The Meeting at Deepnight

The busty half-elf gives Ed a puzzled look; then, for a split second, her eyebrow shots up.

"Hmm... You know, you look like.... hmmmm... Let me just check something..."

You hear parchment rustling underneath the counter.

"Hmm... Oh darn! Right this way. And lux vincit nocta."
She said, flashing them with an apologetic smile and pointed them to the back room.

Sypha motions you to get behind her counter and points you past some shelves. You make your way through some heavy indigo drapes until you find yourselves in a candlelit back room in the tent.

As you approach, you see a hooded figure. You can tell it's a male human - some stubble on his chin that isn't obscured by the hood betrays him.

As you arrive at the table, he doesn't take his hood off or raise his head; instead, he only motions for you to sit. As you do so, you notice a brooch - round, gold, in dark blue enamel with a crescent moon and a harp on it.

"I have a job for you - one of the utmost importance and of a somewhat delicate nature."

He trails off as he looks at each and every one of you.

"I don't know if all of you recognize this;" he says pointing at the small round ornament "besides, I was expecting to meet a single contact, but this makes things simpler. This is a symbol of the organization that I'm a member of - The Harpers. Put simply, it's an organization that fights evil wherever it hides."

The man reaches under his cloak and produces a big pouch that he casually drops on the table. As the pouch hits the worn wooden surface, it loosens and drops to its side - revealing what appears to be a big heap of diamonds.

"Now, are you prepared to con an evil man?"

"Good name for a band" interjects Jumi.

"Sounds good to me, dude. Do we get to do it under a mysterious moon by a black bay?"

...because, although it's a bit late, at some point this code phrase is going to work.

"We're down with the plan, dude. Lay it on us." says ൏ (the artist formerly known as James)

The Harper grins; despite his lowered hood, you can see that.
"You are in a unique position to take on and complete the mission I have for you. We have captured a merchant that was going to illegally purchase a red dragon egg." his voice now barely audible.

I need you to pose as the merchant and her hirelings, go to the buy site, make the transaction, and place a magical device on one of the sellers so that Harpers can track them back to their place of residence.

He points at Mor;
"Fortunately for us, you my lady resemble said merchant enough. The buyer hasn't seen our merchant, which should help you with your cover. We wouldn't send you by yourself, naturally; those two adventurers can pose as your assistant and bodyguard." he chimes, somewhat amused.

"These" he says, gesturing towards the big pouch on the table "are basically worthless. Good enough to pass a cursory inspection, but fake nonetheless."

He looks outside the window;
"Time is of essence, so here's the plan: you go to the meeting place and make the transaction; during the meeting, you need to place this tracking pin on the seller, so we can find their hideout. Killing the seller or incapacitating them is ill-advised, as our main goal is to get to their hideout. I'll make this worth your time; the Harpers are willing to generously compensate you for your effort - three hundred gold pieces divided amongst you - for those of you who choose to take up this mission, of course"

"Dude, I can totally pass myself off as Mor's bodyguard." confirms Butch with his 10 STR and 8 CON.

"We've... extracted some information from the captured merchant. Apparently our Seller is only aware of the merchant's race and sex. It's common in shady transactions such as this one really - bare minimum details are passed down to the interested parties.

We don't expect the Seller to be alone of course - and neither would they expect the merchant to be. It's safe to assume that he'll be accompanied by a couple guards himself - nothing out of the ordinary.

The Seller is not known to us, but we assume they're of the smuggling lot; they're not the supplier - that's who we're after, but that's not your mission."

"Gimme the pin, dude. I'll plant it like a druid." The promise of payment causes the bard to somewhat overestimate his digital dexterity.

"Just give us the place and the dodgy gems and we'll play this sucker like a three nib lute."

"I greatly appreciate your help. And so will the Harper's; we can be a powerful ally - or a dire enemy. By any means, don't take this as a threat - my patience has almost ran out trying to track these scum. The captured merchant only knew about the meeting place and time sadly. Here, take these."

He hands you the pouch of "diamonds", the barely noticeable magical tracking pin and a small piece of parchment.

"Read that and burn it on your way out. I wish you the best of luck and may we see each other soon."