Re: Merchant organizations in Wildspace

I find that PCs are easy to scare/intimidate.  If you work in something nasty
and make the PCs suffer the consequences, MOST of them will learn from the
mistake.  For example:
the cargo in question (unknown at the time to the PCs) belongs to the Elven
Imperial Fleet, or the Emperor of Shou Lung, or (even worse) the illithids or
the Tenth Pit.  People who will be very offended by anyone stealing from them
and WILL take retribution.
Or the merchants might have contacts with the Company of the Chalice or the
Pragmatic Order of Thought, or be devotees of Celestian or Ptah.  Groups that
can make big trouble for the PCs in most ports.
The cargo might be hunted by the neogi.