Dragon's Cradle had been working to ready its army for any upcoming conflicts. There was too much going on across Charon for them to just ignore the threat reaching home. The leaders had recently started ordering armor in large shipments to help protect citizens.



However, some officials have begun to notice a problem. There is simply too much armor being produced for their teams to handle effectively. And there is worry that there might be some quality issues that might slip past.



So, a call is made to The Tinkertons that Fish answers. They don't care about the army's needs, but they do care about helping their friends guild. Fish also has an incredible knack for noticing the small details that go unnoticed.



Fish knew this would not be a simple operation. If there are sham products going out, then that meant there was a scam afoot. As much as they didn't want to say, they needed the assistance of Charon's greatest scammer.



Plus the presence of the Knights of Galvance's crack detective unit of Sunsplitter & Bird would put extra pressure on those they are investigating. Pressure that might make some people slip. Or confuse them so thoroughly, they admit to crimes they didn't commit.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Crack in the wall
Guild: Tinkertons
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 5 post per person, 200 words per post
Base Reward: +1 Renown
Guild Reward: +1 Mystical Archive Ticket, +1 Guild completion
Description: Major cities and villages have requested members of the guild to come and inspect a batch of armor recently forged. The armor is meant for local military, guard or protection agents and will be shipped out after the inspection. Inspectors will need to thoroughly check the armor for any flaws or blemishes.

Special Requirements: As you inspect the armor, it becomes obvious that everything is fake, and has been intentionally forged in a way to fail while in battle. Someone has sabotaged the order and has put many lives in danger.

Morrigan Moonweaver was making big moves.

They didn’t know precisely what kind of moves just yet but rest assured, they were happening. Snake oil had been all good and dandy for a time, but it was getting awfully boring. They’d only quite recently decided to bring an end to this chapter of their life, which just so happened to coincide with their battle with the fae queen for completely unrelated reasons. The timing was not something anyone needed to read into, no sir.

The point being, Morrigan had something big in the works and in order to do that big thing they needed money.

Lamentably, this meant having to take jobs they might not otherwise consider. The snake oil business was lucrative and stable enough when it came to passive income, but they were bored. Onto something bigger and better. So they were fairly open to following whatever struck their fancy… even boring technical jobs that came from otherwise stab-happy sources.

Ironically, this was probably one of the few times Fish was right to call Morrigan. General liars and schemers operated similarly to Fish in that crimes were subtle, efficient, and carried out behind closed doors. An ordinary robbery would be easy to identify based on the evidence. The motivations for thievery were as old as the concept of ownership. But what did you do when you simply had too much of something – when your quarry’s motives were as elusive as the possibly counterfeit product they’d produced?

Having been part of the team that took down notorious elixir counterfeiter and enemy of the Golden Consortium, Malik Imann, Morrigan was all too happy at the prospect of taking a stab at this strange puzzle.

… Okay, there was technically also the fact that their prowess with acids and poisons made them a good candidate for spotting cheap metal from the real deal, but that was a boring explanation and Morrigan preferred to think of themselves and Fish as something of a gaslighting crack team. Sometimes it took a criminal to catch a criminal, and Morrigan’s ingenuity combined with Fish’s attention to detail made for a hell of a combination. Loathe as Fish might be to admit it, they did work well together.

Even if it meant Fish had to put up with Morrigan’s insufferable idiosyncrasies for more than a few hours at a time.

Which was exactly what they were in for at this present moment as Morrigan burst into their agreed-upon meeting point, long patchwork quilt of a coat trailing behind them, along with an impossible amount of glitter that they rationally should not have been able to carry on their person, but after years of working together Fish should have been expecting this level of ridiculousness by now.

“Did someone call for a wizard?” They purred, with no amount of subtlety or secrecy that the situation demanded. Pushing a pair of rose-colored spectacles (which were likely purely cosmetic) up their nose, they regarded Fish with a pearly-white smirk composed of shark’s teeth. “I am so glad you called me for this. Call me a knight in shining armor because I am ready to, um…” Oh, hell, they’d forgotten what they were here to handle again, “You know. Shine those armors.”

Really, Fish just needed Morrigan to handle the usual business...talking to people. There were certain jobs where communication was more necessary than pure science. Fish hated that, but they accepted that reality. It did help that Morrigan also did know a few things. Fish had enough metallurgical knowledge to identify cheap metals, but Morrigan knew the recipes and tinctures that could try and bypass a keen eye.

Before Morrigan finishes speaking, they would find a leather folded thing thrown towards their face. Opening it up would present them with a detective badge and a portrait of their face beside. Fish paid extra money to have it done well too, they were not going to waste time with the fellblood arguing over how it looks. The bird showed a badge of their own.

"Neither Fish nor Morrigan wear armor or anything to symbolize actually working with the Knights of Galavance, Fish designed these to help with our investigation. It will also help in the future efforts of Moonweaver, Moonweaver & Fish if private investigation work is added to the portfolio."

Fish had helped with the paper work of the purported law firm, but it seems they wanted a bigger piece of that pie. Or at least one would assume with how they tacked their name on at the end. Fish tucks their badge away before motioning for Morrigan to look out the window with them.

"A few merchants are working with local leaders to outfit the armies with equipment, specifically armor. We are to check the quality and make sure it is of proper quality."

Missions with Fish were usually silent but Morrigan took the resounding emptiness following their entry as an especially pointed sign that the young thief was not particularly impressed by the theatrics of their entry.

They might have relied on Morrigan to be the social grease that got the complicated wheels of these master plans spinning, but that didn’t mean they had to even entertain the bullshit.

Morrigan put their hands on their hips and fixed Fish with a look. “Well thank you very much for the warm reaction – Ack!” It was at that moment a leather folded thing hit their face and the fellblood barely caught themselves from falling flat on their ass in exaggerated fashion. The gift hit the ground and Morrigan had to bend down to get it, grumbling all the while. Seriously, would it kill Fish to be a little friendlier? Didn’t the two of them have a bonding moment when they battled the fae queen together?

_{”… This is the thanks I get for hoisting them on my shoulders so lovingly.”} Fish might have caught as Morrigan stood, flipping open the folder. “Hello, who’s this handsome devil?”

Next to an incredibly detailed portrait of their face came the insignia and title of what looked to be some private or government investigation service. Whatever it was, it definitely didn’t belong to the Knights of Galavance.

Huh. This would actually be interesting.

Morrigan flipped the booklet shut and tucked it into the sleeve of their robe, raising an eyebrow. “Independent or government owned?” A distinction that might not have seemed all that important to Fish, especially when they were calling this a private firm, but there was a certain weight to belonging to a kingdom’s police force. Not that Morrigan particularly wanted to pose as a cop, mind, but could you imagine them having the power to just weasel out of crime by pretending to be an undercover city watchman?

“Alright. I can work with that. Seems a beneficial cover.” They stopped – pinched the bridge of their nose and sighed. “Alright, if you’re going to tack your name on my fake business you’ve got to consult me before doing so. I obviously can’t stop you but I can prevent you from making piss poor design choices that will ward customers away from our practice.”

Seriously, was Morrigan the last fellblood on this gods-given realm who cared about the importance of image and aestheticism?

Well, not this time. At least Fish was learning, based on the image they’d selected for Morrigan’s profile, and Morrigan wasn’t going to let them go another second without donning at least something to sell the image. Enough of this boring, tired, “in and out” stuff. If they were going to sell it, then Morrigan was going to do what they were best at and sell it.

“It’s a good thing I prepped costumes.” Morrigan shuffled through their canvas bag, pulling out what looked like a small porkpie hat and a clip on tie for fish. Their own colorful coat was pulled off and replaced with what looked like a long tanned leather city watch jacket. A small fake mustache was procured from the pocket and placed under their nose.^[1] “Seriously, put this on. It’s hard to sell us as anything than what we are but we can at least make them remember us by different attire rather than our own regular silhouettes while we… look at armor or whatever.” Morrigan hadn’t been really listening to what they were doing here all that closely. It was yet another ridiculous mission for the two to embark on, but it did make Morrigan nostalgic for the days when their crimes consisted of just peddling bunk potions.

---

1. Mustache of Deceit

"Depends on who's asking." Fish shows their badge and peels the part with the Galavance insignia. "Fish has invented a way to adhere things securely but make them interchangable. Fish calls it Crow Tape."

It is essentially velcro.

"Sometimes telling people it is a government job is beneficial, other times having independence is good. If it is all a sham, then never letting affiliations be pinned down is the best option." Fish also had no desire to be an authority figure, but slowly they had been learning that not everything can be brute forced. Or at least their version of brute force.

They scammed their way into the knighthood, but they shouldn't ignore that weight when possible. Sometimes a bit of legitimacy makes a fake business just a bit more plausible and helps sell the bit for longer.

"Fish had not designed an insignia for Moonweaver, Moonweaver, & Fish. Fish correctly assumed Morrigan would care more about the aesthetics, so Fish opted for the Knights this time. More recognizable brand power anyways, easier to use on consulting jobs like this."

The crow folk stares at the offered costume for awhile. Probably a disconcertingly long time for Morrigan. One part of them twitches to stab Morrigan for coming through with something so very ridiculous in the the bird's mind. The other is a strange and unfamiliar softer side that says if the fellblood is willing to roll with them, then the least Fish can do is return the favor.

Fish starts to tuck away their cloak into a bag that seemingly has no bottom. It takes a good minute or so for Fish to begin putting away all of their weapons, some new and some familiar to Morrigan. The bird certainly was not slacking when it came to keeping themselves protected. At the end of it all, Fish has adjusted their wardrobe to something a bit more proper looking though the one thing they are sure to keep is the scarf gifted to them by Cyran, that stays on though tucked into their shirt like an ascot.

They leave their Investigators Kit slung across their shoulders on one hip, bag of the infinite on the other. In their hands is their journal and pen.

"Let's go."

“Convenient!” For all that the fellblood ragged on the thief - such was the nature of their relationship - they could admit when they were suitably impressed by an invention of Fish’s creation… especially when such a tool made their lives easier, and made a given scheme all the more feasible. Imagine having one of these bad boys with insignias for each different knighthood, veritably eliminating the need for carrying separate identities! Such speculations, of course, were neither here nor there, but Morrigan did often like to dream big. “If you’d ever like to capitalize on this intellectual property, then you know which law office to call.”

If Fish was smart, it would be any other lawman than the Moonweaver in Moonweaver, Moonweaver, and Fish.

“Of course, of course, never pin yourself to any particular story. Rigidity is the enemy of any good confidence man.” Morrigan scoffed, waving an impatient hand, as if to say, get on with it. They, of course, were familiar with the concept of fluidity when it came to the scheme - after all, one only need to look at the various identities and cover stories that fellblood and aviankin had assumed over the course of their professional career. In fact, it was that improvisation that often got Morrigan into more hot water than they should have. “But what about for this scheme? I’d imagine that if these mercantile rubes are working for the government, they’d be more complacent in helping investigators sent by their employer. Or - it’s a toss up, actually, if one factors in the fact that common artisans and smiths often hate micromanaging…” They trailed off as they tried to put their mind in the metaphorical headspace of the people they were here to… help? Steal from? Morrigan still wasn’t certain if this deed was to be an overall goof one or not.

“No, no, this isn’t about the insignia. I couldn’t even settle on one now even I wanted to, with how you’ve butchered the name!” They began pacing in front of Fish in familiar over-animated habit that bordered on obnoxious, throwing their hands in the air in exasperation. Investigation be damned, what about the investigation of the utter crime against elegance that had been committed in their very own fake law firm?

“See, if you’d consulted me, I would have given you the correct advice and told you that tacking Fish onto a name as magnanimous as Moonweaver is just tacky. I would have told you, rather sagely in fact, that a different alias would have been more flashy. And if you’d asked, I would have told you that Moonweaver, Moonweaver, and Corvinus would have been the objectively correct answer. Then, and only then, would I actually be able to consider going about constructing an insignia befitting of the grand names of the people they stand for.”

Their objective completely forgotten, Morrigan was on a tirade now; it was difficult to tell whether they were actually upset at Fish or the fact that their fake law firm would now need a major public relations campaign to clean up this mess.

“See, the right idea would have obviously been a crow gazing upwards at the new moon in its splendor, but now I shall simply have to fix this name debacle before I go about designing this -“ They stopped in their tracks. “Oh. You are referring to the insignia in regards to the crow tape. I knew that.”

They clapped their hands together, shoving aside that silly little tirade.

“ANYWAYS! Don’t you worry about the firm, my good friend. It seems I’ve got some brand cleaning to do before we dust off that old identity.” The knights would suit fine for this particular venture, and answered their previous question just fine.

So. That just left getting ready. Fish stared at the offered costume long enough for Morrigan’s arm began to hurt where they held it aloft. Morrigan shook it a little, impatient. “Well? Come on, we haven’t all day.”

Eventually, something seemed to break them out of their stupor and Fish began putting away their things. Okay, that was a gratuitous number of weapons. By the time they finished Morrigan opened their mouth to comment on it - oh, wait, no, they had more. And that was another one. Ginma’s sakes, what were the kid’s parents teaching them?

… Now that was just overkill.

After a disarming sequence far longer than it needed to be, Fish finally dawned an outfit more befitting of an investigation such as this. The fancy little ascot made Morrigan snort, though.

“Oh, aren’t you a fancy little one!” They felt a little more emboldened to voice that out loud considering they’d just witnessed Fish divest themself of at least most of their weapons. “You look like you’re ready for the world’s cutest dinner party.”

Ha. As if anything about the little terror was cute.

But they were playing along, for now, so Morrigan wouldn’t push their luck too much. They nodded, readjusting the strap of their cloth bag so it rested underneath their leather coat - not completely concealed, but enough that prying eyes would have to really work to spot it. It had been some time since they’d dusted off an official persona, but in principal it shouldn’t be too hard. Morrigan was just playing a character, as they always were.

They cleared their throat - when they opened their mouth again, the fellblood’s tone was more confident - a deeper timbre, an underlying authority in the rumble of their words. “Yes, let’s. Daylight is wasting, and we’ve got a criminal to apprehend.”

"Fish has already had the patent notarized, Morrigan signed off on it two weeks ago." Of course Morrigan would know Fish was their notary and also could perfectly copy anyone's signature they had seen before.



Halfway through Morrigan's rant they mimic the sound of the hammer of the flintlock pistol being cocked back, one hand hidden under the cloak now. It had actually been months since Fish had harmed Morrigan and in fact violence was never the first option for the crow folk. Still, it didn't mean they didn't have ways to try and speed the fellblood up.



"Fish is not a corvid and it is beside the point at the moment." Sometimes Fish wondered why Del and Cyran encouraged them to work more with others.



So what if Fish had friends if this was the quality of them? Morrigan may have skills Fish didn't that will help on this job, but at what cost? Them mildly annoying each other because of their wildly different personalities? A bridge too far.



Fish narrows their eyes at Morrigan at the compliment. Almost as if to remind them how quick their hands are, Fish suddenly tosses a notepad to the fellblood. It's a soft toss, there has been enough antagonizing this morning. At a certain point, both of them understand the job needs to actually happen.



Down at the market square there were a few open air blacksmith shops that were getting their forges ready for the day. Some had piles of armor in baskets, others had only just started on their orders. The list of potential suspects as was follows:



-Duin Arcucio: A halfling man who's rhythmic hammer strikes were like music across the market square. 75 years old, balding but wears it well.



-Maeble: A young draconynh woman who heats her coals with her own fiery breath. Her personal pieces have well-placed hammer marks that look like scales. Her hands and snout scales are black with soot but it fades to a forest green.



-Tink, Clink, and Thunk: A trio of crow folk who work in rotations to make sure no one gets too bored or suffers from repetitive stress injuries. All in their mid-20s.



-Black the Smith: A dwarven man with a severe looking face. It is impossible to tell what color his skin is until he lifts his goggles, a century of soot is baked into his face. Ironically this is not where he got his name, he got it from the jet black beard he was born with. His husband is Thorock's best baker.