Mialee judges that he likely has some Yongjing ancestry, though it seems mixed with that of another land, perhaps some of the darker skin and hair of the Dayawlongon island folk? It's difficult to get a read on him beyond his spoken offer, but his forthrightness in coming out and offering such a sum does have her feeling uneasy.

"I think that is an accurate assumption. Seven hundred would likely allow a priest to Pelor to do some good in the worlds. Are you certain you won't at least consider my offer?"

The man clasps his hands behind his back, after a moment of worry he's reaching for a weapon, it's clear he's just standing there, waiting to see if a deal can be made.

Mialee cuts in.

“Seems to me that a natural worry of any priest or their companions would be that any good done with gold would be outweighed by the harm of not doing their job. Perhaps if more were to be known about the circumstances and contents of this envelope you seek, we could pass on your request to any paladins we see.“

She doesn’t think we should hand over the envelope, but she’d love to know more about it.

Tandor turns a cheery smile on the fellow. "Nope. Now, be off with you, my good fellow.  My honor is not for sale at any price."

The man shifts his focus to Mialee. "Feel free to have a look at the contents, if you'd rather make an informed decision. Nine hundred."

Liber merely raises an eyebrow, but says nothing

8 insight

With the price going higher and higher, Mixtli begins to wonder what could be in the envelop that is so valuable, and also starts to wonder how the fellow came to know about the item, and if he means any harm when no is answered.

Insight: 9

Seeing the interest of the others, Tandor takes another hard look at the man.  Gilbert, what do you think his game is?

After a moment, the fey in cat form replies.  I think he really wants you to take the offer.  Maybe he's from the boss man and this is a test.

An interesting thought, Tandor considered.  He murmured a quick prayer to Pelor for guidance as he tried to discern the reason behind the man's persistence.

Insight, with Guidance and Advantage 15+1

Liber and Mixtli aren't able to get a good read on the fellow, his expression impassively optimistic, but not giving much else away.

Tandor isn't able to ascertain from the full extent of whether Gilbert's in the right, but from the casual manner in which he keeps upping the offer, one of a few possibilities come to mind. It could indeed be a test, to see if the loyalty of your word given has a price. Perhaps more worryingly, such sums mean nothing to the man, and offering greater sums without a counteroffer on the table means he could likely go much, much higher... and if he has the resources, a simple 'no thanks' would certainly be only a temporary deterrent. After all, a few hundred gold would certainly buy the enthusiastic efforts of a crew of muggers who'd be more than happy to smack around a priest and his friends just to steal an envelope. Even more concerning is that he may be only an intermediary to a larger organization, and is authorized to expend vast sums to secure the package by any means necessary. If that's the case, then taking this job for Song Wen Ming was no simple courier job... though for a simple exchange, did he really need to hire a whole company? Did he expect trouble like this?

Too many possiblities.  He turns to the man, though he doesn't break his stride.  "900 hundred, hmm. Well, that is interesting, if we even had this thing you're interested in," he says with a smile. Gilbert, be ready to distract him some. The cat merely purrs in response.  "But not interesting enough." He lets his voice trail off and holds up a finger, clearing pondering something, muttering under his breath.  After a couple of minutes walking, his mutterings include another prayer to Pelor, then he says, "If we had this...item...would 5,000 be too interesting? You seem very keen on whatever this thing is?"

ooc: How close are we to the crystal that takes us back?

Mialee, hearing the sudden raise in price from Tandor, palms one of her knives while pretending to scratch an itch.

Frowning at the new series of events, Trencher really isn't sure what is going on.  The others look just as bewildered so he very bluntly asks, "Why offer so high a price when we already accepted an amount for the job.  It makes no sense.  It is like you are throwing away money.  Why would you do this?  You can see you have all of us confused.  Are you just trying to see if we can be bought off by coins?"

"Apologies. I see I must have mistaken you for someone else. I hope you enjoyed your time at the Market, good evening."

The tall man turns to head back towards the bustling Night Market.

"Let's stay close and not linger longer."

(Shall we return to the talk with Song Wen Ming?)

"aye. I'm not interested in testing the guards' further charity."

-Time cut to current?-

((Yeah time cut back is fine by me^^))

ooc: me too

Tandor hands the envelope over to Song Wen Ming.

"Ah, excellent! Did you run into any difficulties in making the exchange?"

Tandor looks at the others, not being willing to be the first to answer but then realizes he can truthfully say no, as the exchange itself was easy.  "No. The exchange went off without a hitch."

Mialee noticably pauses, wanting to follow Tandor's lead, but decides it is best to seem as honest as possible in case it was a test.

"However, we were approached but someone hoping to buy the package off of us. They were persistent and went quite high on their offer. Naturally, we refused and avoided giving away information where possible."