and Constitution St, flat 2.

## Cavendish's flat

Upstairs, you find a baby carriage with a note in front of Cavendish's door. After breaking the lock, the hunt for clues begins.

* Dusty wedding ring on a table.
* Note on the desk displaying The professor's fact list, preparing him for the fish storage break in.
* Right above is a pinboard : Charles can read a March newspaper issue pinned on it.

> *Going, going, gone ! Body count rises as vanishings continue across Oakmont ! Locals are in a panic, with most of the reported disappearances occuring in the Shells, Salvation Harbor and Grimhaven Bay. Cpt. Caleb Lyons of the Oakmont Police has put out a call for informations.*
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> *"Our evidence suggests a link between these disappearances and the charity organization 'EOD' that has recently risen to prominence among the city's poor", said Lyons. "Most of the victims seem to have either joined this group, or been a recipient of their alms. We encourage anyone with information to come forward."*
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* Another newspaper issue from February, talking about disturbance in the Shells following the disappearance of several women, with Innsmouthers being accused.
* A locked closet with fancy dresses hanging there since a long time ago.
* A frame in the closet. Mind's Eye shows Cavendish burning a photo over the stove.

Another retrocognition :

1. A woman comes to George Cavendish and says she has to tell him something.
2. Cavendish says to his wife, who is actually Anna, that he doesn't care about the EOD and thought the child was his.
3. Anna leaves with the baby, saying it is *"blessed by the sea"*.

Charles passes out in George's apartment and has a vision : he's standing on the ceiling of a room and a giant Innsmouther is looking at him through the window. He is woken up by the professor, who calls him a burglar and asks for an explanation. When Charles says Anna asked for him, he's not surprised and says she already took everything he has.

> *"It's not about what she wants, it's about what you did : poisoning the fish, sounds familiar ? Yeah, I can prove you did it."*
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Cavendish defends himself and says the fish is used to spread the EOD's influence and recruit new members. He says that some of those "initiates" vanish without a trace, and that it happens to ordinary people as well. He had poisoned the fish to undermine the EOD by making them feared and mistrusted. When Reed asks why Cavendish didn't just go to the police, he answers by saying that they manage to maintain a clean image. He adds that he tried the police, but is not suicidal enough to make the affair public. He complains about the fact that the organization stole his wife, feeding her nonsense about the "benevolent sea" and "greater good". This went downhill when she got pregnant and George learned that the child isn't his.

He then asks Reed to help him finish the job. You can either choose to kill him or to poison the rest of the fish as he demands.

## Choice 1 - Killing Cavendish

Reed has to defend himself, as George attacks him. Once he's dead, go into the Mind Palace and decide that Anna is an honest benefactor and Cavendish a dangerous psychopath. You decide to help Anna and the city. You can also choose to follow option 2, but then decide to report him anyway.

Anna tells you to meet the member, Maurice, in the basement of the Fish Market. When going there, Reed is attacked by three men. One of them carries a note proving that the EOD wants to get rid of Reed.

After dealing with them and coming back outside, Charles meets a man named Fred. Fred already knows Charles is looking for Harriet, but he won't tell it for free. Fred wants to leave the city quietly, which is not easy these days. He tells Reed to look for smugglers in the newspaper's ads from Salvation Harbor.

Should Reed choose this path, after completing the case a newspaper article entitled The Academic Poisoner! will appear on the bulletin board in his room in the Devil's Reef Hotel

## Choice 2 - Poisoning the fresh haul

Charles accepts but asks for a favor in exchange : to be able to meet somebody high ranking in the EOD.

You have to give a final answer before he lets you leave. Using the Mind Palace, you can choose if Anna is a filthy liar or an honest benefactor. For this choice, you have to choose the latter. You can also decide if Cavendish is a desperate savior or a dangerous psychopath.

Discovering the torture chamber in the basement of the fish storage leads you to decide that you will help George to undermine the EOD.

> *"Your methods stink and you plan stinks. Still, the EOD is a threat and I'm not gonna help them anymore. I'm in."*
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Cavendish gives ricin to Reed and tells him to poison the new haul before finding him when he's done. You still have the choice to report him to Anna if you wish.
Daryl Grimes lets Charles in the storage without any suspicions. After interacting with the blue crates, Reed meets Cavendish at the corner of the street. The EOD member will be waiting for him in the basement of the Fish market, his name being Fred. The password is *"the sea is a cruel mistress"*.

> *"It's funny, you know. The water's choppy, the weather bad ; and I miss sailing more than ever. It's like they say : the sea is a cruel mistress."*
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Fred already knows Charles is looking for Harriet, but he won't tell it for free. Fred wants to leave the city quietly, which is not easy these days. He tells Reed to look for smugglers in the newspaper's ads from Salvation Harbor.

Before leaving, Charles can explore the basement and find some occult objets clearly not related to charity work.

To complete the quest, you have to go back to Throgmorton. He tells him she's being held by the EOD and that they have agents everywhere in the city.

> *"I know there was something fishy about the EOD ! The den of those filthy Innsmouthers. I'll tear it to the ground."*
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Should Reed choose this path, after completing the case a newspaper article entitled EOD is poisoning people! will appear on the bulletin board in his room at the Devil's Reef Hotel.