From the introduction:
I have a short adventure—about twelve hours’ worth of play, eighteen if things go totally sideways—that I know so well I can pull it out anytime I want to run an impromptu game. It begins like this: for some reason, salt has become scarce across the land, and nobody knows why. Today, however, there’s a merchant in the marketplace with a large supply, and people are lining up to buy some. A shabbily dressed commoner marches up to the head of the line and offers the merchant 40 gold pieces for the entire barrowload. The merchant balks, but the commoner ups his bid to 45 gold pieces, then 50. Increasingly uncomfortable, the merchant finally gives in, takes the money, and runs. The crowd of would-be buyers, enraged, sets upon the buyer; before anyone else can act, the mob beats him to death. And then, amid shrieks of surprise and horror, a humanoid brain on four large-pawed legs springs from the scuffle and tears across the market square.