Gourdon Ramsey

and the Hunt for

Sasquash
A SHORT, PUNNY ADVENTURE FOR 5TH LEVEL ADVENTURERS

E. Prybylski
 Acknowledgements

Thanks to Farron and to Phil Chan. Your input on this was invaluable. May the 1d4 psychic damage
helping me with this caused heal swiftly.

Adventure and maps © 2020 E. Prybylski. Line art and character design © 2020 Phil Chan. Color by
E. Prybylski. Battle Maps and location maps done in DungonDraft. Overland maps created in
Campaign Cartographer.

Open Game License v1.0a © 2000,Wizards of the Coast, LLC. System Reference Document 5.1 ©
2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney
Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve
Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
 Table of Contents

Summary

Part I: Investigation

Part II: The Sasquash

Part III: The Bog

Summary
Something is afoot in the tiny village of Fig-
Leaf in the kingdom of Sororia. Fig-Leaf is a
thriving farming community in the Eastern
side of Sororia. Known for their quality
gourds and squashes, Fig-Leaf is quite proud
of their produce. They are a close-knit
community, but recently things have gone
very wrong.
First it was sightings of a creature the locals
have named “Sasquash.” Now the mayor’s
daughter has been kidnapped, and only you,
�ine adventurers, have a chance to save her.
In this 3-4-hour adventure, a group of level
�ive characters are sent to investigate the
happenings in Fig-Leaf. However, what begins
as a simple rescue mission soon turns into
something much bigger than they bargained
for.
And yes: all puns are very, very much
intended. You got what you paid for.
Premise
Characters are hired by Mayor Gourdon
Ramsey to �ind his missing daughter. He is
desperate to locate her and begs the players
to help him since it seems his local
constabulary is not up to the task. Or at least
they haven’t had any luck thus far.
Upon their arrival in Fig-Leaf, the party is
expected to visit Mayor Ramsey at his home
to discuss what has happened and their role
in it. Not to mention his offer of a hefty
reward of 1,000gp should they return his
daughter to him.
During the meeting, they can learn the
following:
• Butternut Ramsey, the mayor’s
daughter, has been missing since the
last full moon (three days ago). She
vanished following the Harvest
Festival.
• Butternut is due to be married to the
son of another town’s mayor, a man
named Cuke Cumberland. It is an
arranged marriage.
• During the Harvest Festival, Butternut
seemed to be her usual self. No one
can remember anything untoward
happening.
• Butternut vanished after the festival
when she went for a walk in the
evening to visit friends at Acorn Farm.
• The Sasquash is a local legend and
comes and goes. While nobody has
ever been able to provide proof of its
existence, every year around harvest
time, people talk about seeing it in the
woods. While it is known to damage
crops and wreak occasional havoc, it’s
never taken anyone before.
• The Sasquash is rumored to be some
kind of gourd that has grown
sentience. Nobody is quite sure how it
happened or when, but it’s been a
local legend as far as anyone can
remember.
• The local constable, Zuke Heeni has
been investigating Butternut’s
disappearance. They have been
friends since childhood, and he is
quite worried about her. He may have
more information.

Butternut Ramsey
Part I: Investigation
Fig-Leaf is a small village with a population of
perhaps �ive-hundred people if you count all 1) Crookneck Tavern
the farmers in the surrounding areas. 2) Temple of Ehlonna
Pictured above is the village center, including
notable landmarks to the story. 3) Mayor Ramsey’s House
The story takes place during the harvest 4) City Offices/Gaol
season, so imagine the sights and sounds 5) Acorn Farm
thereof: mountains of apples from the local
orchards, weary farmers in the tavern after
long days in the �ields, a crisp chill in the air
as the cold weather approaches.
Crookneck Tavern
Depending on the time of day, Crookneck
Tavern (managed by a short, stout human
woman named Delicata Smythe) is either
stuffed to the gills with people or utterly
empty. Rarely is it anything in between.
The exterior of the building is painted in
cheerful oranges, yellows, and greens with a
carved sign of a gourd with the name beneath
it. A number of hitches for horses (or other
mounts) sit along the front of the building
along with a water trough that looks cleaner
than you might expect for such a small village.
The tavern has relatively high ceilings with
exposed rafters. From those rafters hang
garlands of garlic and bunches of drying
herbs, lending a somewhat rustic air to the
place. The earthen �loor is covered with clean
straw or rushes and has a musty, sweet smell
to it, suggesting Delicata manages her are scattered about the room. Depending on
establishment well. The windows are open in the time of day (mostly around mealtimes)
warmer weather but kept shut with the the players can expect to see local farmers
approach of the cold months. and tradesfolk sitting at them as they
A cheery �ire crackles in the hearth beneath a exchange stories of their day or local news.
cast-iron pot of something that makes a • Delicata is happy to get the characters
hungry traveler’s insides grumble in up to speed on local gossip. The
response. A number of tables with benches mayor’s daughter going missing is, of
course, the bulk of it, and she says it’s
Sasquash of course.
• Delicata claims to have seen Sasquash
before and says it has ravaged her
garden more than once in years past.
She even had a monster hunter try
and �ind the beast with no success.
• DC 10 Insight: Delicata blinks too
many times during her story of her
encounter with the Sasquash. Her
tone of voice suggests the story is a
little more rehearsed than a genuine
recount might suggest.
• DC 15 Persuasion: Delicata admits,
quietly, that she’s never seen
Sasquash, but she asks that players
tell no one else about that. Locals like
the story, and the legend of Sasquash
lures people to the area. She really did
hire an adventurer once for good
 measure, but the adventurer didn’t Omacka Bog to the northeast of Fig-
come back with any evidence, much to Leaf.
her annoyance.
• If the players have gotten Delicata to Temple of Ehlonna
admit to lying about seeing Sasquash,
The Temple of Ehlonna is the local house of
she will tell the group that she’s heard
worship. Dedicated to the goddess of
the creature has damaged crops at
Ehlonna, it is primarily where the folks of Fig-
Acorn Farm.
Leaf pray for good harvests and good
If players spend time at Crookneck weather. It is quiet most of the days of the
Tavern in the evening, they will have the week, though the priestess is usually around.
opportunity to talk to the local farmers. The building itself is only a little larger than
The farmers will tell players a range of Crookneck Tavern, but it has been built with
stories about Sasquash, blaming the considerable care and �ine materials. Across
creature for destruction of crops to the the street from it is a public altar upon which
curdling of cream in the dairy. None of the players will see evidence of the �irst and
these stories can be substantiated. best from local farmers’ harvests along with
When asked about Butternut, the farmers burned candles, artwork, small carved
seem to draw a blank. They remember woodland creatures, and �lowers.
seeing her during the Harvest Festival— Inside the temple are rows of pews carved
she spent a fair amount of time dancing lovingly into natural shapes. Some have vines,
with Zuke—and she seemed happy. others have antlers, and most have animal
If caught there in the evening, players skins spread over the seats for comfort. The
might �ind Kuri Gulrus from Acorn air smells like autumn leaves, grain, and
Farm. He sits off to the side and seems patchouli, though the incense isn’t thick
like he is in a foul mood. (For more enough to be choking. Antler chandeliers
information about Kuri, please see the have candles placed in them for light, though
section on Acorn Farm.)
• A drunkard claims Crone Berry
summoned the Sasquash to punish
the town for logging too much and not
treating the forest as well as they
should. However, when questioned
further, he falls asleep or spouts
gibberish.
• If sobered up, the drunkard tells the
story of an old woman who lives in
the woods named Crone Berry. She is
rumored to have some kind of
connection with the Harvest Festival
and protects the forest. The story
came down through his family from
his grandmother who claimed Crone
Berry helped her when she was
pregnant with the drunkard’s father.
• While he has no idea if she’s real or
not, he claims Crone Berry lives in
they are not currently lit. In the back of the annul or avoid it altogether. The two
sanctuary is an of�ice where the priestess had not come up with a solution.
sometimes works or prepares for services. • Secretly, Mother Hubbard wonders if
Behind the church is a graveyard as old as the Butternut hasn’t run off to avoid her
town, though it has no real importance to the marriage, though she is hesitant to
adventure. The graveyard is peaceful and say as much because she doesn’t want
well-tended as one might imagine for one to deter folks from looking for her in
attached to a temple of a goddess whose case she really is in danger.
domain includes gardens and fertility.
Mother Marina Hubbard is a cheerful
gnomish woman in religious vestments. She is
happy to greet the characters and will bless
them in the name of Ehlonna upon greeting
(giving characters advantage on one roll of
their choice).
When asked about Sasquash she rolls her
eyes and says she has no belief in such things.
Any damage she’s ever seen attributed to the
creature could be explained by any number of
other things, but the local farmers are a
superstitious lot, in her opinion, and she �inds
the whole thing rather silly. Though, she is
quick to say, it’s not impossible that magic
could be used to create a creature like the so-
called Sasquash.
• If asked about the disappearance of
Butternut, she grows somewhat
hesitant to answer. It’s obvious she’s
very worried for the girl, but she
doesn’t really want to talk much about
it to outsiders, even if they are
outsiders the mayor himself hired. Mayor Ramsey’s House
• Mother Hubbard saw Butternut the Mayor Ramsey’s house sits on the edge of
night of the Harvest Festival, but town square. It’s not much bigger than the
unlike everyone else, she says she others in the village but is slightly nicer.
didn’t think Butternut looked Inside, the �loor plan is simple enough: a
particularly happy at any time except common room, two bedrooms, a storage
when she was dancing with Zuke. room, and a loft. Unlike the other buildings in
• If asked, Mother Hubbard will inform town, Mayor Ramsey’s home has slate
the characters that Butternut’s �looring (though he keeps it covered with
wedding to Cuke Cumberland was rushes much as the others do). The furniture
swift approaching since she had just is polished wood and is more decorative than
turned eighteen. However she didn’t anywhere else except the temple.
think the two liked each other much.
Mayor Ramsey’s wife died many years ago,
• DC 20 Persuasion: Mother Hubbard
leaving it just him and his daughter,
reveals Butternut had come to her
Butternut, so there is no evidence of anyone
multiple times asking about the
but the two living in the home. From what
marriage and if there were any way to
you can tell, Mayor Ramsey does most of the
cooking and seems to be very skilled at it. He
is happy to have the players visit for a meal. If
they dine with him, they will gain +5
temporary HP from the quality of the food he
provides, and it may well be some of the best
food they’ve ever eaten in their lives.
While reticent to allow it at �irst, if players
press, Mayor Ramsey will allow players to
search his home for information about his
daughter’s whereabouts. He will not be keen
on it since he thinks it’s a rather awful
invasion of privacy, but if pressed he will
yield and accept that anything that may help
them track down his daughter is worth it.
Butternut’s room is a relatively small
bedroom with a south-facing window. In it is
a bed, a small desk, a stool (at said desk) and
a trunk for personal belongings. The bed is
made with a warm orange-yellow blanket
draped over it, and on the wall is a painting of
a woman looking out a window into a garden.
Paints and an easel sit in a corner with a
mostly-�inished painting in the same style as
the one on the wall.
• DC 10 Investigation: Some of her
clothes appear to be missing, though
it’s uncertain if she just doesn’t have
very many to begin with. She also
seems to favor “autumn” colors.
• DC 15 Investigation: Under her
mattress players discover a journal.
Upon reading it, it seems Butternut is
very unhappy at the idea of marrying
Cuke and has someone else in mind,
though it doesn’t say who. She makes
mentions of the Harvest Festival a
few times, but she doesn’t indicate
anything about it except for being
excited that it is coming.
• DC 20 Investigation: Players �ind a
pack of letters behind the painting.
They are written in a neat, looping
hand. The letters are clearly between
two lovers, and they talk about
wanting to run away together
someday, though it seems like the
person writing the letters is pretty
sure it won’t happen. In fact, the
writer tries to convince Butternut to
stay, though it doesn’t seem like she’s
listening. The letters aren’t signed.
If questioned, Mayor Ramsey knows nothing
about any sort of romance. In fact, he seems
quite put out by the letters and journal and
says his daughter never would’ve gone
through with anything so foolish. She knows
how important this arrangement is for trade
between their two towns.
City Of�ices / Gaol
The city of�ices are located in a building that
is easily the largest in town in square footage.
The main �loor is dominated by a large
meeting room that could hold the majority of
the population of the town. At the front is a
dais built to allow for public address and, it
may be guessed, events like the Harvest
Festival. The building is mostly empty of
activity outside of events, however, with the
exception of the upper level which houses the
city watch.
Fig-Leaf’s city watch consists of about a dozen
people all told, and most of them have other
duties. With how little there is for the watch
to do, there are only �ive full-time members of
the organization, who players may see milling
about the common room on the second �loor
of the city of�ices building.
The common room has several large tables, a
weapons rack on the wall that holds a
number of weapons of average quality
(mostly swords, a few pikes, and several
crossbows). Several tables are scattered
around the room with benches tucked under
them. One is in use as a group of watchfolk
play cards at it, betting for kernels of dried
corn. A man with an impressively large,
yellow mustache has the largest pile of
kernels in front of him.
• If questioned the guards will say
they’ve been tracking Sasquash since
Butternut went missing. The
youngest of the three, a boy whose
beard hasn’t grown in full yet (and
only comes in, in awkward patches
he’s far too proud of) claims he
caught sight of the creature ones.
• The young guardsman, who calls
himself Cucurbita, claims to have
seen the creature the evening of
Butternut’s disappearance, heading
north deeper into the forest. He
claims it comes out in the evening
and looks like several large pumpkins
that walk on viny legs.
• DC 10 Insight: Cucurbita is
absolutely convinced of the truth of
his story and, unlike other characters
who claim to have seen Sasquash, is
not lying. He is, however, not the
sharpest �ish in the tree, so his
honesty may or may not be
trustworthy.
• If asked about Zuke, the watchfolk
will point toward a door on the far
side of the room.
The door to the left of the room leads into
Zuke’s of�ice. The door is propped open, and
Zuke himself is inside, pacing the �loor in
front of his desk. He looks tired and more
than a little frazzled. When the characters
introduce themselves, he doesn’t seem
surprised and thanks them for their help.
Zuke Heeni is a tall, rather thin man who
looks more suited to being an archer than a
swordsman, though a rapier (and a rather
nice one at that) hangs in a scabbard from a
peg on the wall. Zuke is a half-elf who seems
rather young for his position as head of the
watch. If asked, he says he grew up at the
knee of his father, the previous head of the
watch, and has been helping out around here
since he was a young child.
• Zuke tells the player characters that
so far as he knows, no one saw
Butternut after she went to visit
Acorn Farm after the end of the
Harvest Festival.
 • To his knowledge, Butternut went out chores. If asked about it, the claims that
there to see her friend, Patty Gulrus. Patty’s cooking is likely to kill him if he eats at
They have been friends since home.
Butternut’s childhood, so the visit
wasn’t out of the ordinary.
• After her abduction, the watch found
strange tracks on the road between
here and Acorn Farm. The tracks
weren’t made by any creatures the
local hunters recognize. They’re
strange, slithery tracks. He is willing
to draw them out. DC 15 Survival:
They corroborate what Cucurbita said
about the vines; players have
de�initely not seen tracks like this
before.
• DC 20 Insight: Zuke seems a little
cagey about something but it’s hard to
tell what. His concern for Butternut’s
well-being seems genuine. He does,
however, know more than he’s saying
about Butternut’s disappearance.
• Zuke is willing to take the players to
the place along the road to Acorn
Farm where Butternut is believed to
have vanished. It hasn’t rained since Patty is home most of the day and can be
she was taken, so the tracks should found hanging laundry to dry outside the
still be at least somewhat fresh. house, sharpening the axe they split �irewood
with, feeding chickens, or any number of
other chores.
Acorn Farm
The nearest of the farms that surround Fig- • Patty has been friends with Butternut
Leaf, Acorn is owned by a dwarven couple since Butternut was a child and
named Patty and Kuri Gulrus who moved expected Butternut to visit the
away from the mountains after some evening of the Harvest Festival. She
disagreement with their clansfolk. They was rather dismayed when Butternut
decided to settle in Fig-Leaf and have left didn’t arrive.
their previous life behind them. • If asked about the withering crops,
both the Gulruses will blame the
The farmhouse has a thatched roof and Sasquash, saying it cursed their crops
appears in decent repair, despite the fact that this season which is the only reason
the �ields appear to have some kind of they can account for things withering
sickness in them. They aren’t all withered, but as they are. They have no idea why
they certainly aren’t as healthy as one might they were targeted.
hope. • Kuri is in a foul temper about the
Depending on the time of day, Kuri can be damaged crops since he was hoping to
found either at home or in Crookneck buy a new plow for the spring and
Tavern. If it is during mealtimes, he is won’t be able to afford to now.
typically at the tavern. During the rest of the • DC 15 Persuasion: Patty admits she
day, he will be at home attending to farm knew Butternut didn’t really want to
 marry Cuke. And she didn’t blame the
girl, but arranged marriage being
what it is, she expected Butternut
would settle into it eventually. After
all, she hadn’t been excited to marry
Kuri when they �irst met, but they’ve
been in love for �ifty years now.
• DC 20 Persuasion: Patty will tell the
party she always suspected that there
was something between Butternut
and Zuke, but she makes the party to
swear never to tell. After all, Mayor
Ramsey would be furious if he learned
of it.

If investigated, the crops are withering

through no magical means. It seems the
Gulruses are just having a bad year, and some
mildew has gotten into their crops and is
causing some issues for the plants. A druid
(or maybe even a cleric of the right path)
could probably clear that up for them.
If a player heals their crops, the pair will
become in�initely happier almost
immediately. Kuri will offer the character the
amount he’s saved toward a new plow: 10gp.
Patty will give the players a freshly-baked
pumpkin pie she made that afternoon. It has
no mechanical bene�it, but certainly tastes
fantastic!
• On the road outside Acorn Farm the
party comes across a spot identi�ied
by Zuke to be where Butternut was
taken. They locate a trail heading off
into the trees. DC 10 Survival will
allow players to follow the trail; it’s
not a particularly dif�icult one to
track.
Part II: The Sasquash
In the forest north of the village, the players
can track the Sasquash several miles into the
trees until they arrive at a cavern that smells
of old pumpkin.
During the trip they will encounter a pack of
�ive dire wolves hunting a herd of elk. If they
are not cautious, the pack will turn on them.
The pack of wolves likely will not �ight to the
death since they are wild animals. If they are
suf�iciently damaged, they will attempt to
retreat. If players kill the wolves, they get no
treasure from them unless they choose to
skin them and sell the fur. They can �ind a
merchant in town who will buy the furs for
10gp for each pelt. The pelts weigh two
pounds each.
Once they discover the cavern, they can see it
snakes inward beyond where they can
perceive. The whole place stinks of rotting
vegetation though not enough to cause a
check. (Yet.)
DC 10 Perception: They see a shoe on the
ground outside that they can guess would �it a
young woman’s foot. The shoe looks to have
been chewed on. Also, the greens in the top of the cavern are
Inside the cavern, torches burn on several dif�icult terrain because they are rotting and
walls of the �irst room, indicating that either squishy. Anything in �ive feet of them must
the Sasquash is more cultured than given make a DC 10 Constitution save or be
credit for or it isn’t the only creature to have nauseated for two rounds. That includes
ventured into this cavern. The scent of rotting Sasquash. It doesn’t like the smell of its own
vegetation does suggest, however, this may stink either. Nobody does. Really, it should
be the place it has been using as a lair. consider cleaning up.

Room One DM Note: The torches look like they’ve been

Several large rocks are scattered around the
room inside along with a rotting pile of
vegetable matter. Likely the remains of
whatever the Sasquash ate last. While there’s
nothing of signi�icant interest in the room,
players may use this space if they try to
retreat from the Sasquash during the �ight.
The rocks provide half cover since they are
about chest-height off the ground and could
offer some protection.
burning for awhile and were actually lit by the
person who summoned Sasquash. If players ask
why the monster lit torches, you can answer
however you like, but this is the actual reason
behind it.
Room Two
The second room is quite a bit larger than the
�irst, and skeletons scatter the space. More
slippery, stinky vegetation lies rotting to the
north of the room, creating an area much like
the space in the �irst room where creatures
must roll a DC 10 Constitution save to not be
nauseated by the stink. It, too, is dif�icult
terrain due to the slipperiness of the surface.
More than that, it is also very dark since there
are no torches in this room.
In truth, Sasquash has nothing to do with the
skeletons. They were there when it arrived,
and it doesn’t know what they are, either. If
players are so inclined, they can uncover that
the skeletons are of creatures who likely were
�ighting for use of this rather ideal den.
Sasquash itself is as one might imagine it to
be: a hulking mass of semi-sentient squash
swathed in vines. As stated in the stat-block,
it has tremorsense for up to 30 feet, so
players may struggle to sneak up on it if that’s
their goal.
When they arrive, Sasquash is sitting in the
dark eating a pile of carrots it clearly pilfered
from somewhere. It consumes them by
opening a jack-o-lantern-like mouth in the
top squash of its body and stuf�ing them in
that way. Until the players get its attention, it
appears to have no eyes. Once characters
approach it, a pair of lantern-like eyes open,
and it illuminates a 10ft space around it with
bright light and 10 ft beyond that with dim
light.
After defeating the Sasquash and
acgourdians, players may investigate the
cave.
• DC 10 Perception: The rock at the
top of the cave blocking the way into
the third room of the chamber can be
squeezed past by a Medium creature,
though armor can be a bit
troublesome.
Room Three pretty penny from a magic merchant
of some kind.
The third room of the cavern reveals a magic-
user’s lair. Clearly someone was In addition to the aforementioned general
experimenting in here, and the summoning disarray, several green mushrooms are
circle on the �loor suggests that the magic- scattered around the �loor.
user may have summoned Sasquash from
somewhere. The papers on the desk are • DC 10 Survival: These mushrooms
written in looping, precise handwriting. grow in a swampy area and have
magical properties.
• DC 15 Investigation: The
handwriting is the same as in As the players �inish investigating the room
Butternut’s diary if they found that in and leave the cave, they see a person �leeing
her room. from the entrance to it, heading toward
Omacka Bog.
The notes detail the mage’s attempts to create
or summon the Sasquash, but for the most
part, as the vegetables scattered around the
�loor seem to indicate, those attempts ended
in failure. That said, the caster obviously
succeeded at least the once.
• DC 10 Perception: The room’s
disarray suggests the caster �led
quickly.
• The desk has a pouch of coins and a
number of gems stuffed into it. What
this small hoard of money was going
to be used for is unclear. Perhaps they
were being paid? There is, all in all,
about 600gp worth of coins and gems
in the pouch.
• Four Potions of Healing sit along the
back of the desk.

Along the back wall are several crates of

vegetables of various kinds, including a crate
of pumpkins, which is more than half empty,
suggesting it was the prompt for Sasquash’s
creation.
In the center of the summoning circle is a
large crystal which glows softly with magical
energy.
• DC 15 Arcana: The crystal has no
speci�ic spells associated with it, but it
is a powerful magical focus. Getting it
out of here would be a little
complicated, but it could be useful for
spellcasting purposes later or fetch a
Part Three: The Bog
Omacka Bog is an expanse of swamp to the
north of Fig-Leaf. If the players spoke to the
drunk, they will know that there are rumors
of some horrible witch, Crone Berry, living
there. However, those rumors are for the
most part unsubstantiated.
The bog smells strongly of rotting vegetation
and looks rather awful. Anything in the water
but the strange lily pads is dead, and there are
occasional dead birds seen on the surface of
the water. The temperature around the bog is
also a good ten degrees hotter than it is
elsewhere.
The �igure seen running away from the mouth
of the cave heads toward Omacka Bog,
triggering a chase scene. The players tail the
�igure to the edge of the bog where it rushes
gracefully across the islands to the other side
of the bog, leaving the players to try and keep
pace with it.
Unfortunately for them, Omacka is rather
unforgiving. If players fall in the mud, they
will take 1d4 damage from surprisingly
hot, acidic mud.
There is no one “correct” path across the bog.
Characters may use any number of means to
cross its surface, but all the logs are slick, and
they will need to make DC 10 Dex saves to
avoid slipping in while crossing them.
In addition to the logs, there are also vines on
multiple islands that could be turned into
ropes and anchored to bushes to try and
tightrope across. Particularly armored
characters who have little chance at balancing
on slippery logs can wade through the mud,
but they take 1d4 damage for every round
they spend in the mud, so it’s not an ideal
situation.
Magic could be used to cool the mud (any ice
spell would work) for a brief period of time
allowing passage as well. However, encourage
players to move quickly lest they lose their
quarry.
Every few seconds, have the mysterious
cloaked �igure get to an island ahead of them.
If the �igure escapes completely, the players
may never learn who it is. However, if players
do catch up to the hooded �igure and grab
them, they will discover it is, in fact
Butternut herself.
When caught, Butternut confesses that she
summoned the Sasquash, and it got out of
hand. She, of course, never intended for
anyone to �ight it.
With some cajoling, she tells the players that
she orchestrated the whole thing to get out of
her arranged marriage to Cuke Cumberland
because her heart has always belonged to
Zuke. With Mother Hubbard’s help, she
discovered she has the ability to do magic,
and decided to capitalize on the town’s legend
of Sasquash to make her escape. Of course,
when she did �inally manage to make
Sasquash, it got out of control and chased her
out of the cave.
The money the players found in the cave was
everything she’d managed to save for the last
few years from selling her paintings, and she
hoped to use it to buy herself and Zuke a new
life somewhere far from here. She says the
players can keep it if they’re willing to keep
her secret. She was supposed to meet Zuke
tonight to �inalize their escape.
From here, the players can choose to end the
adventure several ways: they can turn
Butternut over to her father and receive his
thanks as well as the reward of 1,000gp. Of
course, there is the option of letting Zuke and
Butternut run off together and telling
Gourdon the characters couldn’t �ind her.
Then again, they could also try and convince
Zuke and Butternut to stay and talk to her
father to let them get married and not have to
leave home.
There is no one “correct” solution to the
story, so however you choose to end it is up
to you and your players.