The inn

Jorella rode to the inn, awkwardly climbing off her horse.

A shabby looking young man with shoulder-length hair and five o'clock shadow approaches her, with a tired expression on his face and has hand out.

"Oooh, valet parking!" Jorella says, fishing a gold coin out of her pouch and tossing it to the man. "Give my horse the best birth in the stable," she declares as she hands him the reins.

The beggar blinks without saying a word, pocketing the coin and riding off with his new horse the moment the naïve merchant walks away.

Jorella climbs the steps to the inn, smiling as a woman sitting on the porch stands and greets her.

"Hello there! Great to see you!" Says Linny the thief as she walks up to Jorella and firmly grasps her hand. "It's so good to see you made it without any trouble!" She declares as she shakes Jorella's hand, casually sliding the gold rings off the merchants fingers.

Linny is a scrawny human woman with shoulder-length red hair. She's dressed in rags but has very nice boots, and couldn't be more than 20. She rolls with three other thieves, all of whom are inconspicuously watching their leader work her magic.

Jorella, being originally from a small farming community herself, mistakes Linny's sizing her up for small-town friendliness. She smiles and keeps shaking her hand, failing to realize the thief is now plucking the gold buttons from her coat.

"Hi there! Are you the proprietor of this inn?" Jorella asks, failing to notice her coat will no longer close.

"No, I'm just an unofficial part of the town's welcoming committee," Linny says with a smile as she shakes Jorella's diamond bracelet off the merchant's wrist and onto her own arm. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other in the coming days."

The thief lets go of Jorella's hand and quickly walks past her, gently patting her on the side as she lifts the silver pocketbook out of the merchant's coat. She then casually flick's Jorella's wide-brimmed hat off the merchant's head onto her own and walks away, several thousand gold richer.

"Take care!" Jorella says with a smile as she unintentionally waves goodbye to her possessions, her coat now flapping in the breeze as the wind tussles her newly uncovered hair.

"Nice people here," Jorella says as she steps inside the inn.