Session Narrative
The party splits productively and chaotically. Kuso, choosing comfort over adventure, takes up residence in the Salty Siren tavern, where the barkeep Nessa Copperhook serves adequate ale and a man called Clingy Pete has apparently been Kuso’s companion since arrival and shows no intention of leaving. Kuso helps Pete recover his parrot from a monkey in the market, which is a full morning’s work.
The rest of the party camps in the forest with the Lost Boys, which involves a substantial amount of woodcraft, several hours of star navigation lessons that nobody asked for, and the discovery of a lost merrowling — a baby merrow, separated from its family, cold and frightened in a forest pool. Getting it back to the sea requires carrying it four miles through the forest. They do this. The merrow family’s gratitude is tangible and wet.
Morning brings the news: Marina, a local mermaid who is a regular at the Pegport docks, has gone missing. Witness accounts and the Lost Boys’ intelligence point to the shipyard. At the shipyard, the smell guides them before the eye does.
Marina is in a warehouse, alive, being tormented by seagulls who have found her distressing and are handling it poorly. She is freed.
The smell’s source: Ambrosius Peppercorn has been here, using the warehouse to store and test a Gelatinous Grease Cube — an animated cleaning construct made from rendered fat and alchemical reagents that he believed would revolutionise warehouse sanitation. It has not. It has, however, become very large. The party sets it alight.
The resulting fire is significant. The resulting smoke is visible for miles. The resulting expression on Nessa Copperhook’s face when she hears about it defies description.
While one group deals with Marina and the fire, other party members discover a hidden tunnel in an adjacent warehouse. It leads, via a long and well-maintained passage, to a smuggler’s cave beneath the lighthouse — dry, spacious, stocked with crates, and very much in active use. The party catalogues the loot and returns to the Salty Siren to compare notes.
Key NPCs
- Clingy Pete — A sailor of indeterminate age who has decided Kuso is his person and is comfortable with the lack of reciprocity. Cheerful, harmless, and genuinely loyal.
- Marina — Mermaid. Approximately 200 years old, speaks Common with an accent, unhappy about the seagulls, grateful to be rescued, and now interested in the party.
- Nessa Copperhook — Barkeep of the Salty Siren. One actual hook hand, earned in circumstances she describes differently every time. Runs a clean establishment and is upset about the fire.
Encounters & Mechanics
Gelatinous Grease Cube
Use Gelatinous Cube stats with fire vulnerability and smell aura (DC 13 Constitution or Poisoned while within 30 ft). Setting it alight: DC 12 with flammable material, burns for 3 rounds, deals 3d6 fire damage per round within 10 ft.
Loot & Rewards
| Item | Notes / Value |
| Favor of the Merrow | The merrow family’s goodwill. Passive: advantage on Persuasion with merfolk for one year. |
| 6 Mermaid’s Scales | Each scale grants water breathing and pressure resistance to 1,000 ft for 24 hours. Single use. |
| Potion of Water Breathing | Standard. 1 hour. |
| Cask of Distilled Nightmare | DC 13 Wisdom save or Frightened for 1 minute. Addictive (DC 12 Wisdom save after each use to avoid craving another). 6 doses. |
| Vial of Doppelganger Blood | Shape-shift for 1 hour; take 1d6 psychic damage upon returning to true form. |
| Cloak of Spider Silk | Advantage on Stealth in darkness. 10% chance each time it takes damage to disintegrate. |
| Smuggler’s Cave Contents | 3 crates (assorted contraband worth 120 gp), a locked strongbox (DC 15 Thieves’ Tools; 48 gp inside), and a ledger written in code. |
DM Notes
The smuggler’s cave and its ledger are seeds for later. Kuso and Pete’s relationship is a running bit that earns its payoff in Session 21 when they run away together — set it up warmly. Marina becomes a recurring NPC and information source. Ambrosius continues his pattern of well-intentioned catastrophe.