Case No. 2
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: LATE SEPTEMBER
RECEIPT ID: NBY-01
I wasn't expecting to be sent to Tesseract so soon. Then again, with Tesseract, the very concept of "soon" is rather relative, I suppose. As I understand it, they have been racing against the proverbial clock to unravel a mystery without much of a name. They are looking for some sort of "first secret" located within three strange devices that arrived on their doorstep. While that doesn't seem too urgent on the surface, there is the looming, glaring, glinting issue of the Daggers led by Ms. Cassiopeia. To say that the Daggers are a danger to the Coffee Trade might be the understatement of the century, eon, or whatever measure of time best suits The Cafe and Diner: Tesseract of Anchorage, Alaska.
As for what has triggered an audit of this strange and far off Cafe, it seems that a ship has been sighted off Kodiak Island. Not too strange, until one realizes that the ship in question was only seen by one eye. If reports of such a ship are accurate, it is a large-scale order for Tesseract of up to potentially 309 customers. To me, and to Jack, that seems like… a lot. Which is why a proper audit of the situation is required. If Tesseract has suddenly gained 309 customers overnight we might need to start pulling resources from other Cafes to accommodate.
Of course, things are never what they seem at Tesseract and its enigmatic owner, John Doe, isn't quite sold on the full reemergence of this one-eyed ship. As he put it to me, it's likely nothing more than a fleeting vision—an "obsessive" hiccup. Though he is hardly short on time, he is short on focus and even hiccups should be fully checked out. John would have his second in command, Solomon, check it out, but it seems Solomon too is busy aiding Bloodglass in their affairs, leaving William in charge—and William is… well, his actions may require the careful eye of an auditor. He has been known to act rather recklessly and impatiently for a man who can stop time.
Caffeinated Report: C-NBY-02
"See the ship carrying C on the sea."
Nautical Trivia | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: C-NBY-03
"Boiled grass and the broth of shoes for the mind."
Speech Trivia | 2 Words
Caffeinated Report: CD-NBY-04
"A rather erksime [sic] Riddle: 20:1 6:2 20:7 23:1 10:1 8:1 7:1 7:4 5:1 28:5: (1742 1743)."
Cipher | 2 Words
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: LATE OCTOBER
RECEIPT ID: NBY-05
Shit. Sorry for swearing. Shit!
Well… much has happened in a very short time. I wouldn't expect anything else from Tesseract. While Samuel was hooking into the narrative thread of the past I left Tesseract to aid Testament in a… mm… let's call it a "gross misappropriation of funds." A case for a different time. But now we know for certain that the one-eyed ship isn't just a machination of Behram but also Ms. Cassiopeia's deadly crimson dagger organization.
As this is a Diner Receipt I can't get into every little detail—and I likely wouldn't want to—but Ms. Cassiopeia and her Daggers are, for my measure, one of the most dangerous antagonists to not only the Cafe and Diner but the Coffee Trade as a whole. Like Tesseract they largely deal with well-timed service, food prep and late-late nights. However, unlike Tesseract who stick to serving adjacent localities, the Daggers harbor a complete disregard to causality and serve not only adjacent localities, but prime real estate, and… even places no longer looking for a cup of coffee. We still don't know how they manage to travel to such far reaching places. Places far, far out of bounds.
Tesseract once went head-to-head with the Daggers in an all out war in an adjacent locality known in the Trade as "Indigo." These "Indigo Wars" led to the annihilation of multiple localities. One hundred twelve localities, in fact. And that was without the help of the very simulacrum of endless, meaningless, crushing destruction, Behram. Since the end of the Indigo Wars, Tesseract and the Daggers have been in a sort of "cold war," with mutually assured destruction being the only thing holding Ms. Cassiopeia back.
SHIT!
Right, okay, I've got to get back to Tesseract, and fast. This is the EXACT type of situation Jack wanted audited and I can't trust John Doe's judgement on this. He already let one trolley loose, no need to give him control of another lever.
Caffeinated Report: C-NBY-06
"Fading by Person."
Military Trivia | 3 Words
Caffeinated Report: CD-NBY-07
"Nemesis of Neptune's Nipper."
Research | 1 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-NBY-08
"12 Ladies of the 12th Arcana tell:"
Gothic Literature Trivia | 2 Words
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: MID NOVEMBER
RECEIPT ID: CAD-03
Behram indirectly has his hands in a bit of everything it seems. He allowed Mr. Fenimore to bring Ms. Sandiego illicit goods in New Orleans, he allowed Ursula Langley to wreck havoc with his lower residents, and now he has either been making sandwiches for the Daggers or the Daggers have been stealing his sandwiches all the same. Unfortunately Behram is a force of nature, one we cannot be so simply rid of. Though it worries me greatly that his influence is seeping out unbeknownst to the others Cafes, especially the more fledgling Cafes of Testament and Sunshine.
I just paid a visit to Testament and nothing immediately stood out as being overtly "destructive." However, I would perhaps argue that Testament itself is a force of untamable chaos that is always worth keeping a very close eye on. I have not yet had the chance to visit Sunshine (mostly to avoid Lucy's simmering rage over her daughter's near-death experience) but I feel like I should pop in just to make sure there is nothing particularly "Terminal" about their affairs. So, that will be where I am headed next.
As for the other cafes… at the moment the original branch in Long Beach is still working out a way to end the Storm which has been surrounding them for quite some time—a Storm that has also been causing Behram trouble as well. Bloodglass is still searching for their missing stones along with Solomon's help. Midnight is still tangled up in the Mangrove Syndicate which has been moving around the southeast—to our collective knowledge the Syndicate has no ties to Behram (but don't hold your breath). Requiem is where I last left them, working out a way to stop the return of Ms. Sandiego. Silenus has been kept busy by Arthur's brother, the mad Dr. Crow, who may or may not be in league with Behram. And… Testament. They are… as they are, "Big Bong" and all.