Saltwater Sal

Saltwater Sal was a town cleric of River's Rest.

Sal suffers from slight delirium and often wanders the town. She can be sought at some of her favorite spots which include the pier, the Quay Shelter, the Tavern, and Collip’s Yard. As payment, Sal will accept only local gems of a certain quality. She also happens to ask for other trinkets such as, tiaras, scarves, bricks, table legs, and all sorts of other small things. Many adventurers stock such items in their own shops, as well as in the Commons. Much like those of her ilk in other towns, however, she will not raise a soul riddled with injuries.

She looks to be a priestess of Niima and often dances in the Quay Shelter with the mechanical turtle statue. She talks to the birds, eats bees, loves to fish, and is partial to honeyed tea. Sal is a priceless member of the community. Though she charges adventurers, she often performs her valuable services for local pets, livestock, and citizens for as little as a few muffins.

She is the perfect priest for those who call the Rest home; slightly insane, yet very helpful.

Behind the Scenes

Saltwater Sal's name and erratic behavior may be a reference to Ditchwater Sal in Neil Gaiman's Stardust.

Sal's Appearance

• Sal is small and plain with an untidy, grey-streaked, brown braid down the center of her back. Her delicately pointed ears hint at mixed parentage. She is clad in simple robes which are crusted with sand where they drag along the ground and smell faintly of seaweed. A belt of cockleshells loosely hung around her waist and the large sack she carries over her shoulder clink with every step she takes on small, grimy, bare feet.

Idle Scripts

General

• A small girl enters the area, her eyes brimming over with tears. She walks over to Sal and holding out a limp furry creature, says something to her in a small, quavering voice. Sal kneels down in front of the girl and mutters an incantation. A glow encompasses the animal's body and it begins to squirm in the girl's arms. With a look of pure joy on her face, she gives Saltwater Sal a warm hug and runs out.
• An exausted-looking empath drags in the lifeless body of a warrior. The empath and Saltwater Sal exchange a few words. The empath rummages around in his satchel and hands Sal a table leg and nodding, leaves. Sal kneels down and gestures at the warrior, muttering under her breath. After a moment, the warrior stands up and with a bow in Sal's direction, draws his sword and exits the area.
• A young woman wearing a dusty apron comes in dragging a dead goat, "I finally found you, I've been dragging this silly thing all over town! Betsy's been killed by a troll again, would you mind?" She pulls out a glittering object and hands it to Sal. Sal sighs and kneels down in front of the goat, muttering. A warm glow encompasses its body and after a moment, it jumps up and dashes off, bleating. The woman waves to Sal and runs off after the animal.
• A young boy enters the area panting, dragging the body of a little girl. Saltwater Sal looks down at the body and then stares at the boy, "Did you kill your sister again?" The boy looks down shamefaced, and nods, "Mom says I have to get her raised and she took my slingshot from me. She said to give you these." He hands Sal a pan of warm muffins and runs from the room. Kneeling down, Sal mutters an incantation. Life returns to the girl's body and she sits up rubbing her head. Saltwater Sal gives the girl one of the muffins and sends her on her way.

Tavern

• Sighting a battered and bloody dwarf dashing into the bar, Sal recoils with a look of horror on her face and ducks down under a table. The bleeding man spies her, and leans under the table, pleading and gesturing frantically toward the door. Sal repeatedly and firmly shakes her head, until finally the man leaves.
• Saltwater Sal motions to the barmaid, and taking a pot of honey from her sack, hands it to the waitress, "For your honeyed tea. Don't skimp this time, the last batch wasn't nearly sweet enough. Tasted like dried leaves." Sal scowls at the thought.
• Wandering over to the table, Sal picks up a fish sandwich. Peering closely under the bread she sniffs at it. Apparently satisfied with its palatability, Sal removes the top slice of bread, folds it in half, and putting it in her sack, finishes off the rest of the sandwich.

Collip’s Yard

• Saltwater Sal examines the beehive with a critical eye. She closely observes the bees as they arrive laden with pollen, and as they leave in search of it. At a moment she gauges to be propitious, Sal jams her arm deep into the hive and pulls out a large, dripping chunk of honeycomb. With a huge grin, she sucks the honey from the comb.
• A large honeybee buzzes around Sal's head. She holds out her hand and the bee lands on it. With great delicacy she reaches out one of her bony fingers and strokes the bee's pollen-laden legs. The bee seems to buzz with pleasure.
• The honeybee sits perfectly still on Sal's hand. She slowly brings it up to her face, presses her lips forward, and sucks the bee into her mouth. Sal swallows noisily, then grins.
• A large honeybee buzzes around Sal's head. She holds out her hand and the bee lands on it. With great delicacy she reaches out one of her bony fingers and strokes the bee's pollen-laden legs. The bee seems to buzz with pleasure.
• Saltwater Sal watches as a lark lands on the brass-knobbed gate. The lark sings to her...and she sings back to the lark. The two seem to carry on something like a conversation for a long moment, then the lark cocks its small head to one side and stares at Sal. Sal snorts and says, "Well, if you're going to be THAT way about it." The lark jerks its head to one side and flies away.

The Quay Shelter

• Saltwater Sal carries on an animated conversation with the bronze turtle, nodding or shaking her head at it occasionally as if in response to some comment.
• Slinging her sack off of her shoulder, Sal plops down on one of the benches and rummages through the contents of the bag, extracting a folded slice of bread. She tears it into small pieces, tossing the bits on the ground for the raucus collection of birds that begins to form at her feet.
• Saltwater Sal moves in front of the statue and suddenly it begins to pirouette in a mechanical ballet. Saltwater Sal sways along in time to unheard music.
• Saltwater Sal leans over and rubs the statue. After a moment, she gives it a long wink.

Dilapidated Pier

• Sal's pole bends slightly as something takes the line. With practiced care, she pulls in a small Bay Cod which she removes from her line and stuffs into her sack. Re-baiting her hook with a small piece of goat cheese, she casts her line back into the river.
• Saltwater Sal carries on an animated conversation with a seagull while her fishing line drifts quietly in the current.
• Saltwater Sal's pole bends nearly in two as something grabs the line. Sal's brow furrows as she fights with the unseen creature. Suddenly, the line snaps and Sal falls backwards with a *thump*. Cursing under her breath, she repairs her line, attaches a fresh cockroach, and casts her line back into the water.
• Something rustles in the weeds next to the pier followed by a soft splash. Suddenly Sal's line goes taut and she reels in a wriggling water snake. Sighing, she releases it back into the water and watches its small wake as it swims off down the river.

Raising the Dead

>ask Sal about raise
Saltwater Sal peers at you, "You don't look dead to me." Sal then looks down on Norathar's dead body, "Oh, I suppose you want this one raised huh? Well, give me the proper fee and I'll do it just to get her out of here."
>ask sal about fee
Sal rubs her chin thoughtfully, "I think a tiara perhaps. Don't really care what kind, though a nice gem from the area would be acceptable, if it's pretty enough."

In addition to taking "nice" realm-specific gems and shells, Saltwater Sal may request chipped bricks, pieces of iron, scarves, sticks, table legs, tree bark, muffins, tiaras, or chalices.

Note: When giving something to Sal, be sure to type out the full noun name -- and only the full noun name -- for the command to go through. Exhibit:

>give second shell to sal
Sal stares at you curiously.
>give my shell to sal
Sal stares at you curiously.
>give shel to sal
Sal stares at you curiously.
>give shell to sal
Sal snatches a giant paper nautilus shell from you with gnarled fingers and stuffs it into her sack, nodding with statisfaction.

See Also

• River's Rest NPCs