Thorn's Acid-Resistant Daughter

The first road stop offered preparation for a crisis it was also trying to sell. At a crossroads merchant stand, the party met Thorn and Favre, who advertised acid resistance healing potions in response to rumors that green dragons were returning. The pitch had just enough reality under it to be dangerous. Aleklot's Rest was tied to a green dragon. Dragon rumors were circulating. Acid resistance sounded sensible if you wanted frightened travelers to open their purses. Then Thorn brought out the chest. Inside was a fish he presented as his daughter, cursed with fish lips and in need of donations for a cure. The con mixed pity, absurdity, and stagecraft in the same breath as the potion sales. It might have held together longer if Jonah had not accidentally disrupted it with Lesser Restoration. Oskar pushed deeper by reading Thorn's thoughts. What he found was not a noble father fighting a curse, but urgency: get money and leave. The potions later proved to be minor acid resistance effects lasting only until the end of a turn, not true healing potions and not the grand protective solution Thorn was selling. The encounter was comic on the surface. Under it, the road confirmed two useful things: people were already profiting from green dragon fear, and the rumors were strong enough to build scams around before the party even reached Aleklot's Rest.