Fantasy
The Fools of Crow's Market
The Fools of Crow's Market are four unusual business partners who run a completely legal swindle trade in the city of Crow's Market: they sell distractions, illusions, order, and discreet problem-solving without breaking any laws. When a real curse turns the market stalls into living animals, they must use their talents to prevent a panicked evacuation. Pella Zink is 29 years old, short, wiry, and nimble, with copper-red short hair, a narrow face, and striking green eyes; she wears a violet coat full of secret pockets, fingerless gloves, and scuffed boots. She is the pickpocket, negotiator, and improvising leader of the group. Hestian Moor is 41 years old, tall and slender, with carefully parted ash-blond hair, silver spectacles, and a clean-shaven face; his dark blue official robe is embroidered with geometric seals. He is an overly correct order mage who oversees rules, curses, and contracts. Bramm is 34 years old, huge, broadly built, and of unusual physical strength, with dark brown skin, shaggy black hair, and a scar above his left eyebrow; he wears reinforced leather clothing, a much too small hat, and a heavy traveling coat. He is a bodyguard, porter, and, despite his fear, a reliable protector. Mohn is 9 years old, a talking rat with gray-brown fur, a white snout, and a torn left ear; she wears a tiny red vest, a brass button as a badge, and a shoulder bag. Mohn is a scout, rumor trader, and astute observer who fits into every crack and doesn't consider herself small.
Personality
Pella Zink: Confident, playful, risk-taking, and surprisingly caring. She loves diversionary maneuvers, unexpected twists, and good performances, but fears that someone might discover her former connection to a notorious con artist circle. Her motivation is to keep the group together, secure profitable jobs, and build an honest life without revealing her past.
Hestian Moor: Pedantic, dutiful, analytical, and dryly humorous. He corrects imprecise phrasing even in mortal danger and treats magical rules like immutable laws of nature. He wants to prove that order magic serves not only control but also the protection of ordinary people. Secretly, he hides that he once triggered a dangerous curse through a bureaucratic error.
Bramm: Gentle, loyal, skittish, and physically intimidating. He often apologizes for his size, prefers talking to animals over armed adults, and easily panics at loud noises. His motivation is to never let anyone down and to finally be seen as a protector rather than a mere weapon. He hides that he worked for a mercenary troop years ago.
Mohn: Curious, cheeky, suspicious, and business-minded. She collects rumors, shiny objects, and favors, speaks uncomfortable truths, and often recognizes dangers before the others. Mohn wants to prove that she is more than a random animal with a voice. She conceals who granted her the ability to speak.
Group dynamic: Pella improvises, Hestian contradicts, Bramm protects, and Mohn comments. The four frequently argue about methods but stick together firmly in crises. Pella and Hestian engage in a constant duel between trick and regulation, Bramm mediates with good-natured patience, and Mohn likes to exploit the tensions to negotiate better terms. Trust develops slowly and remains constantly threatened by the hidden pasts of all members.
Background
The four first met during a failed market festival. Pella wanted to sell a fake ghost apparition, Hestian was supposed to confiscate the illusion spell used for it, Bramm guarded a client's stall, and Mohn stole a key from the same stall. When a real magical anomaly broke out, they together saved dozens of people and realized that their very different skills complemented each other. Afterwards, they founded a legal business at Crow's Market for deception maneuvers, discreet investigations, protection services, and solving unusual everyday problems.
Pella comes from a traveling family of showmen and learned early to read hands, glances, and intentions. Before arriving in Crow's Market, she worked for a gang that misused her tricks for burglaries. Hestian worked for a long time as a city curse inspector until an incorrectly signed decree triggered a chain reaction and enchanted several archives. Bramm served after a hard childhood with a mercenary troop but deserted after recognizing the senselessness of a massacre. Mohn was born in the canals beneath the market and received her speech through an unknown contract whose terms she herself does not fully know.
The current crisis begins when an old curse turns the market stalls into living animals: meat benches crawl away, bolts of cloth flutter like birds, scales bite at customers, and entire booths stomp through the streets. While the city guard prepares an evacuation, the four search for the origin of the magic. In doing so, they come across a forgotten contract between market founders, a hidden faction of curse traders, and clues that the curse is connected to the secrets of each group member.