K'val Ixtupi

The Flounder Pounder is a mixture of a tavern, restaurant, and inn. The whole building is built on stilts, which juts out over the river from the south shore. A sign above the shaky door depicts a reptilian man hammering a large fish into mash with a mallet.

Inside, the place reeks of grog, raw fish, oil, and exotic spices, though the regulars don't seem to mind that much. A rickety bar winds along the southern wall and open holes in the northern floor drop into the water below. Patrons can fish from these holes or relieve themselves as needed. K'val will cook anything they catch for a small fee as well. The name derives from the house's signature dish; fish pounded to a thick mash (bones, eyes, and all) and then fried in lard and grog into flatcakes. They're surprisingly good and popular, if not the healthiest.

K'val does more specialty foods as well. He'll fry panfish like bluegill or crappie, fillet catfish or walleye, and he's a decently capable sushi chef as well. The only utensils he carries are sticks, which many humanoids seem to find amusing to try and use, though many also just resort to using an eating knife. There's a pot of 'whatever soup' on the fire as well, which is added to as ingredients become available. What's actually in it on any given day or week varies but it's always fish of some kind. K'val also does an excellent crawfish boil when he manages to catch enough.

The lizardfolk sources much of his own fish directly and has numerous traps and livewells built under the structure. There's a makeshift fishery down there too, where he grows future dinners. K'val has a small serving staff but that's primarily a few wenches to run grog and plates, with one or two more to clean dishes.

There's a secret tunnel below the western end of the bar that leads down to a partially flooded passage, which winds its way into a small network of caves beneath the surface. It's no problem for a lizardfolk to navigate and it's not a long swim, if he took someone with who needed to hold their breath, but without knowing the right passages, it's an excellent way for anyone else to drown. There are dead ends and side tunnels which lead nowhere and it's completely pitch black. K'val maintains a safehouse at the far end of one of those tunnels, where he can escape to if need be. Other passages lead back out to the river. K'val can come and go through them to his own restaurant without setting foot on land, if need be.

Darker rumors persist that there's a "secret menu" for the truly daring. The lizardfolk proclivity for human flesh isn't unknown and some have whispered, for the right price, K'val can serve up something truly unique. Whether this is true or just slander, no one seems to know firsthand, but rumors persist. Still, when someone goes missing and isn't found, more than one eye has lingered on the Flounder Pounder and its fried fish cakes.

Though it doesn't market itself as a tavern, K'val has four rooms in the back which can be rented out. Neither is of superb quality and they all smell like the restaurant. They're cheap though, which makes them popular when someone's had a few too many to drink, and they're readily accessible from the water, when someone wants discretion.

K'val doesn't allow fighting inside the business. He'll do nothing to stop people from fighting outside. If anyone causes trouble, they're either kicked out the door, or thrown down into the river through one of the hatches in the floor. Members of the city guard eat free, as he enjoys the free security their presence provides. If K'val is engaged in any kind of illicit trade, he doesn't act like it.

Staff

• Ned Ragshaft - Bartender
• Alisa Noseore - Serving Wench
• Nazia Marshsky - Serving Wench
• Carpera Willowdancer - Dishwasher