Under the Sharkfin Bridge
Rumor Table
Bridgefolk Rumors
d6 | Rumor |
1 | "Heard another traveler didn’t make it to the Burle...found his horse wandering near the road. Folks say something in the drowned forest took him." |
2 | "Someone found a shrine near the edge of the drowned forest. Word is it’s dedicated to Yeenoghu." |
3 | "It’s not safe traveling from Saltmarsh to the Burle after dark. Strange sounds and shadows haunt the route, best to stay indoors come nightfall." |
4 | "A fisherman swears he saw a group of beasts watching him from the trees at the edge of the Drowned Forest, their eyes burning like coals." |
5 | "Whispers say the drowned forest water calls out to the lonely and those who drink from the pools never return quite the same." |
6 | "Old Garl, the pale man under Sharkfin Bridge, disappears into the Drowned Forest every day. Some say he’s cursed, feeding on rotten fish and secrets." |
Bridgefolk
Beneath the stone span of Sharkfin Bridge sprawls a ramshackle shanty town. Lean-tos of rotting planks, patched sails, and driftwood crowd the muddy banks of the Kingfisher River.
The air reeks of fish rot, riverweed, and unwashed bodies. Thin smoke from trash fires coils up toward the bridge above, where polite society looks the other way.
Rats pick through heaps of market refuse. Gulls scream overhead. By night, the shadows fill with coughing, muttered arguments, and the hollow clink of bottles in the dark.
The Bridgefolk
A ragged mix of deserters, drifters, and castoffs, the bridgefolk survive on scraps, small trades, and coin begged from passing sailors. Many drink cheap “crab rum” from smugglers.
They see more than anyone suspects. From this vantage, they track smuggling runs, bribed guards, and odd happenings upriver. Earn their trust with a drink or respect, and they’ll trade rumors worth more than gold.
Not all bridgefolk are who they appear to be:
Murk In truth, he quietly gathers dockside information for Gitta Primewater—watching shipments, new arrivals, and rumors of inspections. He is one of her most reliable informants, paid quietly in silver after once saving her from a band of ruffians. Murk survives by listening. |  |
Kedge Most smuggling arranged by Kreb or Long John relies on Kedge’s seamanship. |  |
Old Garl They are wrong. Garl is undead—risen decades ago after fleeing something in the Drowned Forest. He has endured in quiet isolation while the river and town forgot him. Now the gnolls have returned to the forest. And Garl remembers enough to be afraid. |  |