Shautha seems displeased by the ''patchwork'' feel of the area.

"In the case of a storm with strong winds like the one whe felt coming here, this all gonna go flying..." She grumbles, low enough for only her companions to hear.

(I absolutely love the way you had the Aarakocra speak! Just wanted to point that out.)

Ylnira thanked the Aarakocra and its comrades as they fly away, wishing them good luck in their ventures. Hopefully they listen to reason. Those cultists looked powerful. Regardless, she settled down to keep watch. The plains were certainly eventful, that was for sure. "When we reach Womford, I don't intend to cause any trouble with how the city is run. Their leaders are their own. I am more concerned with the rumors of robbery and ships disappearing upstream a river. I suspect the water cult may be responsible." 

Ylnira's unusually brisk pace brings her towards the clearly insufficient guard watching the gate, preferring to speak with someone clearly already unoccupied than bother a passerby at random. She supposes the dwarf's words may be true. Incapable leadership usually trickles down to poor organization. "Hail, guard of Womford. We are travelers in the region looking for accommodation." A short pause. "Is the town sufficiently defended? The area seems to be quite...full of interesting travelers, and I don't seem to see many reinforcements," she idly comments, hinting at the relatively relaxed demeanor of the one guard she sees.

As they approach, Ulric nods and says, "I agree with Yrnila. If we learn later that the leaders of the town are part of the plot we were tasked with unraveling, we can deal with them then."

Ulric stands a bit off from the group as Yrnila talks to the guard. Turning his head slightly, he whispers something to the familiar atop his shoulder. Cyrin spreads her wings and takes to the air. She flies over the small settlement and searches for anything that seems out of place or interesting as Ulric watches through her eyes.

Scouting out the town.

The man looks up when he's hailed, though he had been watching the group before, his attention was now fully on them, though he made no move to get up, instead, pulling out an apple, and starting to skin it with the dagger that had been at his belt before. He seemed almost amused at Yin's greeting, waitign for her to get close enough that he wouldn't have to shout, before informing her that I ain't no guard, sheila. Ha hehe ha ha. I'm just a poor ol' peddlah down on me luck. We don't 'ave no guards 'ere cause we don't need no guards 'ere No one'd 'tack this place. But if you're needin' a room sheila, I s'pose I could bugger up enough coin for us to share one, y'know what I'm sayin? I'll shag yer orc friend too if she's up fer it. he says, smirking a wide, dirty grin, with only most of his teeth still there, despite how young he was (estimating mid twenties) as he pats his crotch with quite literally no shame despite the group in front of them. Or I could tell ye where to go if you aint feelin' frisky, for.. oh... fouhty gold. What'dya say?

Above all of this nonsense, Cyrin flies high. The 'town' itself isn't that large. It's effectively a large village, that happens to have walls. There aren't many people milling about, some of them look like rogues,w while a few look like legitimate business men, while others look like some fusion of the two. There are a few who seem like fighters, or even upper class but they're few and far between. But everyone in the town seems to be carrying a dagger, if not more. Most of the ramshackle repairs seem to have been done recently, likely the buildings here didn't fare as well as those of Redlarch - though how they got so many repairs done in so little time eludes you. The busiest place, as to be expected, is what is likely the Inn the place is named after, the Bargewright Inn.

From the sky, Cyrin can even just see Womford across the river, as well as the massive stone bridge crossing it. The river itself was several miles wide, making the bridge the only reasonable way to travel by land. And parts of the bridge would be visible to the group if they managed to see past the buildings and over the walls in some angles. Regardless, Cyrin can see that Womford, as the party was told, has miles of wheat farms making the land look as a modern day farm from an airplane.

Shautha hears and sees the man's improper behavior and suddenly laughs on his face. "Nice joke fella..." She says still laughing, but her expression quickly turns serious as she continues the phrase. "...now tell us where to find an actual guard, or anyone worth talkin' to. We got no time to waste talkin' with a pig."

If the man tries anything funny or keeps up just making sexual comments at them, she mutters something under her breath and the apple he is holding suddenly sprouts tiny weeds, fungus and liches all over it. (Druidcraft) "Quit the funny talk and answer the questions, or points us to someone who can answer them. If not, then that..." She points at the rotten apple. "...it's gonna be your tiny dick next."

"Of course. A town like this - everyone probably knows how to fight," Ylnira thinks to herself, before the words of the man before her sparked a few distasteful thoughts to appear in her own - and another - mind. Ylnira's face remains ever-neutral, but her tone is slightly more curt and concise than normal. "No," she simply responds, shaking her head. "And I advise you to cease harassing random travelers." She waits for Shautha's words to be answered, gaining some respect for the Half-Orc in the process, although she wouldn't expect anyone else to react in a different manner. "And I wonder what he'd think of me," the decidedly male voice chimes in with no small amount of laughter. 

Ulf stares at the man for a moment, disgust plain on his face, "Down on your luck you say? More likely a response to your natural charm."

He moves a little further into the town then waits for any of his companions who continue to speak with the man.

As Shautha speaks, he has taken at-least one bite out of his apple and is chewing it with little if any grace as he shifted his feet around to remain comfortable. When she had finished, he began laughing uncontrollably, spittling out pieced of apple yet to be swallowed. Oh Ahahaha ah ah ahahaha haha ha ahah ah ! OI! That's th' best joke 've 'eard in a while. An ORC callin' someoen else a PIG! he was almost literally rolling in the ground as his laughter for another moment before Yin breaks in to the conversation where after a few more aftershocks of laughter he managed a retort to Yin as well An' I'll be harassin whoever I damn well please, slut. Especially when they approached  me first. At which point Ulf verbally steps in himself; drawing a smirk from the man.

At which point the man says Well if you won't be spreadin' yer legs, then I ain't got no business with you, sheila. So get you useless arse movin' inside. You need to know somethin, then bother the people in the inn ya dumbarses. And stop botherin the less fortunate. ya aint blind are ya? Go to the big arse building in the center o' town 'fore I decide to kick yer arses.

Ulric returns to his senses and blinks for a moment as he adjusts. Hearing what the man said, he scowls and says, "Do you know anything about the bandits along the river you could tell us. I could give you a few gold if you did."

He reaches into his money pouch and pulls out three gold that he rubs together tantalizingly. Ulric watches the man's body language closely, seeing if there is any deception happening if the man chooses to speak.

Seeing if the man lies in any way.

Not wanting to waste any more of her time and energy on the "pig", Shautha patiently waits for the group to start moving but not bothering to keep talking to the man any longer. To her, such an idiotic individual was so below her than speaking to him would ultimately be just a waste of time.

"People like that should be killed, you know."
Ylnira doesn't respond. Whether she agrees or not is unclear. 
"You listening to me?"
"Shut up, I'm trying to deal with one idiot. I don't need another."

Ylnira folds her arms, giving the man a stern, judgmental look with cool, calm eyes. She was tempted to reply, but something tells her the man would enjoy any apparent irritation she would show. She silently follows Shautha and Ulf through the gates - Ulric likely would earn an honest answer with significantly less trouble than she would. 

The others press on, while Ulric stays behind. 

As they press forward, despite the ramshackle look of most of the buildings, the closer to the center of the 'town' you get, the better the buildings begin to appear.

The book doesn't give any real description so I will be winging this.

The inner walls look far superior to the outer walls are inferior to the inner walls though not by much. Once past the 'gate' itself, which was really more of an intentional 'gap' in the wall as it had proper crenelations and a circular 'tower-like' shape, though it lacked any actual tower. Just to the south-east of the second gate, as the hill starts to rise, surrounded by a few buildings that looked like shack-housing surrounding what look like stalls, very likely a small, market area though not many people were there, it was bustling with the few whom were.

From there, the hill continues to rise till it reaches the second gate, before leading to the most magnificent building in the area: The Inn.  Despite it's grandeur compared to the rest of the town, it still lacked something that couldn't quite be described making it no more special than any other inn in terms of appearance. 

Back with Ulric, the man watches the others go on their way as he spits at the ground they had been standing on, before his eye catches the glint of gold, and a smile crosses his face. Finally, a bloke who can speak me language. You seem more intelligent than your friends. Make it five gold and I'll give ye a hint. Gimme seven, and I'll spill me guts.... Figuratively. Or do ye got the employee discount? A white snake slithers across the mans neck before disappearing back into his shirt. If so, i'll settle fer four.

Since the snakes out of the bag anyway, Ulric would recognize the snake as a symbol of of the Zhentarim, especially if the winged snake is alive.

((Sorry, my internet decided it needed a break for a day))

Seeing the symbol of the Zhentarim, Ulric visibly relaxes slightly. If he has one, he will show the man his symbol of the Zhentarim. He then fishes out one more coin and hands a total of four to him. Looking around to make sure that no one is close enough to eavesdrop, he says quietly, adopting a slight version of the man's accent, "What'cha got for me?"

Ulf looks at the inn with mixed feelings. After the strange nighttime occurrences recently, being somewhere "normal" draws him, but ordinarily the noise and bustle of inns usually puts him on edge. He glances back at Ulric as he converses with the odious peddler. It does not seem he could get into trouble, but these are strange times...

"Someone should keep an eye on the Zhent" he says, pausing. "If you all want to go to the inn, I can wait here."

With that, he moves off the main road and into the shadows, disappearing from view.

Those two are probably made for each other..., he thinks as he continues to watch. ...and he might learn something useful. Everybody has a place in the grand balance, though the Zhents would prefer no balance at all.

While Ulric doesn't posses a symbol yet for 'certain reasons' he was taught a bit of thieves cant to indicate his 'role.' and once the man see's it, he agree's to the price, pocketing the four gold after biting each piece, just in case. Once safely secured, the man looks up and all of his prior demeanor is gone, and is replaced with deadly certainty as he gets close enough to whisper. I see. I see. part o' yer nition. Well we have quite a lot o' reports. Nothin' solid, but we believe it's one of them damned cults. Dunno whut th' cults are call'n themselves but they been raidin all over the damned valley. And most of them got powerful magik 'hind em.  We don't know what they want.. never seen a group o' mages act like e'ry day bandits...

Some are more willin' to talk than others, even trade with ya but they don't tell ya shit unless y'er willin to join em. And it seems like there's atl-east four of em if not more - cults, I mean. But they been effectin uh.. 'trade'  all over, and ****in up our operations. We're about to call for some backup from Watersdeep.. in fact y'may wunna go to the Inn n' speak to Nalaskur there. Might be able to use ya, and it will earn ya 'extra credit' towards your nition. Up to you tho'. 

As for the else, we know that the most recent attacks are takin' place north o' here. It's effectin' Womford as well. But when we tried the trade route along the road instead... our 'peddler' were waylaid as well. So it aint just th' river mate. 

But if you help with one of our two issues, I'm sure our mutual friends will look more highly upon ye. If I learn anythin' else 'afore you leave, I'll let you know fer an extra gold then. Either way, ye should catch up to yer friends, 'afore they think you n' I will be sharin' a room eh?

Leaving Ulric to speak to that man, Shautha lets her gaze wander to the place around her, trying to catch anything interesting: A sound, a fragment of an overheard conversation, a carving on a wall... She prefers wilderness to civilization, but she can still appreciate somewhat some buildings if they pick her curiosity.

She particularly sets her eyes on the Inn, looking over to the place she'd rather go to instead of just standing here while the shady man talks. 

 Ylnira shrugs her shoulders, remaining indifferent in response to the man's implications. She didn't care for dealing with someone so suggestive - if Ulric could stand to speak with him, that spoke towards his character and those he associates with. "You seem more suited for that role if remaining unseen is preferable," Ylnira responds to Ulf, raising an eyebrow at his ability to simply disappear. "You'll have to act as if he's always watching,"  the voice calls. Ylnira agrees. "And I consider my insight an equal match for his ability to lie. I will be within the inn." 

She watches Ulf disappear before swiveling around and walking through the town. If a medical facility or any sort of clinic seems to exist, Ylnira will approach and offer her services. Regardless, she quickly decides to return to the mentioned inn. Ylnira had enough of camping in the wilderness - she much preferred the comforts civilization offered. Society, too, even if the average passerby in this town looked as if they would plant a dagger in her back for a small price. Wherever Ylnira takes herself to, she curiously listens for any gossip or talk about situations involving the aforementioned situation at the river, cults, weather, or anything related to her interests.

Most of the city is silent, but every so often Shautha can piece out a conversation about one thing or another such as: grumblings about how trade has been all but halted entirely and it was costing this person or that money, how 'the boss' was looking to head out. There were also more normal conversations such as annoyance, or fear of the events that had happened recently (the high winds, earthquakes, etc) a few talking about the 'pompous nobles' at Feathergale Spire, and such, but no particular conversation seems overly interesting outside.

Heading towards, and eventually into the inn after about a minutes walk, the interior is well kept in terms of cleanliness, however it looked like much of it was in disrepair, or jury-rigged to function. It was a surprise the place looked as well as it did given the other days events. Inside more conversatins could be heard but they get cut through as a half-eld man at the bar greet's Shautha. Welcome! Welcome! Can I get you anything? Some hard liquor, a fine ale, some jerky? All are welcome at the Bargewright inn, even if they are orcs! a rousing round of laughter rung up from around her at his comment, and all eyes were on her though unlike before, there was no fear. Everyone was watching to see how she would react.

Yin takes a more circuitous route through the town, not that there was much of it to be had. The town itself was fairly simple: there were the outer and inner walls, that seemed to have small areas for people who couldn't afford the Inn to camp out, or setup shop at. Most of the rest of the buildings were residential with a few seeming to be nondescript businesses, such as 'notary services' and the like, but none of the usual like a blacksmith, or a tannery. The Inn itself, and a stables just outside it, for those with mounts.

No medical related buildings seem to exist here so either they're centralized somewhere she can't see, or someone bleeding out would do better to hope they live long enough to make it to Redlarch. But Yin's ears are far more open than Shautha's were, though her taking 'the long way' may also have helped as she overhears three men talking behind some houses, just off the main path down an alley I just found out from the boss a few minutes ago, they found a camp somewhat up river whats been doing all the pillaging on the boats. Grabbin whoever uses it, killin em, taking what they want, and tossing the rest back into the flow to be found.  They also mention a more specific location than has thus-far been noted such as 'along the river' 'north' etc, and if Yin could just get a look at the map they were given for a few minutes, she may be able to find it within a few hundred feet of it's exact location.

With Ulf, he manages to meld into the shadows fairly well given his 'nature' though a few eyes do pick him out, they watch him only long enough to make sure he isn't after them before ignoring him entirely. Ulric and the Zhent gate man are unaware entirely, and Ulf hears most of what is said to his ally.

Ulric nods and asks for a quick description of Nalaskur before he looks around carefully once more to make sure was too close to overhear what they conversed about before he passes through the gate. He looks around and hopes to see his group members amongst the crowd, but they were most likely long gone. If he sees none of them, he makes his way to the Inn, his mind already racing with plans and ideas. Maybe having my cover blown will be beneficial in the long run. This way, maybe now I might be able to gain their trust more readily.

The man at the gate clearly hadn't heard the new news, so hopefully Ulric would understand when further information is revealed. Once the question is asked, the man tells him that Nalaskur is a man, half-elf. Somhow balding despite his age, and has an eyepatch over his right eye, but otherwise looks like a typical tavernkeeper. Runs the inn itself but is one of the two leaders of the Zhentarim within the city, and is the man 'with the job' if Ulric is interested in 'extra credit'