The heavy clerk pushed himself onto both knees while Marrick held the recovered purse beside the stolen registry ledger.
"You cannot dismiss us without permission from the Houses employing this office," he said as dirt marked his expensive coat.
The thin clerk rose beside him, pointing toward shelves filled with altered food records.
"These ledgers here require years of special training to read," he said while both of his ink-stained hands visibly shook.
"The entire regional supply chain will collapse without our expertise."
"Remove us today, then every food shipment stops before tomorrow morning," the first clerk added toward the watching town.
People near the alleys recoiled, revealing how often hunger had been used as a weapon against them.
A baker stood beside an empty grain cart with flour across both sleeves, while her youngest child watched from behind one wheel.
