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The Year 1491 DR, 3rd of Marpenoth (October), Morning, Cool & Windy...
The wind off the Chionthar river is almost cold enough to make a man see his breath. Except for Yarl, it would be for half a Man...and half an Orc. Cold, late autumn mornings and the winter to come used to bother Yarl, but not anymore. The same can't be said for the common folk of Rivington, or the uncommon folk like his gang, the Rivington Rats. Especially for "Crying" Cyrus who pulled gate duty with him this morning. The pimple-faced teenager hasn't stopped whining since they left the Den this morning.
Yarl ignores him as best he can. He doesn't mind gate duty; gives him a chance to see new arrivals first hand and when he reports on a potential score, well, he likes the feeling of importance.
His mind is on other things this day...he has a meeting today at noon with "Straightstick", the kingpin of the Twin Songs Faithless. He's nervous...and rightly so!
His mind is snapped back to his duties by the braying of a mule about 50 yards away. The sun's glare prevents Yarl from clearly seeing the figure riding ahead of the mule, or the figures behind. Yarl sighs deeply, looks across the road at Cyrus who has shut up long enough to nibble some cheese.
Just like a good rat should.
The thought makes Yarl chuckle as he watches the figures get closer...

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Alright, Yarl is up and ready! Go ahead and post Doug...this thread is eventually going to include Holen, and the trio arriving from Candlekeep.

Thinking about the meeting later today and all the ways things could go wrong has left Yarl feeling restless. Even carving into his club isn't as enjoyable as usual. With the imminent arrival of opportunity Yarl stops carving and returns the knife into its sheath. He kicks away and wood shavings that dropped by him.
Hey you fucking rat. Put that gods damned shit away. Someones comin'. as he motions with his head towards whoever is arriving.

The tension of the upcoming meeting has Yarl ready to hit something.

Hey you fucking rat. Put that gods damned shit away. Someones comin'. as he motions with his head towards whoever is arriving.

"Easy now, Blacktongue. No need to get nasty!" whines Cyrus in reply, brushing crumbles of cheese from a ragged and filthy red bandana he wears around his neck. Cyrus squints and looks as a woman approaches riding a mare pony and pulling a mule. He looks over at Yarl, and catching the Half-Orc's eye, he shakes his head and frowns in disgust.

The woman approaching is a wrinkled old hag, leaving the 'rats' with doubt as to whether she may have anything of value.
She halts a few yards before the entrance proper to the town and hollers with a deep growl, "Gatekeeper! Host of Rivington! I bid you allow entrance to an old woman to the city! I have trade to make with the merchantage of your fair city!"

Yarl glances over at Cyrus who just shrugs and looks back toward the hag. Behind her, a trio approaches, one of which looks like a...cat! But it is the hag that intrigues Yarl. He gives her a hard look... Passive Perception for Yarl (13): [1d20] = 18 ... and raises an eyebrow in surprise.
Yarl > Before either can react, two other men step forward > one is an older fellow who walks with a short staff and limps slightly; the other wears ringmail over boiled leather and carries a spear along with a hand-axe and a long knife at his belt. Yarl and Cyrus knows both quite well: the older man is the speaker for the town, Otto Shramm, a kindly enough fellow. The other is a merc named Varn, a grim man with no humor. Some say he is an ex-Flaming Fist veteran, but Yarl knows him as a mean sonuvabitch who boldly claims to be "an expert rat catcher" to anyone who will listen...or buy him drinks.
The Speaker waves at the old hag and says, "Enter and find rest from your journey. Rivington is open to any who come to trade."

Fucking Varm.. Yarl mumbles and spits on the ground. He'd love to bash the old merc's head into mush but he isn't sure he wants the heat right now. He keeps his eyes on the hag and says to Cyrus You shadow the threesome, if they split pick the easiest mark. I wanna see about the hag. He doesn't say anything about something seeming off. Its probably nothing anyway. Ummm if she is here to trade maybe she's got something he says as a lame cover.