The Rusted Mermaid

The Rusted Mermaid is an inn on the Lamp Way, Saltmoor's middle tier. Its ceiling is barely seven feet at its highest; its bar is a single long piece of salvaged ship timber, dark with oil and wear, its front stenciled with a faded coat of arms belonging to no ship still sailing. A fire pit is recessed into the stone floor at the center of the room, vented up through a chimney cut into the living rock. On a busy night it holds ship crews, a scattering of locals, and a few merchants — a lively, low-ceilinged crowd.

The barkeep is Dorrit, a gruff human man in his sixties missing three fingers on one hand. He trades in the comings and goings of the town and will answer a few questions for the price of a drink. Rooms above go cheaply — a silver a night for a room that sleeps three in hammocks, and he'll take payment by the day. The drink runs to brown water, black water (bitter, and it will leave you jittery), and brine water with its hint of salt; clear, plain water is not really on offer.