Just a thought, but if we send two characters to the merchants and one of them happens to tip off the guards, that would set it up nicely for all sorts of wonderful hijinkery. They could get separated and one could get caught by the guards and the other by the bad guys (my favorite outcome, I'm all for that sort of delicious borderline irony) or they could both be found by the bad guys or something suitably awesome, and meanwhile the two back at the inn would be going WTF and could wander off and get involved in trouble of their own and it would be fun times all around.
...that's my thought. Opinions? I'm next, so I want to hear them before I start formulating.
