There are those amongst the elves whose job it is to maintain the image of the elves in the world of men. Elves are seen by humans as beautiful, incorruptible creatures that live above, separated by right of their birth. Elves are the first people, whose long lives and great natural beauty is a sign that there is good even in the pits of the world. An elf resorting to thievery and trickster's magic doesn't fit that mold well. This is where the Witch Hunters come in.
Among the massive Elven city of Sinome, the Librum is an impossibly large repository of knowledge, the likes of which can be found nowhere else in the world. Small, lithe female elves run between the shelves, acquiring books and scrolls for patrons. Their only spare time is the moments when no one has need of them. These are the Librarians.
"A bazaar. That's what it is." Leheros' contact had insisted on it. This was the largest gathering to purchase things within a hundred miles, and it happened once every ten to fifteen weeks.
The contact had been unsure if Leheros would be able to find his target, but he needn't have been. This "bazaar" was barely a market at all. Leheros had trained picking single targets out of the massive bazaar that ran all year in Sinome. This place offered no challenge.
The hedge wizard that was marked by the Aelvenaan Grand Council bustled quietly about the market square. He used a slight of hand trick here and a simple cantrip there to acquire things from people. It disgusted Leheros to see a mage resorting to wasting his talents on thievery. Flexing the muscles in his right arm, Leheros felt the runes tattooed into his flesh light up, disguising his presence from his quarry. He gently rubbed the handle of his blade, feeling the tiny hole that he filled with poisons.
The little man seemed to get nervous, glancing around and hurrying off. Leheros followed silently from a small distance. He narrowed the gap between them until the man turned down a side street. Leheros watched from the corner of his eye as the man hurried through the few people. Enough to be witnesses, but few enough that a follower would look suspicious. Leheros was far too good a hunter for that. He waited for the next corner, and rounded it . He walked with a group of people all in cloaks, still quietly catching up to his target.
Next the hedge wizard began stopping every few feet, trying to figure out which of those nearby was actually following him. Leheros had to turn away for the moment, only ten feet from his target. He followed the group of men around the corner, glamoured himself into garb similar to a passing group of women, and turned to get closer to his oh so wary target.
Wary until heavy breasts and milky thighs came by, that is. When the ladies came near, the little man became a regular Lothario. He took a handful of an ass as he passed. And it was his undoing. As he grabbed the woman, grinning the whole time, Leheros pulled his blade and used it to nick the man's palm, all the while pretending to take an interest in him and acting like he was happy to accept being felt up.
Leheros calmly walked the man over to a bench, pretending he was drunk and that was the reason for his inappropriate behavior. On the bench, he sat next to the man and dispelled his glamour.
"You knew this would come, yes?"
The man next to him leaned against the wall, unable to answer. The mage-bane poison in his blood had closed his jaw tighter than tetanus.
"You knew. You all know. The Council does not ask much of you mages. It is not so much to ask that you make an honest living, is it? So now, we shall return to Sinome. Or, if you would rather, I could end your life now. You know what awaits you in Sinome, yes?"
The terror in the man's eyes intensified as the thought crossed his mind. He shed a silent tear and blinked hard.
"I need to make sure. Blink twice for yes, and thrice for no."
The man's eyes fluttered twice, and then remained closed for a few moments. He opened his eyes to see Leheros kneeling before him.
"May you find peace in the next world." Leheros bid the man a last hope, then took a strip, paper thin, from his pouch. As the strip slid through the man's lips, it began to dissolve. A deep, floral taste. An irresistible urge to sleep, and the hedge wizard breathed his last.
Leheros stood from the bench and laid the man down on his stomach. A quick glamour disguised Leheros face just enough, and he crossed the street to a shop owner.