Proper way to get the full Hommlet traders quest

Right now, I've completed the part of the quest where you speak with Burne > go to the Laborer's Camp > do the skill check to learn about the traders > go back to Burne and reveal their identity. This was a long time ago at level 1, now I'm level 4, and I still have access to their shop, while both quests are still incomplete (purple in the logbook). That's because, 1), I never came back to talk to them and gloat about blowing their cover (which completes Traders Revealed) and 2), I never got the skill check with the courier in the barn until now.

I'd like to experience the full quest, but as of right now:
- if I pass the skill check with the courier in the burn and go talk to the traders and tell them I know of their connection with the temple, it concludes The Trader's Courier quest. I get the choice between gold, a magical weapon and the ToEE location (which they won't provide, don't know if another skill check is provided). They are still amicable and keep access to their shop, however this makes Traders Revealed forever pending as the option to blackmail them has disappeared (the only options are bartering and "just checking you weren't up to no good again").
- if I complete Traders Revealed first (by skipping the courier and blackmailing them) they cut off contact completely, making bartering impossible. I can go to the courier right after and pass the skill check to complete The Trader's Courier too, but I can never go back to the traders and face them as they won't talk to me (not that it matters much as the Temple location option doesn't actually give anything, the other two make my Paladin fallen).

I played around with the quest a bit and I think I've found the right steps to do the full quest (reminder: right now I can still talk and barter with them no problem):
1) Sell Lareth's boots
2) Face the traders and black mail them. This concludes Traders Revealed and closes their shop.
3) Go pass the skill check with the courier to complete The Traders' Courier quest as well
4) Wait one day
5) Travel to Nulb
6) Trigger the Assassin's waylay, kill him and loot the note to add the Temple to the map
7) Go back to Hommlet, speak with the traders and show the letter, attack them and let at least one of them flee
8) Finish the quest in Nulb (don't remember the details, but it should be an ambush inside the house you can buy

Is this correct?

 

I do the construction site, report to Burne, then the courier, then blackmail for a magic item. When I am ready to face the Assassin, I sell Lareth's boots to the traders. After killing the Assassin, report to Burne (retribution quest). Buy a house in Nulb, eventually get ambushed there. Killing the traders then completes the retribution quest. Never have a problem when I more or less follow that sequence. The exact order can vary a bit.

 

Doesn't that leave Traders Revealed incomplete though, as you never blackmail the traders? Not that I think it matters as it's just changing color in the logbook by that point. Thanks for the contribution, in both way the quest progression is very similar

 

You can blackmail the traders after talking to the Courier.

 

Sorry by blackmail I meant the options for Traders Revealed, not the other quests.
Put it simply:
- Traders Revealed's blackmail is the one where you tell them you found their spy in the laborer's camp. You can extort them money, tell them you are gonna tell/already told Burne, or make the unreasonable request of having everything for free. They close shop after that
- The Traders' Courier's blackmail is the one where you get to choose between money, the magical shortsword or location of the ToEE.
You can do blackmail 2 after 1, but not the other way around, if you do blackmail 2 first you will never be able to resolve blackmail 1 and the Traders Revealed quest will be forever pending

 

Now that I think about is, what does the ambush consist of, more or less? Are there enough enemies and loot to make it worth it to let one trader escape? I'm thinking about maybe just killing them both and be done with it, which will also net a bit more exp and loot now. I don't want to give up a good combat encounter later though, but I can't find any information about the battle itself

 

You have a Sorceress, a priest, one or both traders if you just forced them to flee, if you did not trigger the Assassin then he will be there, a VERY nasty barbarian, a thug leader and a couple of thugs. the loot includes several Masterwork Items including a spiked chain,sling, and other items. a party of 5 lvl 6 can get a nice batch of xp

 

The Nulb house ambush is one of the most fun and challenging fights in the game (unless you put it off until you are lvl 8+ or something.)

 

It's definitely challenging, at least every time I've done it...

 

This is a perfect example of an understatement.

 

Before this thread, I didn't realize I could blackmail the Traders twice: once after the construction site, and once after the Courier. I was only aware of the blackmail after talking to the Courier. So thanks to the OP. I can now squeeze a little extra cash and XP out of Hommlet.