The last patches of snow finish melting away as winter fades away into the damp fog of spring. The once frost covered features of waterdeep are now blanketed by an oppressive mist that seems to penetrate even the thickest of clothing, keeping many of the citizens from enjoying the warming temperatures. The roads are slick with dew and the sounds of the bustling city are muffled behind the grey shroud that prevents even the keenest eyed wanderer from seeing more than a dozen feet in front of themselves. As morning turns to mid day, the fuzzy orange orb in the sky slowly burns away the worst of the fog while a few birds sing a song from the nearby rooftops. A light haze continues to loom however up until the point where the afternoon brings a new tide of fog to blanket the city once again...

It is around noon in the castle ward, and the Yawning portal is already teeming with life. The inn is a stone building with a slate roof sends beams of dancing light piercing out into the mist through its many windows.  Several chimneys billow smoke into the sky and promise warmth within the sturdy walls of the rambunctious inn. Although not nearly as busy as it is in the evening, lunch time is still a chaotic time for the yawning portal. Many city workers and would-be-adventurers stop in for a bite to eat, or just to relax and enjoy themselves with a pint of ale. Others however try to accomplish an entire evenings worth of entertainment in just an hour before heading out to continue their day...

As the individuals make their was inside the Yawing Portal they are greeted by a few familiar and interesting faces (That you may choose to know or not)

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Please introduce and describe your characters as they make their way to the Yawning Portal. if you want to do a short prolog that is fine. 

Seated at a table taking up much of the space is one of the largest Tabaxi you’ve probably ever seen.  His silver white fur covered in dark rosettes and spots where you can see it sticking out from his sleeveless black leather vest.  He is gregariously enjoying his lunch with a tankard of ale and passing along greetings to other patrons that walk by and know him.  Occasionally he will break out in song with his deep baritone voice in tune with whatever Threestrings is playing at the time.

“But everybody loves a drinkin' song
To get you goin' when the week's been long
It goes good with a drink too strong
A glass raised every time it comes on
And everybody in the partyin' crowd
Yeah, they gonna wanna sing it loud
Even if you get the words all wrong
Everybody loves a drinkin' song, that's right”

This is one of the local bounty hunters named The planet laughs in Flowers, or to his friends, simply as Flowers.  A barbarian from the north, not from Chult like many of his kin, he is the last of his tribe, and came to Waterdeep to make a living one of the few ways he knows how, hunting.  Now instead of elk across the tundra of the Spine of the World, he uses his skills to hunt down people.

Marla walks into the inn, eyes almost flinching to the sides as she checks for any immediate dangers. The most immediately noticeable thing about her is the raven, large even for its kind, sat on her shoulder.
She's wearing a deep red dress, with ornately embroidered runes in gold, covered for the most part by a dark blue hooded cloak.
She steps over to the bar, giving Bonnie a tired, but genuine, smile - you'd guess they know each other. Bonnie nods over to an empty table in the corner, with a good view of the door and two chairs facing each other.

Marla slips Bonnie some coins for a glass of white wine (the especially observant might notice her over-paying), and she heads over to the table. Her raven hops onto the back of the chair furthest from the door, casting its gaze across the room like a sentry, and Marla places her wine glass down and removes her cloak, draping it across her lap like a blanket as she sits. She flicks back her shoulder-length auburn hair, and draws out a tarot deck from somewhere and starts to shuffle the deck, mostly intent on the deck, which glimmers with an arcane light as she handles it. On occasion her cold blue eyes sweep the room, alert for potential clients.

A toothless old man spills a bit of beer as he moves across the large common room and claps the large tabaxi on the shoulder. "Sing it again!" the patron slurs with a grin and a hiccup. When Marla walks in through the doors he would stop and give her a ornery wide grin. The man would quickly move to pat down a few unruly dirty hairs before making his way towards Marla as she sets up shop in the corner. He would wait until Bonnie pockets her coin and leaves before sitting down at the table. "Those cards say if you'll let me buy you a drink today?" Old man Carl would ask with a wink. Anyone who frequents the Yawning portal would be familiar with the mischievous old man that hardly ever leaves the inn. The harmless old man then reaches his shaky withered hand into a pocket inside of his vest and places a battered flower on the table. "I picked that for ya this morning". He would say before leaning back in the chair. In the meantime Bonnie would swing and move towards Flowers. "Can I get you another round?" She would ask with a tired smile. 

Ilmater teaches that suffering is the greatest evil that can be inflicted on another.

Ilmater teaches that suffering should be alleviated wherever we can.

Ilmater teaches that when suffering cannot be eliminated, we should take it onto ourselves so that others need not feel it.

Ilmater teaches that it is the noblest of choices to suffer so that others do not.

Ilmater offers succor to the suffering, release when it is too much, and eternal rest for those who die so others might live.

Ilmater has guided me down this path, to this dark, dark place where I can hardly see the next day.

But I can still hear his voice, and see his light, guiding me onwards.

Guiding me.

 Alexa slips into the Yawning Portal quietly, as always endeavoring draw minimal attention to herself. She prefers being a quiet, steady presence to garnering unneeded attention. The dark skinned woman's caramel eyes scan the tavern, looking for someone before she seems to accept that they aren't here...yet. Alexa heads for a table, giving Jalester a smile and a nod on the way before sitting down. She asks Bonnie for a glass of wine, handing her the coins and then settling in to watch the tavern with a content look on her face.

Alexa's dark hair is usually held back from her face in a tight braid so as not to get in her way, but tonight it's loose, falling around her shoulders. She wears chain mail with the symbol of Ilmater emblazoned on her chest, but her most striking feature is the gold choker (or perhaps collar?) around her neck, which looks like some kind of ancient artifact, glass chambers holding some sort of glowing blue...something.

Anyone who spent a decent quantity of time among the poorer population of Waterdeep in the last five to seven years knows Alexa is from the temple of Ilmater and works extensively with the less fortunate. And unless they've seen her in the last two weeks, they've never seen that choker on her before.

Jalester would hold up his mug and nod towards Alexa as she walked past. "Must be going somewhere nice after this to be all dressed up like that." He would say casually as his eyes move from her expensive neckless up to her own. He would then take another drink from his mug, not really expecting any kind of reply in return. 

The Yawning Portal. I've heard good things about this tavern. Let's see if it holds up.

A young woman in black and white clothing enters the tavern. She's wearing black and white clothing and casually surveys the room, taking a look at the patrons of the Yawning Portal. Her eyes stop when she spies Alexa. Well she's just lovely. Perhaps she can show me around town later. She delays on introducing herself to the Cleric though, instead opting to flag down Bonnie in an effort to get a drink and something to eat.

Marla smiles briefly at Carl, plucking up the flower and tucking it behind her ear. ‘Thank you for the flower, but you know I always buy my own drinks Carl.’ she says easily, her voice seeming more relaxed than the initial concerned look around the inn would have suggested.. ‘I’ll give you a free reading though, before you let me deal with some paying customers...’ she starts dealing the cards, turning them over with practiced ease. ‘Five of cups tells me you”ve started drinking too early again, hmm, but what’s this..? Death reversed tells me you won’t be changing any time soon, and ...’

She notes Alexa arrive, and would probably mark the choker, but she’s too focussed on giving Carl his reading so she can acquire a paying customer to investigate further just now.

Flowers laughs and smiles at Old Man Carl as he passes and launches in to another chorus

"If you're sittin' on a broken heart
A-tippin' back on what's been torn apart
Crank it up for the whole room
Gettin' down like some old blues
And if you're mixin' misery with gin
Or gettin' high with some low friends
Every time the night's about to end
Or you're whiskey bent
All you gotta do is turn it on"

When Bonnie stops by his table, Flowers will look at her and smile gently at her "Ah dear sweet Bonnie, perhaps you need some time off, you sound tired." and he'll tuck a gold in to her apron pocket.

Bonnie smiles brightly towards the tabaxi before wiping her brow with her the skirt of her apron. "Thank you Flowers" Bonnie would reply. "Time off means less coin though.. you know how it is." She would say with a genuine smile as she gives him a wink from one of her tired eyes. She would then move from the tabaxi to dark skinned cleric and quickly take her order. She would smile and let out a small sigh as she hands the woman her order before turning towards the doors. When the next woman walked in, Bonnie would quickly move to her table and offer a few suggestions for drinks before heading back behind the bar to get something to eat from the kitchen...

It was day time outside, which Jorah hated. He was much more accustomed to the dark and the sun's ray's irritated him so much. He tugged at his fur trimmed hood as he crossed the street to enter the Yawning Portal. He wasn't a daily patron to the place...heck, he wasn't really sure he could even call himself a patron. More often than not, he ordered a single drink or meal to excuse his presence, before sticking to the shadows. Either letting himself read whatever new materials he had stolen liberated, or to eyeball what other adventurers or hunts might be carrying. Plus, unlike other places around town, Duncan didn't take direct issue with the fact that Jorah was a Kobold, though he did still occasionally scare Bonnie when he popped up from nowhere. This time around however, when he entered, he noted an additional number of familiar faces, his gaze flicked towards Yaga, but they settled on the familiar figure of Alexa, who he scampered up to, standing on the chair beside her.

Waving at Duncan and Bonnie, he ordered some watered down honey mead to lap up while he talked to Alexa. "Alexa! Howz arr youz?" He gave a glance at the choker she wore, scowling slightly, but offering a toothy smile to hide his dislike of the story behind the appearance of the choker, "Youz feeling better?" He was happy to see his friend, but he still worried for her and her cult religion. She should be worshipping dragons instead. Dragons didn't tell people to get hurt for others....she was to nice.

Alexa watches the next two enter as she sips her wine, having thanked Bonnie for her drink when the young woman delivers it. She starts keeping an eye on the barmaid, trying to evaluate her physical state and if she's just tired or something is truly wrong.

When Jorah comes in, she smiles at him. "Jorah. Feeling far better, thank you. How are you?"

27 YEARS AGO

The first thing that they noticed was the hair.

It was a typical spring day in the industrial zone of Waterdeep when the child was born. She came into the world like any other typical newborn: crying, bloody, but healthy. Her mother and father were trying to have a child for years, and one fateful day, they were blessed with the birth of a baby girl. As the days wandered into months, they noticed that the infant’s hair was red. There were no redheads in the family. Only this one. They shrugged it off to divine intervention and carried on, naming the baby “Misha”.

The second thing they noticed was her voice.

The baby rarely cried, and when she did, it was soft, and undemanding. She smiled often, and loved her parents, taking every moment to show them she did. When she reached the age of reason and could speak, her parents were perplexed to hear that she had an accent unlike anyone in the family. Her family had lived in Waterdeep for four generations, and no one spoke like their daughter. They shrugged it off to divine intervention and carried on. The child grew.

The third thing they noticed was her strength.

As a young adult in school, she rapidly developed physically in a way that was quite uncommon in other girls her age. Lifting heavy objects seemed easy for her. She ate like a horse and never gained weight, she simply got stronger and stronger. She enjoyed regular exercise happily, and would be seen helping in her parent’s armory at a young age, able to easily wield heavy hammers and carry ore like it was second nature. By the time she was in her late teens, Misha looked like an amazonian warrior – beautiful, lean, and powerfully muscular – as if carved from the steel of the Dwarven Gods. Both of her parents were overweight, and, once again, they chalked it up to divine intervention.

At this point Misha’s parents were one hundred percent convinced there was some divine prank at work here, but it didn’t matter. They loved their daughter with all their heart, and Misha returned that love, was happy and never complained. Obedient to a fault, she was able and willing to help and partake in the family business and helped out for many years, travelling to local towns and cities selling their services. Customers liked her accent, she was very pleasing to look at, and Misha was more than capable to talk about the armor her family made.

TODAY

Ah, a day off. Just a quick drink. Maybe something to eat. 

As Misha strode through the street, she would occasionally wave and nod to someone she knew, and, to her pleasant surprise, someone she didn't know would smile and wave to her. That was a common occurrence she was used to. Strangers seemed to know her, even though she didn't know them.

She pushed the door open to the Yawning Portal. Oh! It was a large crowd this day. She strode in.

Misha was wearing a tight black turtleneck top, some sleek form fitting dark slacks, boots, and a professional leather greatcoat that came all the way down to her ankles. Her hair is tied in a ponytail and is a blaringly red color. She has bright green eyes. She is of average height, and despite being incredibly fit, which is visible even through her clothes, she is shockingly beautiful, walks gracefully, and seems to always be in varying states of happiness. She nudges her way through the crowd to the bar where she sits down and waits to be served patiently.

As Misha sits at the bar, Durnan quickly moves towards her and gives her a nod as he places his large calloused hands on the bar in front of her. "What can I get ya" he would ask before masterfully filling a glass for the red-haired woman to the very rim without spilling a drop. When Bonnie returns from the kitchen with food and drink for the woman in black and white she nearly drops what she is carrying. "Darn it Jorah! Ya can't always be poppin up otta no where!" She would shout as she tries to compose herself after having leapt backwards a couple feet. She would then finish dropping the food and drink off on Jen's table before returning to the Kobold. "Sorry about that jorah, I know ya didn't mean to but you gotta warn a girl before ya start climbing up on chairs."  She would say as she hands him his drink and moves to wait on other patrons.

Alexa gets the impression that Bonnie is just exhausted from work. 

"Ah!" Misha smiled. "Hello, Durnan! Can I try zeh stew tonight? Make eet a double." She then smirked at the glass. "That's perfect. Thank you."

She placed some coin on the table, and began drinking. It was cold, very cold. Just the way she liked it.

Just a quick meal before heading back to work. Business had been good, and her parents were working very hard. Someone had to take over the business one day, and Misha was excited about the prospect.

Yup. Just a quick meal, then i'll head back to the warehouse. 

"You bet Misha" Durnan would reply before disappearing into the kitchen to fetch her a quick bowl of Stew. In a few moments he would return and slide her the equivilent of a mixing bowls worth of stew. "That should be enough to hold off even YOUR apatite... at least for a couple hours." Duncan would add with a smirk before moving down the bar to serve some additional patrons as the lunch rush continues to pick up.

Jen eats the meal that's in front of her and sips on some of the wine that's in her cup. The food is good enough, especially on a day as cold as today, but the wine could be better. She gets up and heads over to the table where Alexa's sitting. "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here? I'm new to the city and you look like a friendly face."

"We shall see, my friend!" she called out to him, and laughed. It was loud, joyous. A laugh unashamed. Like a dwarfs, but coming from a woman. She suddenly stopped, noticing something. "What..no bread??" she teased, and dug in. She ate slowly and very cleanly. Deliberately. As if someone, long ago, had trained her to eat properly, and not like a starving animal. 

Alexa gives Jen a smile. "Not at all. Welcome to Waterdeep. My name is Alexa, what is yours?"