Scrate regards Possum with a squint through his spectacles, crinkling his nose. "No, I should think my reputation does not precede me. I am an honest businessman. Emphasis on honest. People come to me because they know that I can provide them with whatever they may need--an exotic stinkflower for a ritual, the essence of an innocent's cry, a fresh corpse for necromancy--in the strictest confidence, and without fail."
He turns to Karl with a wink, punctuating his argument with, "That way, I can make my fortune as a broker, and never have to run after treasure maps."
Scrate leans back in his seat, fingers twitching in the air like antennae. "As for my fee, such a service typically runs two thousand gold pieces." He lets it sink in a moment. "However... I have a client that requires a special service, one with hazard." He turns to Oskar. "Do not worry, it is not evil, nor for evil purposes--you aren't the first paladin I've done business with."
He huddles in, close to the candle. His fingers seem to move with a will of their own, and an image of a blue striped lizard appears, sparks of lightning coruscating across its form. "This particular client wishes to bind a shocker lizard to his service as a familiar. If you would be willing to capture a living specimen and return it to me, I will have your translation available for you. Some can be found in the coastal wetlands just outside of town. Do we have a deal?"
