The Quacken

The Quacken is an ancient sea monster whose name describes its two most visible traits: the size and tentacles of a kraken combined with the unmistakable head and call of a duck.

When awakened, it rises in an enormous plume of water and salt. Tentacles spread across the ocean surface while a green-and-blue scaled duck head emerges through curtains of seaweed. Its quack is deep enough to shake the shore.

A Guardian Between Life and Death

The creature sleeps beneath the bay in a state Grimma describes as neither fully living nor fully dead. This condition makes the Quacken accessible to necromantic awakening and control.

The Quacken is also part of Captain Leftbeard’s history. A sorcerer uses it to waylay Leftbeard’s ship after the pirate steals the Vile Seed. The battle helps drive the damaged vessel into hiding near the islands.

The Foil-Proof Plan

ELM needs to cross a bay guarded by investigators. His plan requires simultaneous confusion on land, in the air, and at sea. Cinder recruits satyrs. Grimma raises walking bread for them to chase. Fannie becomes a phoenix and Jumbo Shrimp.

Grimma completes the deepest part of the plan by awakening the Quacken. The monster breaks the blockade’s control of the water, creates enough chaos for the treasure hunters to escape, and eventually carries ELM and Grimma to the opposite island.

Under Grimma’s Control

After awakening, the Quacken follows Grimma’s commands for a limited period. It lifts passengers with its tentacles without crushing them and transports them across the bay.

The control is temporary. After delivering the party to the second beach, the creature communicates that it requires a vacation. The destination is not recorded, and Grimma considers that a question best left unanswered.

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Residents of the Preserve

Ronchi, a taurcen with a horse’s head and upper body above human legs, guards the forest route. He asks travelers their name, quest, and whether they are misfits.

Other residents include a two-eyed cyclops called a biclops, a two-headed chimera missing its lion head, a gorgon with snakes for fingers, a reverse satyr, and Bucky the under-deer, whose antlers grow like a beard and whose observations frequently become poetry.

The Preserve’s Law

The island’s founding ideal is that no one should be excluded. Residents share what the preserve receives, including treasure that washes ashore or crashes into its harbor.

The ideal has a coercive side. Once a visitor identifies as a misfit, local law requires that person to remain in the preserve. ELM’s honest answer about being the only non-stone member of his immediate family makes him eligible for permanent residence whether he wants it or not.

The misfits allow him to search Leftbeard’s ship but insist that any treasure must be shared. ELM agrees publicly while planning to use the hidden portal before anyone notices.

Leftbeard’s Wreck

The grounded ship is painted white on one side and black on the other. Its flag displays only half a skull and crossbones, preserving the captain’s lifelong commitment to asymmetry.

A skeletal bird guards the captain’s quarters and demands a pass-song. Inside, clues point toward a chute hidden in the ship and a portal leading to the true treasure island.

From Preserve to Pirate Crew

After Captain Leftbeard’s curse breaks, the wreck becomes seaworthy again. ELM realizes that a restored ship is useless without a crew and invites the island’s residents to sail with him.

The offer changes the relationship. Instead of remaining in a preserve because the law defines them as misfits, they can choose a shared adventure. The biclops retains the title of mayor while acknowledging ELM as captain.

The crew boards the renamed ship, The Cinder, and carries the island’s community into the next stage of ELM’s anti-hero career.

Important Themes

• Belonging becomes harmful when it removes the freedom to leave.
• A creature’s unusual form does not determine its intentions.
• Community rules can protect outsiders while still needing reform.
• Monsters may serve as weapons, guardians, transport, or victims of older conflicts.
• A chosen crew offers a different kind of home than compulsory preservation.

The Quacken is one of the few vessels in the Beandom with tentacles, a duck’s head, and a clearly stated vacation policy.

—The Chronicler

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