You see nothing that could be plum-sized and shape on his person. You do get the feeling he is compensating for something with his platform shoes, a sound you recognize form that one wild party all 88 matron mothers of Zon-quubinani throw, through you can't remember more than a quarter of it.
Nestis doesn't see anything helpful so he tries smooth-talking once again.
"Look. We're very keen to get those plums. If you make that quick and easy for us, we'll walk away with no more trouble. So, do you have amethyst plums for us?"
You see the merchant is actually a very scrawny dwarf in platform boots and clean chin.
And indeed, he is out of Amethyst Plums.
You smell something that you know what it is, but you can't place. It's maddening and distracts you from properly surveying the merchant's wares as you desperately try to recall what that smell is.
"No I do not," the merchant says as squirms under Nestis' gaze and looks like he's expecting violence to be visited on him very soon. "The closest place would the grove just over a half-day's travel, but they say it is haunted by terrible things! Horrid monsters, blood-curdling fiends, and worse!"
"Draw us a map." commands Mark. After a moment, he then adds "please."
"The dwarf has no plums." The bugbear henchman growls. "Bring him to the grove."
What is that?
Nestis continues to sniff the air, momentarily distracted, then nods.
"Fine suggestions, Mark and Teegor. He can draw a map while we escort him to the grove."
He turns to the merchant.
"Trust me, good merchant, we are far scarier than any boogeymen in that grove. So hop to it."
The merchant turns paper-white and faints dead away. The acrid stench of urine fills the air.
Carrying the dwarven merchant outside, you find the two kobolds that you noticed tailing you earlier.
"Oh! Isssss that for usssss," the less intelligent one with the fake mustache asks as he points to the dwarf.
"Ignore him, he'sssss been pesssssstering me for money to buy food withhhhh all morning. Did you have any luck finding the Amethyssssst Plumsssss," he more intelligent one asks.
"Well, that didn't help." said Mark as he grabs some water from a horse trough and throws it in the merchant's face.
"Sorry about my friend. He's a bit crazy. Just tell us where we need to go and we'll leave you alone."
Nestis waves his hands at the smouldering wreckage dotted throughout the town.
"There is surely some food left in the remains of those clearly-not-up-to-building-standard shops."
Nestis then looks to Mark and the dwarf, with a grin on his face.
Let us see how the merchant jumps.
Teegor looks for a barrel of water to dunk the dwarf to clean him and wake him up.
"You do not have many friendsssss, do you," the smarter kobold states more than asks Nilelane. He sighs as his partner runs off at Nestis' observation and shakes his head.
Meanwhile, Mark wakes the exotic fruit merchant up just in time for him to be dumped into a rain barrel. The dwarf splutters and coughs as Teegor hoists him out. He no longer smells of urine, but apparently he hasn't heard of waterproof glue as all of his hair falls off.
It's about this point you hear the approach of a dozen guards.
"Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!"
the smarter kobold starts moving with a lot more alacrity as they get closer.
"We go now, yesss? Out of town be bessst, quickly," he says as he starts heading for the wagon.
Nestis curtly notes:
"We leave now. Unless any of you want to spend time beating up town guards?"
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"Not again..." Teegor replies to Nestis.
Mark moves off into the crowd and out of sight of the approaching guards.
Teegor puts the dripping dwarf into the cart and starts driving the cart away from the guards casually.
As you drive off, the merchant, whose sodden clothes practically fall off of him as he rushes to the back of the wagon, calls out to the group of guards hustling into the area.
You can hear the approach of the guards redoubled as they charge after the wagon.
The kobolds pop up behind those of you looking out the back and the smarter of the pair says, "oh, that issss a problem. We can't have them following us back."
"Shut your Gods-D@#$ed mouth, or we'll shut it for you." growls Mark.
The gnome's cry is accompanied by the return of the urine smell.
"Maybe we ssshhhould dump him before he ruinssss the ingredientssss, yessss," the smarter kobold suggests.
"Aw, but he'sssss marinating sssssso nicccccely!"
Mark, a man of his word, punches him in the face.
He then says "Slow down and we'll shove him out. This is what you get for trying to help someone out of trouble."
Teegor reaches back from the drivers seat and grabs hold of the wiggling gnome’s foot. Then, he tosses him bodily out of the cart.
"Goodbye and do not miss us too much!", adds Nestis.
The gnome is punched, tossed, and pelted with coins and a kiss in very short order. Then the guards trample him as they chase after you.
The two kobolds look at the guards then at each other before looking at the guards again.
"That didn't even sssslow them down."
"Oh yessss, we are in big trouble now."
Teegor continues to drive the cart forward encouraging the horses.
Nestis stares at the pursuing guards and calls:
"Look into my eyes...you are getting sleepy, sleepy, VERY sleepy! Lie down and REST!"
Mark grabs a rope then tosses it onto a balcony and attempts to use a combination of the cart and his own musculature to pull it down on the guards.
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Teegor and Corso egg the oxen on while Nilelane scatters a bag full of ball bearings over the road. The guards slip and stumble, the incessant rhythm of their hupping broken as they crash and fall prey to Nestis' magic. Mark finds a decrepit looking balcony and pulls it on top of the guards, effectively pinning them.
When the cart is approaching a junction, Nestis times a casting. Right when the cart passes the junctions, it appear that there are now two identical carts, speeding off in separate directions!
A silent image to create a false moving cart to distract the foolish!
Teegor calms the team of oxen. He changes course and drives casually.
As the group is racing down the road, Mark starts looking around for a group that are in the early stages of a fight. He will then use Mage Hand to knock over something on one of the group members in such a way that it appears to have been done by another member of the group.