The Cauldron Lottery

Overview

The Cauldron Lottery is a chaotic, beloved, and mildly dangerous potion stall located at the ragged edge of Gutterbrew Alley in the City of Or. Known for producing wildly unpredictable brews with brilliant colours and questionable effects, it is both feared and adored by locals, students, and festival goers. While most of the city’s alchemists strive for stability, The Cauldron Lottery thrives on uncertainty.

The stall’s reputation is such that many avoid it entirely, while others come seeking inspiration, transformation—or a story to tell. Its name comes from the experience of drinking its potions: results vary, and survival is (mostly) guaranteed.

Owner

Drip, a wide-eyed, red-nosed hobgoblin with a deep respect for the alchemical process, is the stall’s sole proprietor and “randomiser-in-chief.” Despite appearances, Drip is a passionate practitioner of magical chemistry, always seeking to push the boundaries of arcane science—even if it means the occasional accidental petrification.

Drip believes that true understanding comes not from controlling magic, but from surrendering to it with a well-timed sip. He insists that “each brew has a purpose; the drinker just hasn’t been told what it is yet.”

Appearance

Most of the time, The Cauldron Lottery is a patched-together tented stall framed by driftwood, old pipes, and a dozen bubbling cauldrons in various hues. When not under repair (which is rare), the stall emits steam, sparkles, and the occasional frog-shaped cloud.

Behind the bubbling counter, shelves groan with glowing flasks, labelled only by colour, scent, or poetic riddle. A crooked sign swings above:

“One sip, no refunds!”

Festival Fame

The Cauldron Lottery became a local legend during the Election Festival of a previous Arc, when one candidate drank an unlabeled brew and began exuding turnip juice. The resulting trial—“Debate the Turnip”—led to an actual root vegetable being declared the winner of the round.

Since then, Drip’s concoctions have become an unofficial part of the trials, often used in wildcard events and bardic satire. A wooden bust of the victorious turnip, named “Tharnibus” by Tallis Thorne, remains on display beside the stall.

Reputation

Locals say: “You drink at Drip’s when you’ve run out of luck or want to change it.”
Gutterbrew regulars say: “That stall’s got more stories than a bard with amnesia.”
Drip says: “It’s not chaos, it’s character development.”

Location

Found on the very edge of Gutterbrew Alley, between a leaning chimney stack and a graffiti-covered wall of potion stains.