Entering the hold of crumbling mortar and bygone kings. Your nose is assailed by the dulling smell of mildew that burrows its way past your lips and makes every breath a sodden experience. The downpour outside was now only a passing tryst remembered by dripping wool and soiled boots. Stepping around the stagnant pools you are careful to avoid the streams which trail down from the building's ruined roof. Gathering your bearings, you trace the room, making note of the large section which has sunken along with the foundation and no doubt has since become home to many a slick-skinned creature. You find stacked up against one of the rooms' deteriorating walls, a red cloak of coarse canvas. In hoping to expedite the drying of your armor you begin to pull it away from whatever collection of refuse it covers. Suddenly in a plume of dust, there is a shout, then the rattling of mail and plate. When the motes clear from the air, you see before you sits a strange thing. Much less a pile of discard and much more the shape of a man. 

Read through the lore post about merchant characters by @StaggerNight. Really liked it so I decided to make my own.