Yartar

A medium-sized trading city on the Dessarin River in the Dessarin Valley, east of Waterdeep and northeast of The High Road. Best known to this campaign as the home office of the Lionshield merchant company.

Yartar is a river city that sits at the intersection of several trade routes between the Sword Coast and the interior. Governed by a “Waterbaron” (an elected magistrate with naval and trade authority), it is a wealthy, mercantile, slightly seedy town with a strong merchant culture and a quietly fearsome river-watch.

Why it comes up in this campaign: Linene Graywind runs the local Lionshield Coster post as an agent of the Yartar-based Lionshield merchant company. Caravans bound for Phandalin originate, in part, from Yartar. If the party makes a strong impression on Linene, she will offer them a letter of recommendation to the Lionshield home office in Yartar — useful for future arcs in the Dessarin Valley.