White Envelope

"Oh yeah, let's do this."

"It's not the sort of act I would normally encourage, but, under the circumstances, if done discreetly... it may be the only way to save what's left of the village."

"That's illegal. I expected more from you, Kim."

"I am not sure whether working with Evrart is particularly ethical either... But I understand and respect your position." He looks off to the side, deep in thought.

Well, you could trick Evrart. Get someone random to sign the document. By the time the Union boss finds out, your business here will already be concluded.

I guess that's just the cost of progress.

"Of course... I should have seen it." He frowns as he reads over the document again. "People will move away on their own accord. I'm not sure they should..."

He is not altogether comfortable with your contribution to progress in this instance.

How very rational of you. Rational of Evrart, too -- he will, no doubt, benefit from the village being abandoned.

There is no loophole. The simple truth is the current residents are going to lose their street access and for the next 12-40 months their lives will be dominated by constant construction noise right next door.

I guess that's just the cost of progress.

"I should have seen it." He frowns as he reads over the document again. "People will move away on their own accord. Yes, I suppose change always has a price."

He is not altogether comfortable with your contribution to progress in this instance.

How very rational of you. Rational of Evrart, too -- he will, no doubt, benefit from the village being abandoned.

This is terrible. Poor people. Can't I do something?

"I should have seen it." The lieutenant frowns as he reads over the document again.

"Evrart probably has eyes on us, but..." He pauses to think. "We could try to get other people to sign this instead of those listed. Or you could forge their signatures yourself. By the time he finds out, we'll already be gone."

"However... We'll need access to the coast before we do anything. Evrart won't believe you got villagers' signatures if you can't even get to the village." He shrugs. "You can try a forgery as soon as we can cross the water lock."

Well, you could trick Evrart. Get some random people to sign the document. By the time the Union boss finds out, your business here will already be concluded.

Wait, what are the ramifications of this?

Once the construction starts it'll probably take a few months -- a year maybe -- for even the most stubborn occupants to get tired of living like this. After that they'll sell their property for cheap and move out.

Again, the document doesn't seem to have any hidden clause. Maybe, just maybe, what you see is what you get with Mr. Evrart?

"Hmmmm," the lieutenant hums, watching you examine the document again.

There doesn't seem to be anything of interest here. No fine print. You're smart. You can read.

"Kim, what do you think of this?"

"I'm no property lawyer, but it looks fine," the lieutenant replies, flipping through the documents. "I like the print size. They're not selling or leasing anything. It's not a perfect solution, but..." He shrugs.

...how else are you going to build something? It's always inconvenient to build things, and citizens inevitably have disagreements over such construction projects, but there's no other way.

Okay, let's do this! (Commence the forgery.)

With a confident flourish you complete your forgery. What do you see on the signature line?

The name: "Isobel Sadie."

Indeed. To be honest, it does look very convincing. The calligraphy is close to superb. It might as well be her actual signature.

"Good. Evrart will have to start over with his scheming." The lieutenant nods. "When she denies that this is her signature the document will be rendered null and void."

"Any halfway competent notary should be able to handle this. Not getting her signature was probably the best thing to do."

"Now all we have to do is mail these. I think I saw a mailbox on the plaza."

But it's not, and the document will be nullified if she disputes it. That means Evrart will have to start over.

All you need to do now is mail the signatures to Evrart's accountant in La Delta.

Two names: Isobel Sadie and Lilienne Carter.

Indeed. Your forgery looks very convincing right next to Lilienne's actual signature. It might as well be real.

"Good. Evrart will have to start over with his scheming." The lieutenant nods. "When Isobel disputes her signature the document will be rendered null and void."

"Any halfway competent notary should be able to handle this. Not getting Isobel's actual signature was probably the best thing to do."

"Now all we have to do is mail these. I think I saw a mailbox on the plaza."

But it is not, and the document will be nullified if Isobel disputes it. That means Evrart will have to start over.

All you need to do now is mail the signatures to Evrart's accountant in La Delta.

There was a mail delivery box in the plaza, near the corner of the bookstore.

Indeed. They look distinctly different and very convincing. These might as well be their actual signatures.

"Good. Evrart will have to start over with his scheming." The lieutenant nods. "When Isobel and Lilienne dispute the signatures the document will be rendered null and void."

"Any halfway competent notary should be able to handle this. Not getting their actual signatures was probably the best thing to do."

But they're not, and the document will be nullified if they dispute it. That means Evrart will have to start over.

The pen is shaking in your hand as you draw a pathetic little line.

"This isn't going to work," the lieutenant says, looking over your shoulder. "It doesn't even look like a name. Just a scratch mark."

"Did I just ruin it?"

"No, it's just a little line. Let's get an actual signature on top of it and it'll be fine."

"No, it's just a little line. Let's get an actual signature on top of it and it'll be fine."

What have I done?

It appears you have drawn a line instead of a signature. A puny line. Looks like the late stages of dementia.

Have I ruined the document?

No, it's just a line. Forgery obviously isn't your strong suit -- sorry for suggesting it. If you get someone to actually sign this, it should be fine.

No, it's just a line. Forgery obviously isn't your strong suit -- sorry for suggesting it. If you get someone to actually sign this, it should be fine.

Keep drawing.

The line gets even shakier and starts to curve towards the bottom of the page.