Roadside
Cosy
Modest prices
Wet Duck Inn
the waystation beneath the alder bridge
The Wet Duck squats low against the bank where the road dips under a leaning alder. Inside, smoke and wet wool smell like an old companion; a peat fire chuffs in a stone hearth and lanterns hung on hooks throw a honey glow over scarred tables. Travelers huddle over steaming bowls and mugs; the noise is soft—boots rubbed, stories folded into chuckles, a lullaby of rain on the roof. The bar is a broad plank nicked by years of tankards; behind it, shelves crowd jars of pickles, a row of small bottles, and a battered ledger with a ruler tucked inside. A narrow stair leads upstairs; voices and the occasional snore float down, promising real beds just a few steps from the road.
A weathered oaken board carved with a waddling duck soaked in sketchy gouges; the paint has run from many rains and one corner is braced with a scrap of iron. No words, only the duck's beak points toward the road.
Harrim Bole
Human
Manner
Quirk
Stats
Mossbarrow Flip
5 spA warming mix of house ale, a spoon of beaten egg, a splash of apple brandy and a pinch of clove—tastes like peat fire and mud; drinkers feel a brief, three-minute clarity about a route or map (advantage on a single Survival or Navigation check).
Modest (5e lifestyle: about 1 gp a day)
Marta 'Two-Knives' · cook
A loud-voiced woman who runs the tiny kitchen with two cleavers and expects everyone to finish their stew.
Tobin Reed · barmaid
A quick-footed teen who slides mugs like they owe her money and knows every traveler’s preferred brand of ale.
Old Grun · stablehand
A mute, broad-shouldered man who cares for the ponies and keeps an extra blanket for any animal that looks ill.
Gryff Fen
A grizzled ex-wagoner who sips slowly and hopes someone will help him recover a stolen ledger full of customers’ names and debts.
Sib the Runner
A courier who camps at the Duck between runs and is obsessed with a broken brass milepost on the Old Turnpike that hid a keyhole.
Maris Toll
A hedgewitch selling herbal salves who believes a black crow carving she once owned was stolen by ruffians near Mossbarrow.
1
Mossbarrow Ruins: a farmer near the Riverturn swears a buried shrine there now emits a cold, blue light on moonless nights and a brass amulet was found nearby.
2
Stolen Ledger: Gryff Fen claims a bandit named 'Kell the Binder' took his wagon and a ledger listing a notable merchant's hidden payments—finding it would ruin or free a lot of secrets.
3
Broken Milepost Key: Sib the Runner says the old brass milepost on the Old Turnpike had a hidden compartment for a key; when it was smashed someone pocketed the crow-face medallion that fit it.
Made with the free LoreKeeper Tavern Generator · Free to use at your table · Licence
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