figures that sounds typical, do you mind if i make a copy of this?

pointing at the ledger

Dart makes a mental note of the apparent guard change as well as the number of guards in each troop. 
(does the necklace have any significance that dart would recognize besides belonging to the flaming fist? An officers mark or some such?)

The harbourmaster grimaces: "I can't give it to someone. As long as the ledger stays here though, I'll let you look at it and take notes."

 ------------------------

You've not served with the fist per se, but given that both of the groups had only one individual with the flame medallion, you figure that it's likely denoting someone of higher rank. The troops are made up of six troopers and one officer. You also notice that the officers have a documents pouch on them, probably for orders or correspondence.

Perception with disadvantage to try and see the papers: 22

perception reroll since I got a 1: 12

history: 17

reroll history: 15

Ok let me take a look then

Investigation 22

Dart, you can make out that the letter looks like a long list of names and locations, and although you can't make out any details, judging by the size of the letter, there's likely to be between thirty and fifty names on the list.

You also recall that the Fist, being mostly a political branch of the imperial army, has only six ranks. Common soldiers are called Fists. Veteran fists might get promoted to the rank of Gauntlet, and often serve as aides to the officers. A troop of six to eight fists is led by a Manip, usually someone with at least five years of service and many are natural leaders, since they are often giving the orders directly in the firing line. Flames are the first officer rank, usually in charge of a company of six to eight troops. They are denoted by a gold medallion displaying a flame. Although traditionally these are recruited from among the ranks of the most experienced manips, more recently rumour abounds that certain flames have gotten their position through family connections. A Blaze is in charge of a battalion, or roughly six to eight companies. They usually preside over a section of a frontline, or govern within a city district. Most Blazes decide to signal their rank through something unique. Blaze Portyr for example is almost always seen with a white cloak with a wreath of golden flames emrboidered upon it. The Marhal is a mostly political position, since he or she advises the General Staff of the Imperial Armed Forces on how best to use the resources of the Flaming Fist. It is not uncommon for Marshals to attempt to become Grand Dukes, in fact seven of the last twenty grand dukes of Borogrod had been Marshals. Since the Flaming Fist accepts recruits from all wlaks of life, it provides ambitious people a chance at high political office. As part of their role, they carry a pin on their cloak showing the flaming gauntlet, representing the organisation as a whole.

The ledger is organised in several neat rows: first, the dates of mooring in the gray harbour, with the names of the ships in the column to the left. Each ship has their respective trading company listed, or is marked with an asterisk to denote a civilian or a cross to denote a military vessel, and a short note on their carried goods. Next to that, there are several columns detailing the incurred costs for the vessel in question, depending on how long they were moored in the harbour. There's no column detailing which pier the ships were moored at, but by looking at the various costs, you can tell that there are significant differences in mooring prices, with the cheaper ones tending to also not include any additional fees for clearing the loads. The last column is left blank, to include additional references or details that might be pertinent for the harbourmaster.

Feeling like you got a sense of the ledger, you start looking for the Empress. It takes a while, before you spot its name among other vessels. What surprises you, is that it is supposedly the longest mooring ship in the harbour, but it hasn't even been cleared yet. What leaps out at you is the military vessel Leviathan, which docked at the same day, and is supposedly kept until 3. Sypheros three days hence for refitting. The mention of the Military Governor next to that ship makes you even curiouser. Scanning further down the list, you notice the Dawnchaser with Aynekov's name attached to it as well, and also seen to be refitting.

Parker makes a copy then heads back out to Dart

Seeing Parker approach, “Find out anything useful?”

"yeah i got a copy of his ledger, very interesting stuff,   for when we arent in the open

“Sounds useful. Well I’m here for the day guarding these crates. And then in the evening guarding those crates.” I also share with Parker my revelations about the Fist in case it should prove useful to him. Then add “I would appreciate the ... extra muscle ... if you don’t have anything else that needs doing today.” I make a slight ribbing motion while saying extra muscle. 

Sounds interesting....at least its a good location to observe things,

As you are engaged in your quick discussion, Parker suddenly notices a person walk towards you two. With their slender build and white hari tied into a ponytail, with no facial hair to speak of, he struggles to determine whether the person is male or female. As soon as they speak, Dart turns around to face the swordmaster. "Hey there, didn't mean to startle you. Just wanted to check in on you, since this is your first contract representing me and my boys. Hope the harbourmaster hasn't been too difficult on you, has he?"

Parker, you quickly conclude that this must be Gramult, the swordmaster that Dart had told you about.

“It would seem the harbourmaster is looking for some muscle to guard the docks and not so much investigate the breakin. So I could use another body or two.”

"How much did he offer? Ten denari? That greedy bugger... alright, I'll send two more fresh faces, so you can keep a nice service wheel going, to keep him happy... I'll take the leftover denari for myself though, since I don't wanna have to bail you out in the future, is that understood?" With that, Gramult is off, first to the office of the harbourmaster to discuss more business, and then to their House of Mastery. Less than half an hour after your conversation, you see two human recruits arrive, jogging and sweating.

"Billy... an' Joe... Reportin' fer... duty!"

Parker, did you stay behind or make your way back to your offices?

Parker stayed with Dart

I’ll show Billy and Joe the areas that need to be watched. “Now it seems best to me to split shifts between the three of us in 8 hour sections. Who would like to work when?”

Quietly to Parker “I was told I would be investigating something not standing guard over some crates and barrels”

whispers back   Shall we then?

(Assuming it’s near 1100 based of the clock ringing ten and thirty minutes for gramult to send the ... backup) “Billy you stand watch from now until 1900. Joe you will relieve Billy then and stand watch until 0300. I will relieve you then and we shall keep this rotation until weeks end.” With that said I turn to Parker “your office then? Lead the way.”