Event·Settlement

The Counterfeit Caps

You're counting your caps at a food stall when the vendor snatches one from your palm and holds it up to the light. She bites it, then flicks it onto the counter with a look of disgust.

"Fake. Lead core with a tin wash. Seen three of these today." She pushes it back toward you. "Somebody's flooding the market. You didn't get this from me, and you're not paying with it."

Choices

1
Apologize and pay with a different cap. Not your problem how it got into your pouch.
no requirement
Success
The vendor accepts your replacement and hands over your food without further comment. You pocket the fake cap - might be useful as a conversation starter, or evidence.
Failure
2
Ask around the market about where the fakes are coming from. If someone's devaluing the currency, everyone suffers.
no requirement
Success
After an hour of questions and suspicious looks, a junk dealer quietly points you toward a recent batch of caps that came through a specific trader. You pass the information along to a grateful local enforcer.
Failure
Nobody wants to talk. Either they don't know or they're afraid of whoever's behind it. You wasted an hour and have nothing to show for it.
3
Examine the fake cap closely. The metallurgy might tell you something about who made it.
Smelting lv 3
Success
The alloy composition is sloppy - too much antimony, not enough tin. Whoever cast these had access to scrap lead but no proper crucible. You describe the setup to a local smith who recognizes the technique. The information is worth something to the right people.
Failure
The alloy is unusual but you can't place the technique. Too many variables - scrap sources differ across the region and without a proper assay kit you're guessing. You hand the cap back to the vendor with a shrug.

UUID