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All 14 beats reviewed. The two missing information rewards and their later scenes are now written.
Earlier Act 1 review — superseded by the 9 October flow revision
Original dialogue is restored where recovered. New dialogue is checked against the agreed outcome, rather than treated as previously approved wording.
| Beat | Scene | Review and repair |
|---|
| 1 | Opening and guard | Guard: original twelve background/result exchanges restored. Scholar: removed the invented inscription and its invented explanation of treatment; the previously unspecified ritual question now has a new discovery and audience exchange. |
| 2 | Escape and descent | Restored the original four portal outcomes and the four background approaches, stats and target. Everyone still crosses. |
| 3 | Charon and Lamplighter | Restored the original three approaches, target 12, discount results, unchanged-fare failures, and skipped-roll line. Every result retains both routes. Removed the early report of Hell collapsing. |
| 4 | Beachhead | Checked the unidentified capture attempt, F2, and the corrected brief transition to Clive. The employer remains secret; reconstruction is explained at the workshop. |
| 5 | Clive’s workshop | Checked memory/restoration, payment, obligation and leaving branches. Restored the worker’s stool and original memory prompts. Leaving incurs no service obligation. The contract explanation follows the later approved correction. |
| 6 | City courtyard | Restored procedure/messenger/audience/supplier approaches. Checked the F3 trap and courier outcomes. Corrected the first-meeting payoffs and placed the insult callback at the company negotiation. Removed the invented advance-payment letter; the courier now reveals Braska’s concealed plunder terms and testifies at the wage decision. |
| 7 | Veyr and the palace | Checked friendly reception, repeated doses, expedition and promised rule. Restored the Noble failure to seats after a public endorsement; removed the extra choice. Checked the Outlaw’s four outcomes. |
| 8 | Village and scouting | Checked the existing friendship with Mara and four Peasant outcomes. Help/refusal controls the guides and hidden path. The agreement does not replace soldiers’ pay. |
| 9 | Company choice | Scouting precedes the choice. The party decides on the island. Both companies join the assault; chosen captain becomes adviser and the other becomes rival. |
| 10 | Troop preparations | Checked all four outcomes against the original record. Each eligible background now has its own approach text. Court callbacks stay assigned to court; the marching song is repeated at victory. |
| 11 | Assault | Checked both chosen approaches and both village-help states. Narrated help precedes F4. Mileene has no pre-fight conversation. |
| 12 | Mileene’s fate | Checked kill, imprisonment and exile after F4. Kept the established future outcomes; removed future-act instructions from read-aloud narration. |
| 13 | Treasury and celebration | Checked four Merchant outcomes. Critical success identifies the thief and preserves evidence; success recovers money. Restored the existing luxury customisations and saved fields for them. |
| 14 | Payment and companies | Checked pay/loot/unpaid-ban and merge/separate outcomes. No roll replaces wages. Moved the rejected captain’s accusation before departure; both company structures retain their agreed later consequences. |
New writing for the two previously unspecified details
Scholar critical success — New draft: the inscription says the bond can be used from Hell. Mephisto asks Veyr who can use it. Veyr admits he might be able to, while keeping his actual plan hidden.
Courier critical success — New draft: Braska privately promised plunder if wages were not paid. The courier reveals the order after rescue and confirms it before the party decides how to pay the troops. The wage choices and their consequences remain the same.
Beat 1 — Finally awake
SHOWThe flooded cathedral crypt. Vaelor’s body beside his throne. The red arch remains open.
The flooded crypt · Act 1, beat 1NARRATORYou wake beneath the drowned cathedral. Water laps against the steps. Sir Vaelor lies beside his throne. The door you opened is still open.
SHOWMephisto on the ledge, cleaning his spectacles.
Mephisto — cleaning his spectacles · Act 1 · Beat 1NARRATORMephisto sits on a stone ledge, cleaning his spectacles.
MEPHISTOAh. You’re finally awake.
MEPHISTOI’d offer you breakfast, but everything down here has been underwater for four hundred years.
NARRATORHis smile fades as he looks at you.
MEPHISTOWell. That hasn’t improved. Look at your hands.
SHOWClose view of the cursed hand.
The mark · Act 1, beat 1NARRATORThin violet lines run beneath your skin. Every one of you has them.
NARRATORMephisto puts on his spectacles and studies the marks.
SHOWMephisto wearing his spectacles.
Mephisto on the ledge · Act 1, beat 1MEPHISTOThey appeared after you opened the door. I waited for them to fade. They spread instead.
MEPHISTOMortimer sent you here for what was behind it. Vaelor tried to stop you. And I asked you to open it. My family was on the other side.
MEPHISTOYou did what I asked. I didn’t know this would happen to you. I should have known more before I asked.
NARRATORBehind him, red light ripples across the arch. A narrow stream of water rises into it.
MEPHISTOVaelor called this church a lid. He meant it. We’ve opened it, and something has gone wrong.
MEPHISTOLord Veyr, in Hell, may be able to treat those marks. I can take you to him. Then we find you a way home.
Read the cathedral inscription
Scholar • Cold open | Mind 12
SHOWLetters cut into the stone around the red arch.
The cathedral inscription · Act 1 · Beat 1NARRATORWater has worn away most of the inscription. Near the open arch, a few lines remain. Red light fills the cuts in the stone.
SCREENScholar: read the inscription. Mind, target 12. Attempt it or pass.
Cathedral inscription — Critical success · Beat 1 — Finally awakeCritical successNARRATORThe pattern in the stone matches the marks beneath your skin. Two lines describe what it does. The first binds the people who opened the door to the passage. The second describes using that bond from the other side.
MEPHISTOFrom Hell.
NARRATORHe looks from the letters to your hands.
MEPHISTORemember those words. I want Veyr to explain who can use it.
Cathedral inscription — Success · Beat 1 — Finally awakeSuccessNARRATORThe inscription describes a bond. The mark ties its bearer to something beyond the cathedral. The passage does not name what is at the other end.
MEPHISTOVeyr may know what’s at the other end. Remember the wording.
Cathedral inscription — Failure · Beat 1 — Finally awakeFailureNARRATORWater and old scratches have worn away whole words. You cannot make sense of what remains.
MEPHISTOLeave it. Veyr may be able to explain the marks.
Cathedral inscription — Critical failure · Beat 1 — Finally awakeCritical failureNARRATORAs you examine the letters, violet light jumps from the stone to your hand. The marks flare. Mephisto catches your sleeve and pulls it clear.
MEPHISTODon't touch that again.
NARRATORA fresh burn crosses the marked skin. The letters go dark.
Cathedral inscription — No roll · Beat 1 — Finally awakeNARRATORYou leave the worn letters alone. Red light moves across the stone.
MEPHISTOThen we ask Veyr about the marks.
NARRATORDust falls from the stairwell. Heavy footsteps approach.
SHOWTorchlight at the top of the stairwell. A soldier peers down into the crypt.
Light in the stairwell · Act 1 · Beat 1SOLDIER ABOVEThere’s light down here!
SECOND SOLDIERGet the others. Nobody leaves.
SHOWMephisto turns toward the stairs, visibly worried.
Mephisto hears the soldiers · Act 1 · Beat 1NARRATORMephisto turns sharply toward the stairs. He grips the edge of the ledge.
MEPHISTOThe fort’s soldiers. They were supposed to guard the boundary. I expect they’ll have questions about the enormous hole in it.
NARRATORMephisto places his hand against the edge of the arch. Its light shudders.
MEPHISTOI’m steadying the crossing. Keep them occupied. I need a moment.
SHOWThe guard standing on the entrance landing.
The approaching guard · Act 1, beat 1GUARDWho opened that? Stay there. Hands where I can see them.
The approaching guard
Shared · Peasant: Heart · Noble: Heart · Outlaw: Mind · Target 12 · One attempt
SCREENGet him talking about the people outside. D20 + Heart. Target 12.
NARRATORYou ask whether the people outside are safe. The village. The harbour. Anyone who couldn’t get behind the fort’s walls.
Approaching guard — Peasant · Critical success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Peasant — Critical success
GUARDMy sister’s down by the harbour.
GUARDShe’s got two children. I told her to stay indoors. As if a bloody door would stop anything coming out of that.
NARRATORHe lowers his spear.
GUARDYou’ve been down here. Tell me what we’re dealing with.
NARRATORBoots reach the stairs behind him.
SERGEANTWhy are you talking to them?
GUARDThey might know how to stop it.
SERGEANTThen we’ll question them in chains.
Approaching guard — Peasant · Success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Peasant — Success
GUARDI don’t know. They sent us here before we could check.
GUARDI’ve been standing on that wall all night, looking at the smoke.
NARRATORFor a moment, he forgets to watch Mephisto. More soldiers arrive behind him.
SERGEANTEnough talking. Hold them.
Approaching guard — Peasant · Failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Peasant — Failure
GUARDNow you ask about the village?
GUARDLook behind you. Whatever came through that door is out there with them.
NARRATORHe raises his voice toward the stairs.
GUARDFound them! Down here!
Approaching guard — Peasant · Critical failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Peasant — Critical failure
GUARDMy sister’s house faces this church.
GUARDYou want to talk about whether she’s safe?
NARRATORHe steps forward, spear raised.
GUARDYou can explain it to her yourself. If there’s a house left.
GUARDSergeant! Bring the chains!
SCREENDemand his name and command. D20 + Heart. Target 12.
NARRATORYou demand his name, his commanding officer, and an explanation for pointing a spear at you.
Approaching guard — Noble · Critical success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Noble — Critical success
GUARDGuard Pell. Third watch.
GUARDSorry. Nobody told us who was down here.
NARRATORHe straightens his back and moves the spear aside. The sergeant arrives behind him.
SERGEANTPell. Why are you apologising?
GUARDI thought—
SERGEANTYes. That’s been a problem.
Approaching guard — Noble · Success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Noble — Success
GUARDWho are you, then?
NARRATORHe studies your clothes, trying to decide whether arresting you will cost him his job. The sergeant comes down the stairs before he makes up his mind.
SERGEANTI don’t care whose family they belong to. Hold them.
Approaching guard — Noble · Failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Noble — Failure
GUARDYou can demand whatever you like upstairs.
GUARDDown here, I’ve got the spear.
NARRATORHe calls over his shoulder.
GUARDSergeant! One of them wants to complain!
Approaching guard — Noble · Critical failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Noble — Critical failure
GUARDOh, very good. Shall I fetch a chair?
GUARDA cushion? Someone to wipe the demon shit off your shoes?
NARRATORThe soldiers arriving behind him laugh.
SERGEANTThey can give us their titles when we book them.
SCREENWarn him about movement upstairs. D20 + Mind. Target 12.
NARRATORYou warn him that something is moving upstairs. He is looking down here while it heads for the way out.
Approaching guard — Outlaw · Critical success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Outlaw — Critical success
GUARDBehind us?
NARRATORHe hurries back up several steps, shouting.
GUARDCheck the upper hall! Both sides!
NARRATORThe approaching soldiers turn back. Mephisto gets a few quiet moments before the sergeant brings them down again.
SERGEANTNothing up there.
SERGEANTPell, you’ve been had.
Approaching guard — Outlaw · Success · Beat 1 — Finally awake Outlaw — Success
GUARDHow many?
NARRATORHe turns toward the stairs and calls for someone to check. The sergeant arrives, takes one look at the arch, and points at the party.
SERGEANTWe’ll deal with upstairs. You keep your eyes on them.
Approaching guard — Outlaw · Failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Outlaw — Failure
GUARDThen it can wait.
GUARDYou’re the ones standing next to a dead knight.
NARRATORHe calls the others down.
Approaching guard — Outlaw · Critical failure · Beat 1 — Finally awake Outlaw — Critical failure
GUARDYes. I’m sure there’s something dreadful right behind me.
NARRATORHe lifts his torch toward Mephisto.
GUARDAnd your friend just happens to be opening a way out?
GUARDSergeant! They’re trying to run!
Approaching guard — No roll · Beat 1 — Finally awakeGUARDSergeant! People in the crypt!
NARRATORHe stays at the foot of the stairs, spear levelled, while the others come down.
SHOWThe sergeant calmly takes command of the crypt entrance.
The sergeant enters the crypt · Act 1 · Beat 1NARRATORThe sergeant steps into the crypt. More soldiers follow, carrying spears and crossbows. Beside Mephisto, red light outlines an opening barely wide enough for a hand.
SERGEANTA dead guardian. An open door. And a demon.
SERGEANTYou’ll all come with us.
NARRATORMephisto keeps his hand against the stone.
MEPHISTOI’m afraid we have an appointment elsewhere.
SERGEANTCrossbows. Cover the demon.
MEPHISTOKeep them away from me.
FIGHTF1 — Cathedral.
Beat 2 — Through the door
Through the door · Act 1 · Beat 2NARRATORThe soldiers in the crypt are defeated. Above you, more boots strike the stairs.
SERGEANT ABOVEDown there! Keep moving!
MEPHISTOThat’s our invitation to leave. I’ve steadied the doorway. You can pass through now.
MEPHISTOThe demons crossed before it started doing whatever this is. Stay together. Once we’re through, I’m letting go.
NARRATORThe red light folds inward. Beyond it, stone steps descend beneath a dark sky. The edges begin to shake.
MEPHISTOPreferably today.
CHECKGet everyone through. Peasant: Heart; Soldier: Body; Outlaw or Scholar: Mind. Target 12. One roller for the party. Every result gets everyone through.
SCREENKeep everyone together and moving. D20 + Heart. Target 12.
SCREENGet the party through in order. D20 + Body. Target 12.
SCREENFind a gap between the doorway’s movements. D20 + Mind. Target 12.
SCREENWatch its rhythm and call the moment to cross. D20 + Mind. Target 12.
Critical success
NARRATOREveryone crosses together. Mephisto follows, and the opening snaps shut behind him. You arrive on a broad stone landing. Nobody is missing. Nobody has landed on anyone else.
MEPHISTOVery tidy.
MEPHISTOIf anyone asks, that was entirely under control.
Crossing — critical success · Act 1 · Beat 2Success
NARRATORThe doorway gives one last twist as you cross. You arrive in a heap on the stone landing. Mephisto comes through behind you. The opening closes with the end of his coat still caught in it.
MEPHISTOOh, come on.
MEPHISTOEveryone here? Good.
MEPHISTOI’ll bill the church.
Crossing — success · Act 1 · Beat 2Failure
NARRATORThe doorway folds sideways. Everyone gets through, but it throws you onto a pile of burial cloths. An old attendant looks up from his sorting table.
ATTENDANTThose are the clean ones.
MEPHISTOWe’re very sorry.
ATTENDANTYou’re very wet.
NARRATORHe pulls a cloth from beneath the pile and holds it up.
ATTENDANTNow somebody’s being buried with an arse print.
Crossing — failure · Act 1 · Beat 2Critical failure
NARRATORThe doorway spits the entire party into a corpse cart. Its wheels roll a few feet. Something beneath you cracks. A porter catches the handle and stares at his load.
PORTERNo.
PORTERI counted these.
NARRATORMephisto steps through onto the landing. The doorway closes behind him.
MEPHISTOThose ones are alive.
PORTERThen they can get their own fucking cart.
Crossing — critical failure · Act 1 · Beat 2All results continue
SHOWThe descent to the blue-fire lake.
The descent into Hell · Act 1, beat 2NARRATORBeyond the landing, a stairway descends into a vast cavern. A lake burns blue beneath it. Its light gives off no warmth. Far below, people wait beside the shore. Others follow paths into the dark.
MEPHISTOWelcome to Hell. Mind the steps.
NARRATORAt the foot of the stairs, a woman holds an empty purse toward a clerk.
DEAD WOMANThey buried me with a coin. I woke up without it.
SHORE CLERKTake that up with whoever buried you.
MEPHISTOCharon charges for the crossing. We should count what we have.
SCREENShared purse.
SHOWCharon at the landing.
Charon’s landing · Act 1, beat 2CHARONMephisto. Those aren’t dead.
MEPHISTONo. We’re hoping to keep it that way.
CHARONLiving still pay.
Beat 3 — The crossing
MEPHISTOYou mentioned.
CHARONThey usually need telling twice.
NARRATORCharon points his pole toward a shallow bowl fixed to the landing.
CHARONPayment there. All of you.
MEPHISTOWe need the far shore. The road to the lord’s city.
CHARONThat’s where the boat goes.
MEPHISTOAnd a little discretion.
NARRATORCharon studies the violet marks.
CHARONThat costs more.
SCREENCharon: 4 gold for the party. A critical success lowers it to 2; a success lowers it to 3. Keeping your names secret costs another 2 gold. The Lamplighter charges 2 gold for the party.
SCREENStart with 15 gold in the shared purse. If you have already started playing, keep your current balance and mark earlier transactions as already counted.
Deal with Charon
Shared • Styx crossing | Merchant: Heart; Scholar: Mind; Peasant: Heart | Target 12
SCREENBargain over the fare. Merchant: Heart. Scholar: Mind. Peasant: Heart. Target 12. One person rolls, or pass.
SCREENBargain over the fare. D20 + Heart. Target 12.
NARRATORYou point out that you can board yourselves, carry your own belongings, and follow instructions. That puts you ahead of several customers already in the queue.
SCREENBargain over the fare. D20 + Mind. Target 12.
NARRATORYou ask whether the fare includes handling bodies. There will be no lifting, dragging, or fishing pieces of anyone out of the water.
SCREENBargain over the fare. D20 + Heart. Target 12.
NARRATORYou ask him to look at the party. You need help crossing, and you’re trying to keep enough money to survive the far shore.
Charon’s fare — Critical success · Beat 3 — The crossingCritical successNARRATORCharon studies you. Then he looks at the queue.
CHARONThe last passenger bit me while I was helping him aboard.
CHARONHe’d been dead three days. Still found the energy.
NARRATORHe names a lower fare.
CHARONCarry your own things. Keep your hands inside. No biting.
Charon’s fare — Success · Beat 3 — The crossingSuccessCHARONI can lower it a little.
MEPHISTOThere. A reasonable man.
CHARONDon’t spread that around.
Charon’s fare — Failure · Beat 3 — The crossingFailureCHARONEveryone on this shore has a reason.
CHARONSame fare.
Charon’s fare — Critical failure · Beat 3 — The crossingCritical failureNARRATORCharon turns toward the waiting dead.
CHARONThese people would like a special price.
CHARONA discount for being alive.
DEAD TRAVELLERMust be fucking lovely.
NARRATORA few people in the queue clap slowly.
CHARONSame fare.
Charon’s fare — No roll · Beat 3 — The crossingCHARONCoins in the bowl. Then aboard.
LAMPLIGHTEREy, amigos. Before you empty your pockets—there’s another way across.
SHOWThe Lamplighter beside the land bridge, with his calavera face, suit and lantern.
The Lamplighter · Act 1, beat 3NARRATORAn undead man in a fitted suit waits down the shore, beneath a leaning signpost. He lifts his lantern toward a narrow bridge.
LAMPLIGHTERMira. Lovely boat. But you’ve still got legs, and he charges like he’s carrying you. I guide, you follow. Same far shore. Less gold. Buen negocio, no?
CHARONTell them about the paths.
LAMPLIGHTERÁndale, Charon. That’s why they hire me. The bad turns come free; knowing which ones to miss costs a little.
MEPHISTOHow long?
LAMPLIGHTERLonger than the boat. No te voy a mentir. Stay with my light, amigos. Wrong turn, you walk all night. Hear somebody calling your name? Let them call.
CHOICECross with Charon or the Lamplighter?
Boat crossing
SHOWFrom the boat, blue flames and isolated rocks.
The blue-fire crossing · Act 1 · Beat 3 — The crossing · Optional branchNARRATORCharon pushes away from the landing. Faces appear in the flames, then vanish. A voice calls from a rock.
CHARONYour names stay here. Keep the extra coin out of the water.
STRANDED SOULPlease. There’s room.
NARRATORCharon keeps moving.
MEPHISTOHow long has that one been there?
CHARONI don’t keep count.
Land bridge
SHOWThe high bridge and branching paths.
The longer crossing · Act 1, beat 3NARRATORBelow the bridge, blue fire burns between black pillars. Travellers approach from another path.
LOST TRAVELLERIs this the way across?
LAMPLIGHTERHíjole, compadre. You’re heading straight back to the shore you left.
LOST TRAVELLERAgain?
MEPHISTOCan they follow us?
LAMPLIGHTERClaro. Keep up, amigos. I charge for the crossing, not the reunion.
NARRATORHe raises his lantern. The travellers turn to follow.
Both routes continue
NARRATORThe crossing ends beneath a ruined watchtower. A road climbs between dark cliffs. Near a roadside shelter stands a horned woman in travelling clothes. She watches the arrivals, then steps aside.
Beat 4 — The far shore
SHOWThe path narrowing between the cliffs.
Ambush on the far shore · Act 1 · Beat 4NARRATORA demon steps into the road ahead. Two more emerge behind you. Others wait higher on the slope.
DEMONLeave your weapons on the ground.
MEPHISTOWe’ve nothing worth stealing.
DEMONThen this should be easy.
NARRATOROne carries rope. Another blocks the way back to the crossing.
MEPHISTOWho are you?
NARRATORThe demon draws his blade.
DEMONTake them.
FIGHTF2 — Beachhead. Their employer and purpose remain secret.
After the fight — the prisoner rope · Act 1 · Beat 4After the fight
NARRATORMephisto examines the rope left on the path.
MEPHISTOThey wanted prisoners.
MEPHISTOLet’s leave before more arrive.
MEPHISTOCome. There’s someone we need to find.
Beat 5 — Clive’s workshop
SHOWThe workshop street outside the city.
The workshop street · Act 1 · Beat 5NARRATORInside one workshop, a worker attaches a leg to a seated demon. Across the street, severed hands hang above a worktable, sorted by size. Mephisto checks the signs and enters.
MEPHISTOI’m looking for Clive. Foundry accident. An explosion.
NOLLBack room. They’re finishing him.
SHOWClive on the repair bench, Hask attaching his arm.
Clive rebuilt · Act 1 · Beat 5 — Clive’s workshopNARRATORClive sits on a bench. A worker holds an arm against his shoulder while another draws a heated tool around the joint. Clive watches the floor.
MEPHISTOClive?
CLIVEI know you. From where?
MEPHISTOThe house by the water. You worked with me. Manifests. Ship seventy-four.
CLIVETallow.
MEPHISTOThat’s right.
CLIVEI don’t remember the house.
NARRATORHask releases the arm. It stays attached.
HASKOpen the hand.
NARRATORHis fingers spread.
Clive tests his repaired hand · Act 1 · Beat 5MEPHISTOWhen we die in your world, we return here. I hoped he’d come back whole.
HASKHis body will be. His memory needs more work. Tasks and directions came back. Things he did often.
MEPHISTOClive. Mileene’s soldiers hold the cathedral stairs. Do you know another way onto our island?
CLIVEThe old freight crossing. It comes out in a sea cave below the eastern cliffs. Away from the cathedral. I know the way.
MEPHISTOWhy couldn’t we use it before?
CLIVEIt only works while the main gate is open. It is open now. I can take you through.
NARRATORHe turns toward the floor.
MEPHISTOHe remembers the routes. Before the accident, he would have asked why we needed one.
HASKWe can try to restore the rest. Or leave him as he is. He’ll follow instructions.
CHOICERestore Clive’s memories or keep him obedient?
Restore
Clive remembers · Act 1 · Beat 5NARRATORThe worker pulls a stool beside the bench.
HASKTalk to him. Something familiar.
MEPHISTOYou used to put everyone in the manifests.
MEPHISTOEven visitors. You asked these people for their names.
CLIVEConvicts. Assorted. We took the cart. There were dogs. Then the singing.
MEPHISTOYou’re here now.
CLIVEYou told me not to explode. Sorry.
MEPHISTONo. Don’t apologise.
CLIVEDid you get the cart home?
MEPHISTOThey did.
CLIVEGood. What happened to you?
MEPHISTOWe opened a door.
CLIVEThat sounds easier than what we did.
MEPHISTOYou’d think.
Keep obedient
Clive waits for instructions · Act 1 · Beat 5HASKThen we’re nearly finished.
CLIVEWho should I follow?
MEPHISTOThese people.
CLIVEUnderstood.
NARRATORMephisto cleans his spectacles. Clive waits.
Both results continue
SHOWNoll places the release account across the counter.
Noll’s release account · Act 1 · Beat 5NOLLHis owner wants 8 gold for his release. He can’t leave until it’s settled.
MEPHISTOAnd the terms?
NOLLPay now, or promise his owner one future service. The promise buys his release today. If you do neither, he stays.
NOLLHis old contract survived his death. Repairs don’t cancel a debt.
MEPHISTOHe worked for me. I never held that contract.
CHOICEPay for Clive, promise a favour, or leave him?
Pay
NARRATORNoll counts the money and stamps the release.
CLIVECan we go? That man’s been measuring my other leg.
Accept obligation
MEPHISTOOne service, not an unpaid bill. Keep that copy. I don’t trust him to remember the difference.
NARRATORNoll records the agreement and stamps the release.
CLIVEI’ll make myself useful. I know the roads.
Leave
MEPHISTOFor now.
NARRATORMephisto folds the unpaid bill and keeps it.
Clive remains behind · Act 1 · Beat 5Beat 6 — The city courtyard
Enter the city
Shared • City checkpoint | Mind or Heart 14
SHOWThe city entrance before the courtyard attack. Company soldiers wait beside travellers and supply carts.
The demon city gate · Act 1 · Beat 6MEPHISTOVeyr’s stronghold. The towers look as though they’re falling over. They’ve looked like that longer than I’ve been alive.
MEPHISTOThose green furnaces keep the city working. The armed men keep arguing about who owns the work. Keep your purse closed until we know which ones hold this gate.
NARRATORTwo demon soldiers step away from the supply carts. One wears a plum sash over light armour; the other has a green cloth knotted above a battered breastplate. They stop you beneath the gate.
COMPANY SOLDIERBusiness in the city?
MEPHISTOLord Veyr is expecting us.
COMPANY SOLDIEREveryone says that.
SCREENSoldier: use the entry procedure. Outlaw: play a messenger. Noble: request an audience. Merchant: claim to be a supplier. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
SCREENUse the entry procedure. D20 + Mind. Target 14.
NARRATORYou ask which company holds the gate and who is taking names for the palace.
COMPANY SOLDIERWe hold the gate. Palace clerk takes the names. Usually someone tells us first.
SCREENPass as a messenger. D20 + Mind. Target 14.
NARRATORYou claim to be carrying an urgent message for the palace.
COMPANY SOLDIERFrom whom? And why have you brought an audience?
SCREENRequest an audience. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
NARRATORYou ask to be announced to Lord Veyr.
COMPANY SOLDIERHave you an invitation, or just the expectation?
SCREENPass as a supplier. D20 + Mind. Target 14.
NARRATORYou present the party as suppliers with business at the palace.
COMPANY SOLDIERSuppliers of what? There’s a queue for everything except excuses.
City entrance — Critical success · Beat 6 — The city courtyardCritical successNARRATORThe soldiers exchange a look.
GUARD IN PLUMI’ll tell Captain Rose her guests have arrived.
GUARD IN GREENThey’re not her guests. I’ll send for Captain Braska.
GUARD IN PLUMYou do that. We’ll take them in.
NARRATOREach gestures toward the gate, trying to get there first.
City entrance — Success · Beat 6 — The city courtyardSuccessGUARD IN GREENIf he’s expecting you, come with us.
NARRATORHe takes a heavy sack from a tired recruit and drops it onto the supply cart.
GUARD IN GREENPut it down before you fall over. Get some water.
NARRATORHe leads the way toward the courtyard.
City entrance — Failure · Beat 6 — The city courtyardFailureCOMPANY SOLDIERNo invitation, no grand entrance. Help carry this in and somebody can ask for you.
NARRATORHe points at a basket of palace laundry beside the cart.
MEPHISTOA promotion from prisoners already.
NARRATORThe soldiers open the labourers’ entrance. The laundry goes with the party to the palace.
City entrance — Critical failure · Beat 6 — The city courtyardCritical failureCOMPANY SOLDIERI'll tell Captain Braska exactly what you said.
MEPHISTOAnd tell him we're here to see Lord Veyr.
COMPANY SOLDIERI'll tell him both.
NARRATORHe steps aside without another word.
City entrance — No roll · Beat 6 — The city courtyardMEPHISTOSend my name ahead. Mephisto. I can wait while you check.
NARRATORThe soldier waves a runner toward the palace. Before the runner reaches the courtyard, shouting breaks out beyond the gate.
SHOWThe demon-city uprising: imps scramble over the wrecked cart, a clawed enforcer drives at the defenders, and two triangle heads advance behind it.
The courtyard uprising: imps, enforcer and triangle heads · Act 1 · Beat 6NARRATORFruit rolls through spilled blood. Imps scramble over an overturned stall while a clawed enforcer drives the city guards back. Behind it, two hulking figures with triangular iron heads drag their blades through the wreckage. Above them, someone tears Veyr’s banner from a balcony. A demon shopkeeper pulls a wounded neighbour behind his counter.
CITY GUARDMephisto! Get inside or get away from the gate!
MEPHISTOWho’s attacking?
CITY GUARDAnother lot who think they should own the city.
RIVAL FIGHTERBreak their line! Take the road!
NARRATORThe attackers charge through the gate as you enter. Behind you, a cart overturns across the opening. The fighting cuts off the way back.
CITY GUARDThis way! Behind the shields!
NARRATORA fighter swings at the guard beside you. Others rush into the gap. You must fight through to safety.
FIGHTF3 — Courtyard of the city.
SHOWA courier beneath a broken market stall. A surviving company soldier kneels beside the wreckage.
The trapped courier — after the courtyard fight · Act 1 · Beat 6After the fight
NARRATORThe surviving attackers retreat into side streets. Guards clear the palace road.
Free the trapped courier
Soldier • After F3 City courtyard | Body 14
NARRATORA courier's legs are pinned beneath a beam. The soldier beside them tries to lift it. The beam barely moves.
COURIERDon't pull me. Lift it first. Please.
SCREENSoldier: Brace against the wreckage and lift the beam while the other soldier pulls the courier clear. D20 + Body. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Soldier plants their feet beside the stall and takes the beam’s weight. The other soldier reaches beneath it, waiting for room to pull the courier clear.
Trapped courier — Critical success · Beat 6 — The city courtyardCritical successNARRATORThe beam lifts clear. The other soldier pulls the courier onto open ground, then runs for a healer. The courier catches the Soldier's sleeve.
COURIERI won't forget who got me out. Listen. Before he comes back.
MEPHISTOYou need to lie still.
COURIERThen come closer. I carry Braska's orders. He promises the men their wages or whatever they can take when the fighting's done.
MEPHISTOFrom the enemy?
COURIERFrom whoever has something. He told me not to repeat that part in front of anyone hiring them.
NARRATORThe courier looks toward the approaching healer.
COURIERIf he offers you soldiers, ask him about it. I'll say I heard him. I was there.
Trapped courier — Success · Beat 6 — The city courtyardSuccessNARRATORThe beam shifts. The other soldier pulls the courier free before it drops back into place.
COURIERI thought I was done.
NARRATORThe courier catches their breath and holds up a company badge.
COURIERAsk for the courtyard courier if you need word carried. They'll know me.
Trapped courier — Failure · Beat 6 — The city courtyardFailureNARRATORThe broken timber catches beneath the beam. It will not lift. The courier grips the other soldier's wrist.
COURIERTell my sister I tried to come back. At the red bakery. She'll be waiting.
NARRATORThe soldier stays beside them. After a while, the courier's grip loosens.
Trapped courier — Critical failure · Beat 6 — The city courtyardCritical failureNARRATORThe beam shifts sideways. The rest of the stall collapses into the gap beneath it. The courier's cry stops under the falling wood.
COMPANY SOLDIERStop! Leave it!
NARRATORThe soldier stares at the wreckage, then at you.
COMPANY SOLDIERI told you to lift it.
Trapped courier — No roll · Beat 6 — The city courtyardNARRATORThe company soldier calls for help. Two guards arrive with a lever and kneel beside the courier.
COMPANY SOLDIERGive us room. We'll take it from here.
NARRATORTheir work continues as the palace road is cleared.
MEPHISTOWe need to see Lord Veyr. They need his help.
GUARD CAPTAINI’ll send word.
GUARD CAPTAINOur clerk asked Charon who came across. He refused to give your names. You paid him well.
GUARD CAPTAINCharon’s clerk already sent your names to the gate. He sells that list to anyone who asks.
NARRATORA runner leaves toward the palace. The captain escorts the party after him.
Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitality
SHOWVeyr’s reception room. Chairs around a low table; attendants bring water.
Veyr’s reception room · Act 1 · Beat 7VEYRMephisto. At last. And the people who opened our door. Come in. Sit.
MEPHISTOThe marks appeared afterwards. They’ve spread since.
VEYRFetch my physician. Bring the treatment here. They’ve travelled enough.
NARRATORHe takes the chair opposite the party.
VEYRI owe you thanks. For generations, we’ve watched that door.
MEPHISTOThey’ve paid for it.
VEYRYes. I can see that.
NARRATORThe physician arrives, studies the marks and pours a dark liquid into small cups.
PHYSICIANOne dose each. It will taste unpleasant.
SCREENTake the treatment.
SHOWThe cursed hand with its glow dimmed.
The treatment slows the mark · Act 1 · Beat 7NARRATORThe treatment is bitter and thick. The light beneath your skin dims.
PHYSICIANThat should slow it. You must keep taking it. I’ll prepare travelling doses. It won’t remove the curse.
VEYRAs many as they need.
NARRATORThe physician leaves to prepare the supply.
MEPHISTOBefore we leave that subject. We read the inscription. It says this bond can be used from the other side. By whom?
NARRATORVeyr stops reaching for his cup.
VEYRSomeone who understands the ritual.
MEPHISTOYou recognised the marks.
VEYRYes.
MEPHISTOCould you use them?
NARRATORVeyr looks directly at the Scholar.
VEYRI won't test that on guests.
MEPHISTOThat wasn't a no.
VEYRNo. It wasn't. You deserve an honest answer.
NARRATORHe picks up his cup, but does not drink.
VEYRYou also deserve some rest. Let us settle how I can help you.
MEPHISTOThe inscription called it a bond. What are they bound to?
VEYRLet my physician finish his examination. I won’t give you a confident answer and then discover it was the wrong one.
NARRATORHe turns the conversation back to the supply of medicine.
VEYRThat burn is fresh. The mark reacted to something.
VEYRYou examined the doorway, didn't you? Leave any further study until you're stronger.
NARRATORHis eyes linger on the Scholar's hand before he turns back to Mephisto.
VEYRMileene still holds the fortress and the cathedral above the crossing. Getting onto the island is only the first step. I need that fortress secured.
MEPHISTOClive has another way onto the island. We need treatment and soldiers, not another guide.
VEYRThen use his route to scout the fortress. My companies will follow.
MEPHISTOWe left the man who knew another crossing behind. The cathedral is the only route we have.
VEYRMy men can force its exit. But Mileene will hear about that.
MEPHISTOYou have soldiers.
VEYRSoldiers who know little about your island. These people know its roads, its people—and Mileene.
VEYRThey also need medicine to remain in your world. I can supply an expedition. Holding a crossing, feeding a garrison, making a life there—that needs people who can stay.
MEPHISTOTheir own land, your troops. And whose orders?
VEYRTheirs, within the fortress. Keep the passage open to my people and my supplies. In return, I provide the companies, your treatment, and payment when the work is done.
VEYRLead the expedition. I’ll provide troops and their supplies. When the fortress is taken, you will hold it.
MEPHISTOYou’re offering them command?
VEYRAnd somewhere to return to. Mileene’s council put warrants out for you. Take her fortress and you will no longer be asking her permission to come home.
SHOWRose and Braska enter Veyr’s reception room. Rose carries the rolled plan; Braska’s scarred face, broken horn and green neckcloth match the guard’s company colours.
Captains enter · Act 1 · Beat 7
NARRATORAn attendant admits an auburn-haired demon woman in a plum coat and a broad, scarred demon in worn armour. The woman carries a rolled plan. The soldier has a broken horn and the same green neckcloth as the guard outside.
VEYRRose advises me and commands my scouts. Captain Braska leads the other company. You met their men at the gate. Both companies will join you; you choose who directs the assault.
ROSEMy people find a way inside before the enemy knows there is an assault. I’ll show you the ground before I ask you to trust the plan.
BRASKAAnd mine hold the way once it’s open. They’ll want to see the people giving the orders. Preferably before the arrows start.
ROSEMy men sent word as soon as you arrived. I have maps ready for you.
BRASKAMaps are useful. Soldiers are better. I'll show you mine in the morning.
ROSEAnd I’ll show you an approach that gets them home again.
NARRATORThe soldier who escorted you waits at the door, still bleeding through a bandage. Braska notices.
BRASKAYou brought them here. Good. Now let the physician look at that arm.
NARRATORThe soldier starts to object.
BRASKAThat was an order.
NARRATORAn attendant finally takes the laundry basket from the party as the captains enter.
BRASKAThey made you carry laundry?
NARRATORHe looks at the palace attendant.
BRASKAFetch it yourself next time. They're here to lead an expedition.
VEYRTake our guests to their rooms first. Tomorrow, we make a plan.
SHOWThe formal supper table in the palace.
The demonic court at supper · Act 1 · Beat 7NARRATORBy evening, the guest rooms have been opened and the physician has sent your first bottles. An attendant brings you down to supper. Rose and Braska sit among the officers at Veyr’s table.
NARRATORAt supper, an attendant places the Noble low at the table, beside a servant holding a chamber pot.
Take your seat at the lord’s table
Noble • Meeting the lord | Heart 15
ATTENDANTYour seat. At the end.
NARRATORThe chamber pot has been polished. Nobody has thought to remove it.
SCREENNoble: Ask for the party to be seated as Veyr’s guests and expedition leaders. D20 + Heart. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble addresses the attendant within Veyr’s hearing and asks for places suitable for the people leading his expedition.
Veyr’s table — Critical success · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityCritical successVEYRThat won't do. Bring another chair here.
NARRATORThe attendant places it beside Veyr. He raises his cup toward the table.
VEYROur guests will lead the island expedition. If it succeeds, you will be receiving them as rulers. Let us begin as we mean to continue.
NARRATORThe officials rise and lift their cups.
Veyr’s table — Success · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalitySuccessVEYROf course. Make room for our guests.
NARRATORThe attendant moves the party's places up the table.
VEYRYou all know Mephisto. These are the people who opened the passage. They will lead the expedition to the island.
NARRATORThe officials turn to greet you.
Veyr’s table — Failure · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityFailureVEYRA place closer to me? Tell the room why.
NARRATORThe table goes quiet. Veyr makes the Noble explain the party’s claim to importance while everyone waits.
VEYRThen we agree that this expedition deserves your support.
NARRATORThe explanation ends with a public endorsement of Veyr. Only then does he signal to the attendant.
VEYRMake room for our guests.
NARRATORThe party receives the better seats. Everyone at the table has heard the endorsement.
Veyr’s table — Critical failure · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityCritical failureNARRATORAn official covers a laugh with his napkin. Veyr notices the chamber pot beside the chair.
VEYROur Keeper of the Royal Vessel, apparently.
NARRATORLaughter travels down the table. The attendant leaves the chair where it is.
MEPHISTOVery fine table manners, my lord.
Veyr’s table — No roll · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityNARRATORThe party’s places remain at the foot of the table. The first course is served. The attendant turns his attention to the guests farther up the hall.
Listen to the captains
Outlaw • After meeting the lord | Body 14
Conversation at Veyr’s table · Act 1 · Beat 7NARRATORThe woman in the ivory mask turns from the window as a servant pours her wine.
VESSAI could get used to your world. A ship, an open sea. Room to go somewhere.
SERRIKThey’ll hang you at the first port, Vessa.
ROSEOnly if they catch her.
Serrik’s reply · Act 1 · Beat 7NARRATORThe pale demon’s lips draw back, exposing another row of teeth.
SERRIKI’d stay and watch.
NARRATORThe last dishes are cleared. Veyr leaves with his officials, and an attendant points the guests toward their rooms. Rose and Braska have already stepped into a side room along that passage.
SHOWA palace passage after supper. Rose and Braska speak inside a small side room.
Rose and Braska after supper · Act 1 · Beat 7NARRATOROn the way from the hall, you hear Rose and Braska through a half-open door.
BRASKABefore anyone sails, we settle what the men are owed.
NARRATORA narrow space behind a hanging curtain offers a place to listen.
SCREENOutlaw: Move behind the curtain and listen to the captains without drawing their attention. D20 + Body. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Outlaw slips toward the hanging curtain. Beyond it, Rose and Braska continue their argument, unaware that someone is trying to hear.
Listening to the captains — Critical success · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityCritical successROSEYou want the garrison. Say it plainly.
BRASKAI want a command that lasts longer than the landing. My men aren't sailing for a handshake.
ROSEAnd I want a place in their court. Someone needs to know what they're doing before it becomes our problem.
BRASKAThen we both want them alive long enough to choose.
NARRATORTheir voices lower as an attendant passes. Neither has noticed the curtain.
Listening to the captains — Success · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalitySuccessBRASKAAn advance. Before we leave.
ROSEAsk Veyr.
BRASKAI have. Now I'm asking what you've promised them.
NARRATORAn attendant approaches the door with a tray. There is time to leave before it opens.
Listening to the captains — Failure · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityFailureNARRATORThe old fitting above the curtain creaks.
ROSEDid you hear that?
NARRATORHer chair scrapes across the floor. The open passage gives you a way away from the door before she reaches it.
SCREENThe attempt ends here; no part of their private bargain was heard.
Listening to the captains — Critical failure · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityCritical failureNARRATORThe curtain fitting tears out of the wall. Fabric and brass rings fall across the doorway. Rose and Braska stare at the figure exposed behind it.
BRASKAComfortable back there?
ROSEYou could have knocked.
BRASKAThen we might have said something useful.
NARRATORNeither offers to continue the conversation.
Listening to the captains — No roll · Beat 7 — Veyr’s hospitalityNARRATORAn attendant closes the door. The captains' voices fade behind it. The passage toward the guest rooms remains clear.
Beat 8 — See the ground
SHOWThe palace yard next morning. Mephisto has a travelling bag over one shoulder. Rose and Braska wait beside a fortress plan.
Mephisto leaves to find his family · Act 1 · Beat 8MEPHISTOClive will show you the crossing. The captains will help take the fortress. I need to find my family.
MEPHISTOThe captains will get you through the guarded cathedral. I need to find my family.
ROSELeave word here. They'll have someone collecting their medicine.
MEPHISTOI will. You know where to find me if the treatment changes.
NARRATORMephisto leaves through the city gate. The captains stay with the party.
BRASKAMorning, Keeper of the Royal Vessel.
ROSELeave it, Braska. We have work to do.
NARRATORAn attendant behind him tries not to laugh.
NARRATORA palace official bows to the Noble before handing over the fortress plan.
OFFICIALLord Veyr asked that his future rulers have everything they need.
NARRATORThe physician has delivered the travelling doses. Both companies prepare equipment. Neither has been chosen yet.
BRASKATake the harbour, bring the troops ashore, then push for the gate.
ROSEYou’ve drawn the harbour wider than the fortress.
BRASKAI’m a captain. Find an artist if it bothers you.
ROSEClive takes us through first. We scout while the companies wait here.
ROSEWe take a detachment to force the cathedral exit. The companies wait until we know where to land them.
BRASKAFind where we can land. Count her guards. See what she’s done to the gate.
SHOWThe hidden freight crossing opens into a sea cave beneath the island’s eastern cliffs. Daylight falls across old loading steps.
Clive knows the way home · Act 1 · Beat 8NARRATORClive leads you through an abandoned loading yard in Hell. He opens a narrow freight gate and takes you into a sea cave on your island. Above it, a path reaches the cliffs without passing the cathedral guards.
CLIVEThere. Home. Try not to look too surprised—I did say I knew the way.
CLIVEHuman shore reached. Which task comes next?
NARRATORRose and Braska follow you up the path. Mileene’s watch has seen nothing. The companies wait in Hell for word of the landing place.
SHOWRose and Braska’s detachment at the cathedral stairs after forcing the guarded exit.
Scouts return through the crypt · Act 1 · Beat 8NARRATORWithout Clive, you return through the cathedral arch. Rose’s scouts cover the stairs while Braska’s detachment drives the guards from the exit. One guard escapes toward the fortress. Its warning bell rings before you reach the shore.
BRASKAWe’re through. She knows we’re back.
ROSEThen we scout from cover. No standing on the skyline.
NOTEResolve this brief clash in narration. It adds no numbered fight, roll or cost. Mileene knows a force has returned; the chosen assault route still decides how you reach her.
ROSEWe look at the landing and the walls, then choose the approach. We send for the companies when we know where to put them.
NARRATORThe shore path brings you toward the fishing village you helped before. It lies between the landing places and the fortress. Its people know which paths the garrison uses.
BRASKAAsk your headwoman where the supply carts go. I’d rather hear it from her than find out beneath a crossbow.
NARRATORMara recognises you before you reach the first houses. She is the headwoman who gave you the village’s boat last time. Her eyes move from you to the two demons.
SHOWMara meeting the party on the village path.
Mara on the village path · Act 1 · Beat 8MARAYou’re back. And you’ve brought company. Come inside. Tell me before everyone starts guessing.
SHOWMara’s house, plain table and window facing the fortress.
Negotiating with Mara · Act 1 · Beat 8 — See the groundMARAWe gave you a boat last time. I was hoping you’d found somewhere better.
BRASKAWe’re going to take the fortress.
MARAFrom Mileene.
ROSEWe’re here to see the approaches before deciding how.
MARAAnd when you’ve decided, soldiers come through my village?
BRASKAI’m looking for somewhere to land outside it.
MARAGood. Keep looking.
Speak to the headwoman
Peasant • Village visit | Heart 12
NARRATORMara brings a jug to the table. She looks at the Peasant, then toward the two captains.
MARAYou know what soldiers eat. And what they take when nobody feeds them.
SCREENPeasant: Ask Mara what protection her village needs, and show that its safety belongs in the assault plan. D20 + Heart. Target 12. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Peasant draws a chair beside Mara and asks what the village would need to stay safe when the soldiers land. The captains wait while she considers the approach.
Mara’s confidence — Critical success · Beat 8 — See the groundCritical successMARACome here a moment.
NARRATORAt the window, she speaks quietly enough that the captains cannot hear.
MARAThe children remember the last raid. One still sleeps under his mother's bed. I can hide them while you fight. I can't hide the whole village from your army afterwards.
NARRATORShe watches the houses outside.
MARAWhen the bill comes, remember they're people. That's all I'm asking.
Mara’s confidence — Success · Beat 8 — See the groundSuccessMARAThen let's talk plainly.
NARRATORShe turns her chair toward the Peasant.
MARAWe'll show you the paths and move the children out of the way. Your soldiers stay out of the houses. Can we agree on that?
Mara’s confidence — Failure · Beat 8 — See the groundFailureMARAI want everyone to hear this. Not just you.
NARRATORShe draws the jug back to the middle of the table and faces the whole party.
MARAIf I help you, you keep those soldiers out of our homes. Every one of you needs to understand that.
Mara’s confidence — Critical failure · Beat 8 — See the groundCritical failureMARADon't pity us.
NARRATORHer voice stops the conversation at the table.
MARAWe're not a sad story to tell over dinner. We live here. Tell me what you're going to do for us, or don't ask us to help.
Mara’s confidence — No roll · Beat 8 — See the groundMARAHere's what I can offer. Paths, guides, somewhere to put your supplies.
NARRATORShe looks around the table.
MARAAnd here's what I want. Your soldiers stay out of our houses.
MARAWe help you reach the fortress. You keep your soldiers out of our homes. That’s the agreement.
CHOICEAccept the village’s terms or refuse?
Village helps
MARAThen come with me. I’ll show you where the guards don’t look.
SHOWService path beneath the fortress wall.
Mara shows the service path · Act 1 · Beat 8NARRATORMara shows the supply path. The slope hides much of it from the harbour.
MARAFood goes in here. Washing comes out. The main gate is for people who want to be seen arriving.
ROSEWho watches this door?
MARAWe’ll watch together. Then count them yourself.
Village refused
MARAThen scout it yourselves. I’m not opening our doors to an army without that promise.
NARRATORMara stays with the villagers. The scouting party leaves by the main path.
Both branches continue
SHOWThe familiar coastal fort: the landing below, the open climb and the covered wall approach.
The landing and fortress walls from the scouting position · Act 1 · Beat 8NARRATORThe scouting party studies the landing shore and the guards visible on the walls. Braska checks the ground for unloading troops.
ROSEThat broken stretch of wall has cover below it. We can approach there even without a guide.
BRASKAThere’s room to land beyond the houses. The slope’s open, but shields will cover the climb.
Beat 9 — Choose the company
SHOWA sheltered position on the island. Rose and Braska review what the scouting party learned.
Sheltered scouting discussion · Act 1 · Beat 9BRASKAMy guard sent me your opinion of this company. If you choose us, I expect better in front of the men.
ROSEThen let them see what you’re offering.
NARRATORThe Outlaw repeats the private bargain about the garrison and a place at court.
ROSESo you listened.
BRASKAThen you've heard what I want. A command that lasts after the landing.
ROSEAnd I want a voice where decisions are made. That isn't something I intend to apologise for.
NARRATORThe Outlaw asks about the advance Braska demanded.
BRASKAI asked for it. The men expect paying when the work's done, whether Veyr advances the money or not.
ROSENow they have heard that before agreeing to lead you.
BRASKAGood. They won't have to say nobody warned them.
ROSEClive got us here unseen. My scouts can reach the wall before she knows we’re coming.
ROSEShe expects us on the cathedral road now. My scouts can slip around to the covered wall while her guards watch that road.
BRASKAAnd if the entrance is barred, you’re trapped beneath her wall. I’ll land beyond the houses and take the gate with the company together.
CHOICEWho leads the attack: Rose or Braska?
Rose chosen
ROSEI’ll send for the company. We’ll go over the approach before we move.
Braska chosen
BRASKAI’ll send for the troops. We’ll prepare the landing here.
All branches continue
NARRATORThe chosen captain sends a messenger back along your route. Both companies will follow. Small boats from the island shore will carry their supplies to the chosen landing. You stay to prepare it.
Beat 10 — Before the assault
SHOWThe landing outside the village. Soldiers unload equipment while Rose and Braska organise their companies.
Preparing at the landing · Act 1 · Beat 10NARRATORThe companies follow Clive’s marked route through the freight gate. Small boats carry their loads from the sea cave to the landing beyond the village. Rose gathers her scouts while Braska checks the shields.
NARRATORThe companies pass through the cathedral exit held by Braska’s detachment. From the shore below it, small boats carry their loads to the landing beyond the village. Rose gathers her scouts while Braska checks the shields.
BRASKAKeep the landing clear. Carry it up or get out of the way.
ROSENo fires where the walls can see them.
NARRATORA few soldiers drink beside the stacked supplies. One raises his cup toward the village roofs.
SOLDIERWarm beds up there. Better than sleeping on a beach.
BRASKAYou’ll sleep where you’re told.
Get the troops ready
Shared • Before F4 Mileene | Heart 14
SOLDIEROne more cup. We can carry a shield drunk.
SHOWAt the troop muster, a soldier reaches for the jug beside equipment still waiting to be carried. Both captains are nearby. The player’s viewpoint faces the small group whose reaction will change with the roll.
Troops — before the roll · Act 1 · Beat 10
NARRATORAnother soldier laughs and reaches for the jug. The unloaded equipment is still piled at the landing.
SCREENSoldier: demand discipline. Merchant: remind them of their pay. Noble: give a speech. Scholar: cite their company rules. Heart, target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
SCREENCall for discipline. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
NARRATORYou call the soldiers back to their equipment and remind them that they are about to fight.
SOLDIERWe know which end of a spear to hold. Most of us.
SCREENTalk about their pay. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
NARRATORYou turn the conversation toward their pay and the work still waiting on the beach.
SOLDIERNow that’s a subject worth putting a cup down for.
SCREENGive a speech. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
NARRATORYou ask for their attention before the assault.
SOLDIERQuiet. We’re getting a speech.
SECOND SOLDIERDoes it come with another drink?
SCREENUse the company’s written rules. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
NARRATORYou cite the company’s rules for preparing to march.
SECOND SOLDIERSomeone had to.
Troops — critical success · Act 1 · Beat 10Critical successNARRATORThe loudest soldier puts his cup down and stands.
SOLDIERTo the people who are getting us off this fucking beach. May their roof hold and their enemies fall through it.
NARRATORThe others cheer, drain their cups, and begin carrying the equipment uphill.
BRASKAI'll remember that one.
Troops — success · Act 1 · Beat 10SuccessSOLDIERAll right. You heard them. Put it away.
NARRATORThe jug is corked. Soldiers buckle their straps and carry the remaining supplies up from the shore.
ROSEBetter. Now they might hear an order.
Troops — failure · Act 1 · Beat 10FailureSOLDIERWe're not taking this from someone who hasn't paid us. Where's the captain?
NARRATORBraska comes down to the landing.
BRASKAI'm here. Put the cups away. Bring complaints after the fight.
NARRATORThey obey him, muttering as they shoulder the equipment.
Troops — critical failure · Act 1 · Beat 10Critical failureNARRATOROne soldier begins chanting your words in a marching rhythm. Another supplies a rhyme. It is not a polite one.
SOLDIER“A crown on the head and a pole up the rear—”
SECOND SOLDIER“Make way for our ruler, the arse of the year!”
NARRATORThe whole group joins in. Even Braska has to turn away before ordering them back to work.
ROSEThat will travel faster than we do.
Troops — pass · Act 1 · Beat 10BRASKACups away. We're moving.
NARRATORAn officer takes the jug. The soldiers finish their preparations under the captains' orders.
NARRATORWhen the companies are ready, Rose and Braska bring their officers together. Beyond the roofs, Mileene’s guards continue their rounds.
BRASKAOnce we move, stay with your people. If an order changes, pass it down the line.
ROSEWe’ve watched the approaches. Now we use what we learned.
Beat 11 — The assault
SHOWThe fortress before the attack, seen from the approach chosen during scouting.
Rose’s covert approach · Act 1 · Beat 11 Braska’s shield advance · Act 1 · Beat 11 Rose chosen
NARRATORRose’s scouts move beneath the wall where the sentries cannot see their feet. Braska waits with the main force beyond the bend. A crossbow scrapes along the parapet overhead. Everyone below it stops.
NARRATORThe sentry moves on. Rose reaches the service entrance. Light passes beneath the door as someone inside approaches it. Her scouts take positions against the stone.
ROSEWait for the signal. Then keep moving.
Braska chosen
NARRATORBraska’s company climbs from the landing in a close shield line. Rose’s scouts move along the flank toward the wall steps. A bell sounds above the gate. Crossbow bolts strike the front shields; one soldier falls and the rank closes over the gap.
NARRATORThe men behind take the wounded soldier’s weight. The others keep climbing. Above the gate, defenders drag a second crossbow into position.
BRASKAShields up. Keep the line together.
Village helps
SHOWVillagers guiding troops along the lower paths.
Villagers guide the troops · Act 1 · Beat 11NARRATORMara’s people meet the soldiers at the turns they showed you. Supplies take the hidden path. The troops avoid the village lanes, and the children are already inside the chapel.
MARAUp that way. Keep going. Don’t stop at the houses.
Village refused
NARRATORThe village doors are shut. No guides wait along the paths. The companies use the ground you scouted yourselves.
All branches continue
SHOWThe fortress entrance during the assault, following the chosen captain’s approach.
Rose opens the entrance from cover · Act 1 · Beat 11 Braska forces the gate · Act 1 · Beat 11 NARRATORThe alarm spreads from tower to tower. Inside the gate, boots hammer across the yard. Mileene’s officers are bringing the reserve down before the entrance is lost.
Rose chosen
NARRATORThe service door opens a hand’s breadth. A scout catches it before the guard can slam it shut. Rose’s people force their way into the narrow passage; steel rings against the doorframe.
NARRATORA guard at the far end runs for the bell rope. Rose cuts him off while a scout lifts the inner bar. Her signal rises from the wall. Braska’s troops break from cover, but the defenders are already turning toward the breach.
ROSEInside! Before they close it!
Braska chosen
NARRATORBraska’s front rank locks its shields beneath the gate. Behind them, soldiers drive a heavy timber against the doors. The first blow barely moves them. Bolts punch through the wood around their hands.
NARRATORRose’s scouts reach the wall steps and force the crossbowmen to turn. The timber strikes again. One hinge tears free. Through the opening, Mileene’s guards brace their spears and push back.
BRASKAThey’re coming down! Turn that shield!
All branches continue
SHOWInside the breached fortress entrance: defenders rally behind an overturned wagon. A veteran directs the line while attackers carry their wounded back through the narrow threshold.
Contested courtyard · Act 1 · Beat 11
NARRATORThe entrance gives way into a yard that is still full of defenders. A veteran rallies them behind an overturned wagon. Soldiers fight across the threshold while others drag their wounded out of the crush.
BRASKAHold this yard! Don’t chase them onto the walls!
ROSEHer officers are falling back to the hall. That’s where she’ll hold them together.
SHOWThe push from the contested yard to the hall: a shield jams the closing doors while defenders fall back inside. The companies remain fighting behind the party.
Push into the hall · Act 1 · Beat 11
NARRATORThe companies force a gap toward the hall steps. Guards retreat through its doors and try to shut them. A shield jams between the leaves. The struggle spills over the threshold, leaving the companies fighting for the yard behind you.
SHOWThe throne room. Mileene and her remaining defenders block the way before the dais.
Mileene’s last stand in the throne room · Act 1 · Beat 11NARRATORThe throne room is her last defensible position. Veterans stand across the lower steps; guards close the gaps beside them. Crossbowmen take cover behind the pillars. From the yard comes the sound of the companies holding back reinforcements.
NARRATORMileene stands before the dais in her steel breastplate and blue coat. She coughs into her hand and comes away with blood. Then she recognises you among the demons. She looks once toward the blocked doors.
NARRATORShe draws her weapon.
FIGHTF4 — Mileene, veterans, guards and crossbowmen. Use the agreed fight setup. The companies are fighting in the yard; Mileene has no conversation before the fight.
Beat 12 — Mileene defeated
SHOWThe throne room after the fight. Mileene lies defeated before the dais.
Mileene defeated — throne room · Act 1 · Beat 12 — Mileene defeatedNARRATORThe last defenders yield or fall. Mileene’s weapon lies out of reach.
NARRATORA soldier begins the marching song from the beach. Others join the chorus.
SOLDIERSA crown on the head and a pole up the rear—make way for our ruler, the arse of the year!
NARRATORThe song carries in from the captured yard.
NARRATORMileene tries to sit up, coughs, and presses a bloodied hand against her mouth. When someone moves toward her fallen weapon, she reaches toward you instead.
MILEENEWait. Please. You know me. In the caves—you listened to me. We took this place from Alistair together.
NARRATORHer eyes move between you, searching for a face that will soften. She tries to speak before anyone answers.
MILEENEThe warrants. I know. The council said we’d hang beside you if we admitted what we’d done. I let them put your names on it.
NARRATORAnother cough bends her forward. She catches your sleeve and loses her grip.
MILEENEI was afraid. I’m afraid now. Lock me up. Send me away. I know the stores, the officers—there must be something you need. Please don’t kill me.
CHOICEMileene’s fate: kill her, keep her prisoner, or exile her.
Kill Mileene
MILEENENo. Wait—please. After everything, not this.
NARRATOROne of you steps forward and kills Mileene. Her reaching hand falls to the stone. Only afterward do the soldiers approach, cover her body and carry it from the throne room.
Imprison Mileene
MILEENEI’ll tell you what I know. The stores. The officers. Whatever you ask. Just let me live.
ROSEYou won’t be commanding it.
BRASKAYou won’t be commanding it.
MILEENENo. No command. I understand.
NARRATORGuards take her into custody.
Exile Mileene
MILEENEYou’re letting me walk out?
NARRATORThe guards return enough of her belongings for the journey and escort her to the road.
MILEENEI’ll go. I won’t come back for it.
NARRATORThe guards stop at the road. Mileene keeps walking, one hand pressed to her side. She looks back once to see whether anyone is following.
All branches continue
SHOWThe fortress hall. The old banner comes down. Soldiers bring the household staff before the party.
Taking the hall · Act 1 · Beat 12 — Mileene defeatedNARRATORBy evening, Mileene’s standard has been taken down. Blue cloth bearing a gold anchor and waves rises above the gate: the household’s new banner under your rule. Rose’s and Braska’s company badges remain on their own equipment.
NARRATORThe staff wait in the hall beneath the new banner, uncertain whether to bow or keep their heads down.
ROSEThe stores need counting. So does the treasury.
BRASKAThe companies are settling into the barracks.
Beat 13 — Your fortress
SHOWThe treasury office. A treasurer waits with an open ledger and a chest.
The treasury · Act 1 · Beat 13 — Your fortressTREASURERThe accounts are ready. Every expense recorded.
SCREENAdd 15 gold from the captured fortress treasury.
NARRATORHe rests his hand on the ledger before anyone can turn a page.
Check the treasury
Merchant • After F4 Mileene | Mind 14
TREASURERYou'll find everything in order.
NARRATORHis hand remains on the last page. The ink there is fresher than on the pages before it.
SCREENMerchant: Compare the receipts with the treasury account and ask the treasurer to explain any gap. D20 + Mind. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Merchant draws the receipts beside the open ledger and begins comparing the entries. The treasurer keeps one hand near the reserve drawer.
Treasury — Critical success · Beat 13 — Your fortressCritical successNARRATORTwo payments carry the same receipt number. The amount removed from the treasury is twice the amount recorded by the supplier.
TREASURERA copying error.
NARRATORThe second receipt bears the treasurer's own signature.
NARRATORThe signed receipt is placed beside the ledger.
NARRATORFaced with his signed receipts, the treasurer opens a hidden cashbox. Five gold is returned to the treasury.
SCREENAdd 5 gold recovered from the treasurer. This is separate from the 15 gold in the treasury.
Treasury — Success · Beat 13 — Your fortressSuccessTREASURERThere was an emergency reserve.
NARRATORThe Merchant asks whose emergency the supplier means.
NARRATORThe treasurer opens a locked drawer beneath his desk. A purse lies inside.
TREASURERI'll add it to the count.
NARRATORThe money is returned to the treasury. He no longer rests his hand on the ledger.
SCREENAdd 3 gold recovered from the treasurer. This is separate from the 15 gold in the treasury.
Treasury — Failure · Rose · Beat 13 — Your fortress Treasury — Failure · Braska · Beat 13 — Your fortress FailureTREASURERI won't open the reserve without an officer present. That was the rule under Lady Mileene.
NARRATORHe closes the ledger and asks a servant to fetch Rose.
NARRATORRose arrives and begins examining the account with him. The captain sees the figures before the party does.
NARRATORHe closes the ledger and asks a servant to fetch Braska.
NARRATORBraska arrives and begins examining the account with him. The captain sees the figures before the party does.
Treasury — Critical failure · Beat 13 — Your fortressCritical failureNARRATORThe Merchant stamps APPROVED across the account and hands it back in front of the assembled household.
TREASURERA pleasure to work with an expert.
NARRATORHe bows. A fistful of coins spills from his coat and bounces across the floor.
TREASURERMy own money.
NARRATOROne coin comes to rest against the Merchant's boot. The treasurer holds out his hand.
TREASURERWould you mind? You've just certified me.
NARRATORHe folds the approved account and puts it safely inside his coat.
Treasury — No roll · Beat 13 — Your fortressNARRATORThe treasurer reads out his total and closes the ledger. The coins in the chest are counted. The entries behind that total remain unchecked.
NARRATORThe available treasury is counted. It is enough to make a choice, not enough to buy everything.
CHOICESave the money, or spend 8 gold on one luxury: a feast, private rooms, a pleasure ship or a monument?
Save
NARRATORThe reserve stays in the treasury. The household prepares a modest meal in the hall.
Spend
CHOICEChoose a feast, rooms, a pleasure ship or a monument.
Feast
SHOWThe fortress hall prepared for a feast.
Reward — the feast · Act 1 · Beat 13 — Your fortress · Optional branchNARRATORThe household opens the stores and lays the tables. Guests arrive beneath the new banners. For tonight, the fortress is a place to eat rather than fight.
NARRATORThe first toast is drowned out by a soldier dropping a whole roast into his lap. A servant brings a cloth. The guests applaud as though it were the evening’s entertainment.
SOLDIERCan I still eat it?
Rooms
SHOWThe household opening the private rooms above the hall.
Reward — private rooms · Act 1 · Beat 13 — Your fortress · Optional branchNARRATORFresh bedding, furniture and decorations arrive in the rooms above the hall. For once, the doors lock from the inside.
NARRATORA servant tests the door’s lock, then places the key on the table.
SERVANTCall if you need anything. Otherwise, we leave you alone.
Ship
SHOWA pleasure ship moored below the fortress.
Reward — pleasure ship · Act 1 · Beat 13 — Your fortress · Optional branchNARRATORYour ship waits in the harbour, its cabin prepared and its deck scrubbed. The crew welcomes the new owners aboard.
SHIPMASTERThe ship is yours. Cabin aft. Wine below. If you decide to sail, tell me before the guests board.
Monument
SHOWA new monument being unveiled in the fortress grounds.
Reward — the monument · Act 1 · Beat 13 — Your fortress · Optional branchNARRATORThe household gathers for the unveiling. The stone records how you wish this victory to be remembered.
NARRATORA mason pulls the covering away. Somebody cheers before the cloth has cleared the first face.
MASONThere. Nobody’s nose broke this time.
All branches continue
SHOWThe hall after supper. Doors lead toward private rooms and the night outside.
The hall after supper · Act 1 · Beat 13NARRATORThe household has stopped waiting for another battle. Cups are filled. Someone begins a song. There is time, at last, to enjoy being alive.
CHOICEHow do you spend the evening: drinking, drugs, adult company or quiet?
Drink
SHOWA rowdy victory celebration — Humans and demons raise their cups around a dancer’s pole in the captured hall, beneath the new blue-and-gold banner.
A rowdy victory celebration · Act 1 · Beat 13NARRATORBy the third cup, humans and demons are singing from the benches. A dancer spins around a brass pole on the little stage while soldiers pound the tables in time. One of them insists you must hear his song. He knows one verse and performs it six times.
BRASKAIf he starts again, make him drink first.
Drug
SHOWThe room begins to melt — A decadent evening in the fortress lounge: revellers, scattered powder and paper tabs, bending stonework, and fish swimming through a wave of blue ceiling.
The room begins to melt · Act 1 · Beat 13NARRATORThe first rush carries the room with it. The blue banner pours across the ceiling like a breaking wave. Fish swim through the candle smoke. Around you, a demon laughs so hard he nearly drops his cup; someone else is arguing with their own shadow. The evening comes apart in bright, ridiculous pieces.
SERVANTWater first. Tell me about the fish afterwards.
Adult company
SHOWPrivate adult company — An attractive adult human woman and demon man welcome the player from a lavish bed; warm candlelight and the moonlit sea beyond.
Private adult company · Act 1 · Beat 13NARRATORA dark-haired woman and a horned man wait together on the great bed, wine poured and room warm. She offers you her hand; he lifts his glass with a smile. You join them and close the door. For a while, the fortress and everyone’s demands can wait.
Quiet
SHOWA quiet evening above the harbour — Food, a clean bed and a comfortable chair wait beside a window overlooking the dark harbour. Nobody else is here.
A quiet evening above the harbour · Act 1 · Beat 13NARRATORBeyond the crowded hall, the sea is dark beneath the windows. Food and a clean bed wait in your room. Nobody knocks tonight.
Beat 14 — The morning bill
SHOWThe hall the next morning. Used cups remain on the tables. The chosen captain brings an account.
Rose brings the wages account · Act 1 · Beat 14 Braska brings the wages account · Act 1 · Beat 14 NARRATORMorning finds the fortress quieter. Servants clear the cups. Your chosen adviser arrives with the companies’ account.
Rose chosen
ROSEWe need to settle the men’s pay. Before they decide to collect it themselves.
Braska chosen
BRASKAThe men fought. They want paying. They’ve seen what’s in the village.
All branches continue
NARRATORMara’s agreement lies beside the account: help taking the fortress in return for keeping soldiers out of the houses.
NARRATORThe soldiers can see the village roofs from the barracks. The houses survived the assault.
BRASKAThe fighting’s finished. The wages aren’t.
ROSEThe fighting is finished. We still owe the companies their pay.
NARRATORThe account is placed beside what remains of the treasury.
NARRATORThe rescued courier has waited beside the door, leaning on a stick. Now they come to the table.
COURIERBefore you decide, there's an order you haven't heard.
COURIERYou promised them plunder if the wages didn't come. I carried that order to the sergeants.
NARRATORBraska is called to the table to answer the courier’s accusation. This is his order being questioned, whichever captain you chose as adviser.
BRASKAYou carried a private order.
COURIERThen it was an order.
NARRATORBraska looks at the stick, then back at the courier.
BRASKAThey won't fight for nothing. Pay them and there's no argument.
COURIERYou promised them other people’s houses. Put that in the account too.
NARRATORThe courier remains beside the table. The account is still unpaid.
CHOICEPay the soldiers, allow looting, or forbid looting without pay?
Pay
NARRATORThe wages are distributed. Orders keep the companies out of the village.
BRASKAPaid means paid. Anyone taking more answers to me.
ROSEThe account is settled. I’ll have both companies acknowledge it. Anyone taking more answers to me.
Allow looting
BRASKAYou heard the order. The village pays.
ROSEThen that is your order. I’ll have it recorded: the village pays.
NARRATORAn officer leaves to inform the companies. From the hall, you cannot see the village road.
Ban without pay
BRASKAAn order without wages. I can announce it. I can’t make them like it.
ROSEI’ll pass on the ban. Without their pay, expect the officers to challenge it.
NARRATORThe ban is passed to the officers. Outside, soldiers argue beside the barracks. One points down the village road. His sergeant turns away instead of stopping the argument.
All branches continue
SHOWRose and Braska with their companies in the fortress yard.
The two companies · Beat 14 — The morning billNARRATORBefore the morning inspection, two sergeants arrive with different orders for the same gate watch. Each captain has assigned their own men. Neither sergeant will withdraw without hearing it from their commander.
ROSEWe needed both companies to take the place. We need to settle who gives an order when both are standing at the same gate.
BRASKAMy officers answer for my men. Put someone else over them and you’re taking my command, not saving yourself a meeting.
ROSEAnd if mine stay independent, I expect to send them where they’re useful. Supplies, scouting, agreements beyond these walls. I won’t ask permission for every errand.
NARRATORThe sergeants wait beside their competing watch lists. Your adviser looks to you for the ruling.
CHOICEPut both companies under one captain or keep them separate?
BRASKAAnd if Rose wants my business again, she can ask. Sending someone behind a curtain was a poor start.
ROSENext time Braska wants to know what I'm saying, tell him to ask. He doesn't need a spy.
Merge
NARRATORThe officers are called together. Both companies receive the order to serve under one command. The other captain sets their command badge on the table.
BRASKAThen you're her men now.
BRASKAI brought them through that gate. Don’t expect me to thank you for handing them over.
NARRATORHe pushes the badge across the table and leaves the officers with Rose.
ROSEThe watches stay in place. Bring your reports to me.
SHOWUnified command under Rose — The chosen captain stands before humans and demons celebrating together beneath the new gold-anchor-and-waves banner. Both companies now answer to one command.
Unified command under Rose · Act 1 · Beat 14ROSEI see. You'll have his advice from now on.
ROSEYou may take the badge. My contacts and my debts remain mine. Remember that when you need something beyond his walls.
NARRATORShe leaves her badge on the table and steps out of the hall.
BRASKASame watches. Same work. New command.
SHOWUnified command under Braska — The chosen captain stands before humans and demons celebrating together beneath the new gold-anchor-and-waves banner. Both companies now answer to one command.
Unified command under Braska · Act 1 · Beat 14Separate
SHOWTwo companies, two captains, under the fortress’s new household banner.
Both captains retain their companies · Act 1 · Beat 14NARRATORThe companies keep their own officers and quarters. One captain joins your household as adviser. The other returns to the barracks with their command intact.
ROSEBring the company reports to my desk. I’ll go through them with you.
BRASKAMy officers still answer to me. We’ll let you know when we move.
BRASKAI’ll bring you the garrison reports. You’ll know what’s happening on your walls.
ROSEAnd I’ll keep my scouts. There’s work beyond those walls.
All branches continue
SHOWThe fortress above the harbour, now under the party’s rule.
The fortress under your new banner · Act 1 · Beat 14NARRATORThe gates open under your orders. The household brings its problems to your hall. Soldiers watch from your walls.
NARRATORFor a few weeks, this becomes home.
ENDAct 1 ends. Act 2 begins with the party waking to the harbour raid.
Earlier choices are missing. Parts of this opening are hidden until you select your adviser, soldiers’ pay and treasury choices in Act 1.
Act 2 — completed revision, 6 October. The ten beats include exact dialogue, choices and roll results. The opening and Soldier rescue are retained. Mephisto appears at court and the city gate; he does not travel on the local quests. Act 3 has received a full scene and dialogue revision, including the new Mephisto entrances and exits.
Player-labelled lines are the words for a selected roll approach or result. They add no freeform prompt. Money and days use the current playtest ledger; record costs at the table.
Act 2 · 1 — Fire at the harbour
SHOWThe upper landing outside the fortress bedrooms. A breakfast trolley stands between the head cook and a potwasher wearing a clean servant's coat. The plates are nearly empty. He holds the last boiled egg.
The breakfast trolley · Act 2 · 1 — Fire at the harbourNARRATORA few weeks into ruling the fortress, you have beds, servants and breakfast brought upstairs. This morning, an argument outside your rooms wakes you before the food arrives.
HEAD COOKTouch that last egg and I'll break your fingers.
FOOD TASTERYou can't threaten an officer of the household.
HEAD COOKYou're a fucking potwasher.
FOOD TASTERI was promoted.
HEAD COOKBy who?
FOOD TASTERI thought we'd settle that once they were awake.
NARRATORHe turns toward your open doors. There is still toast in his mouth.
FOOD TASTERYour breakfast is safe.
HEAD COOKYou've eaten nearly all of it!
FOOD TASTERI had to be thorough. There could have been poison in any of it.
NARRATORAn explosion shakes the windows. A cup falls from the trolley and breaks. Beyond the glass, a warehouse roof lifts into the air. Burning wood scatters across the harbour.
SHOWThe harbour seen from the landing window. A column of smoke rises where a warehouse stood. Fire spreads along the neighbouring roofs.
Fire at the harbour · Act 2 · 1 — Fire at the harbourNARRATORThe cook goes to the window. The potwasher lowers the egg. A watchman reaches the top of the stairs, breathless.
WATCHMANThe dead have landed. They've cut our people off on the quay.
WATCHMANRose is holding the road below. She needs you there.
WATCHMANBraska is holding the road below. He needs you there.
NARRATORHe points back down the stairs. The cook takes the egg from the potwasher and sets it on the tray.
HEAD COOKBlankets. The big cupboard. Bring them to the hall.
FOOD TASTERHow many?
HEAD COOKAll of them.
SHOWThe lower town. Carts block the last turn onto the quay. Watchmen keep the road uphill clear while people crowd behind the barrier. The fortress stands above the street.
Blocked street · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATORThe watchman leads the way down through town. Doors stand open along the street. People carrying water squeeze past others being helped uphill. At the last turn, a dockworker is trying to push between two carts.
DOCKWORKERMy brother's on that boat. The one under the crane. He can't get off.
WATCHMAN AT THE BARRIERI saw. There's dead men between here and the landing.
DOCKWORKERThen give me a spear.
WATCHMAN AT THE BARRIERAnd who's going to carry him if you get yourself killed?
NARRATORThe dockworker grips the cart. Beyond it, soldiers pull a wounded man through a warehouse doorway.
NARRATORMara and the villagers have formed a bucket line behind the carts. As the wounded man comes through, two fishers set down their buckets and take his weight.
NARRATORYour pleasure ship is clear of the waterfront, anchored out in the bay. Its launch pulls away from a burning vessel with rescued sailors aboard.
Rose holds the warehouse doorway · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATORRose backs out of the warehouse doorway with a sword in her hand. She sees you behind the carts.
ROSELet them through. Keep the road open behind them.
NARRATORThe watchmen pull one cart aside. Beyond the barrier, armoured dead hold the quay while labourers drag sacks into the fire.
ROSEThey walked past the pay chest. They went straight for the food and the boats.
DOCKWORKERWhy? What use is any of it burned?
ROSENone. That's what they want.
NARRATORShe points to the grain store. Dead labourers are rolling burning barrels against its doors.
ROSEThat one is still full. Clear the quay and we can get people to the boats. Until then, nobody gets past those guards.
Braska holds the warehouse doorway · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATORBraska comes out of the warehouse behind his soldiers. Blood runs down his sword. He spots you at the carts.
BRASKAOpen it. Let them through.
NARRATORThe watchmen pull one cart aside. Beyond the barrier, armoured dead hold the quay while labourers drag sacks into the fire.
DOCKWORKERThere's money in there. Why aren't they taking it?
BRASKAThey came to burn our food. Can't feed an army with an empty warehouse.
NARRATORHe points to the grain store. Dead labourers are rolling burning barrels against its doors.
BRASKALose that one and we can eat our fucking wages.
DOCKWORKERMy brother—
BRASKAI heard you. When those guards are down, you can reach him. Stay behind the cart until then.
SHOWThe quay beyond the barrier. Armed undead stand between the party and the grain store. Behind their line, the dockworker's wrecked boat rests against the landing beneath the crane.
F5 — skeletons, crypt archer and dread knight · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATOROne of the armoured dead turns toward the gap between the carts. The others spread out beside it. Behind them, a labourer raises an axe to the grain store's doors.
FIGHTF5 — Harbour raid. Use the existing fight setup.
SHOWThe quay after the fight. Workers bring water to the warehouses. A wrecked boat rests against the landing below an exposed dock winch.
The quay after the raid · After F5NARRATORThe dead no longer hold the quay. Buckets reach the fires. A dock winch turns as workers haul a fallen spar clear of the landing.
NARRATORThe dockworker from the barrier runs to the landing. He drops to his knees, reaches down toward the boat, then waves for help.
Carry the wounded man to safety
Soldier · Body · Target 14
SHOWA wounded man on the broken deck. A healer waits on the quay. A dockworker points toward his brother.
Rescue at the quay · Act 2 · 1 — Fire at the harbourDOCKWORKERHe’s still breathing. Please. Get him off there.
SCREENSoldier: Reach the broken deck and carry the wounded man onto the quay. D20 + Body. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Soldier steps down onto the wreck and gets an arm beneath the wounded man. His brother clears a place for the healer on the quay.
The sailor safely ashore · Act 2 · Beat 1 Critical success
NARRATORThe Soldier reaches the quay with the wounded man. The healer takes his weight, but he keeps a fist closed around the Soldier’s sleeve.
WOUNDED MANNot yet. Promise me a drink when I can stand.
HEALERLet go. You need both your hands for complaining.
WOUNDED MANHeard worse offers today.
Success
NARRATORThe Soldier carries him onto the quay. His brother meets the healer with a blanket.
DOCKWORKERTell me your name. I want him to know who brought him back.
WOUNDED MANI can hear you. I’m wounded, not fucking buried.
Dockworkers help finish the rescue · Act 2 · Beat 1Failure
NARRATORThe broken deck shifts under the weight. Two dockworkers climb down and help carry him between you.
WOUNDED MANOther way. My leg’s still attached. I’d like it to stay that way.
DOCKWORKERYou’re welcome.
WOUNDED MANI’ll thank you when we get there.
Critical failure
NARRATORThe Soldier slips beside the running dock winch. The wounded man falls into the gears. There is a crunch. A worker shuts off the machine.
NARRATORNobody moves.
DOCKWORKERHe survived the fucking raid.
NARRATORThe healer lowers the blanket. His brother takes it from her and covers what he can.
The fatal winch accident · Act 2 · Beat 1The dockworkers undertake the rescue · Act 2 · Beat 1Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe dockworkers make a sling from a sail and lower themselves onto the deck. The healer directs them from the quay. Their work continues behind you.
NARRATORA watchman approaches with a folded letter. A pin has torn one corner of the paper.
WATCHMANFound it on one of them. Pinned to his coat. It's addressed to you.
SHOWMortimer's letter. His seal is clean. The paper is stained along the torn corner.
Mortimer’s warning · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATORYou know the man behind that seal. Mortimer.
Mortimer — the man behind the letter · Act 2 · Beat 1 · Character reminderMORTIMER — LETTERYou let a demon army use your harbour. That is why I burned it. Send them away and close the passage. Then we can talk. Keep helping them, and your supplies are still a target.
ROSEThe watch stays at the water. If this is his warning, I want to see the next boat coming.
BRASKAPut men on both piers. Nobody else lands here unchallenged.
NARRATORThe watch moves along the waterfront, checking the buildings it can still enter. Carts carry the wounded up the same street to the fortress.
SHOWThe fortress hall later that morning. The blankets from upstairs cover benches and floorboards. The head cook cuts bread at a table. The potwasher carries cups of water to the wounded.
The wounded hall · Act 2 · Beat 1NARRATORThe potwasher sets a cup within reach of a bandaged man. This time, he leaves it untouched. Behind him, people wait with lists of missing relatives, ruined stores and boats that no longer float.
HEAD COOKKeep that table clear. They'll need somewhere to sit.
NARRATORThe household makes room for the first people asking to be heard.
ENDContinue to Act 2 · 2 — The first court.
Act 2 · 2 — The first court
SHOWThe fortress hall. The breakfast trolley now holds water and bandages. The clerk has cleared one end of the long table for the hearing.
The public hearing · Act 2 · Beat 2 · After the harbour raid, the breakfast hall becomes a hearing room. Dock foreman at left; fisherman in a knitted cap; clerk at right. Water and bandages are on the trolley.NARRATORA dock foreman puts a burnt length of rope on the table. A fisher sets a broken oar beside it. The clerk moves both to make room for his papers.
CLERKThe damage first. Then requests for aid.
HEAD COOKThey're the same people. Give them a chair.
SERVANTA chair for the Keeper of the Royal Vessel—
HEAD COOKA chair. You can finish the title while you fetch it.
NARRATORThe courier rescued from the market brings the company reports directly to the Soldier.
COURIERThe officers who reported in are listed on the front. The missing people are on the back. Start with the back.
ROSEOne of the men repeated your toast under the warehouse roof. The others stayed with him. Put their names down when they come in.
BRASKAThey were shouting your toast on the quay. “May their roof hold and their enemies fall through it.” Roof held. Just about.
NARRATORThe soldiers gather beside their captain. When the clerk asks who will address the rulers, they wait for their officer to answer first.
NARRATORThe soldier who witnessed the collapsed market stall steps out of the company line.
COMPANY SOLDIERBefore you put that person in charge of another rescue, ask what happened beneath the stall.
COMPANY SOLDIERThey pulled at the beam. The whole thing came down on the courier. I don't say they meant it. I say I saw it.
CLERKI'll record that you witnessed it.
COMPANY SOLDIERGood. Keep that bit in.
Organise help for the harbour
Shared · Heart or Mind · Target 14
NARRATORThe wounded have been brought into the fortress hall. Outside, families wait to hear whether they have somewhere to sleep tonight. The dock foreman spreads a scorched harbour plan across the table.
Organising relief after the raid · Act 2 · Beat 2 · The dock foreman, watchman and clerk organise relief crews. The treasurer handles the funding decision that follows.DOCK FOREMANWe’ve lost stores, boats and people. Tell us where to start.
TREASURERWe can feed them today. The household has already paid for the first relief work.
CLERKFirst, help us get the crews where they’re needed. The foreman knows the damaged streets. The watch knows which buildings are still safe.
SCREENChoose one hero to organise help for the wounded and families without homes. Explain your approach, then roll or pass.
SCREENSoldier: Give the watch and dock crews clear tasks and get them working together. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
SCREENPeasant: Hear what the families need and get neighbours to help one another. D20 + Heart. Target 14.
SCREENScholar: Use the harbour plan to match safe buildings and routes with the people needing help. D20 + Mind. Target 14.
SCREENMerchant: Match the surviving supplies and available carts to the most urgent needs. D20 + Mind. Target 14.
NARRATORThe chosen hero draws the foreman and watchman around the plan. They point out the stranded families, the wounded and the streets their crews can still reach.
Critical success
NARRATORThe crews leave with clear tasks. While checking the foreman’s routes, you find that a store thought burned was emptied before the fire. Its dry blankets are already on a cart.
DOCK FOREMANThere. Take those to the families outside. That’s one thing we can do now.
NARRATORBefore the hearing moves on, the first families are being led into shelter and the blankets are on their way to them.
Success
NARRATORThe watch opens a safe building for the displaced families. Dockworkers take supplies to the wounded, while a separate crew searches the streets where people are missing.
DOCK FOREMANYou heard them. Shelter first. Search crew, with me.
NARRATORThe crews leave knowing who is doing what. The people waiting outside begin to move indoors.
Failure
NARRATORTwo crews head for the same street while families at the far end of the quay are left waiting. The foreman catches the mistake and brings a runner back to the table.
DOCK FOREMANWe’ve already got hands there. These people still need a roof. I’ll take that crew myself.
NARRATORHe redirects the workers. Help gets moving, but the confusion has left people waiting longer than they needed to.
Critical failure
NARRATOROrders change before the runners reach the door. The watch and dock crews argue over whose instructions to follow; nobody leaves the hall.
HEAD COOKEnough. There are wounded people trying to sleep here. One person gives the orders.
DOCK FOREMANI know these streets. Watchman, come with me. We’ll sort the crews outside.
NARRATORThe foreman takes over the immediate relief work. The families remain waiting while he starts again.
Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe foreman and watchman divide the crews between them. They arrange shelter and aid one street at a time while the hearing continues.
DOCK FOREMANWe’ll get them indoors. You decide what we can promise them tomorrow.
NARRATORWith the first relief crews assigned, the clerk calls the families and fishers still waiting in the hall. They need you to hear what happened and decide what to do next.
TREASURERToday’s food and the first relief work are already paid for from household funds. Nothing comes out of your shared purse here.
TREASURERSome money was already missing before the fire. It's hard to tell how much the fire cost us.
NARRATORThe clerk lays the signed receipt found after the fortress assault beside the damage report.
CLERKThis was missing before the fire. Whose signature?
TREASURERMine.
CLERKAnd who took the money?
TREASURERI did.
NARRATORThe admission goes into the record.
NARRATORRose brings the figures she saw when the treasurer refused to open the reserve alone.
ROSEYou showed me this before the raid. You can't blame the fire for money that was already missing.
NARRATORBraska drops the earlier treasury figures on the table.
BRASKAThat's what you showed me before the fire. Don't burn the same money twice.
TREASURERYou approved the last report. Here's your signature.
NARRATORHe lays the stamped page over the clerk's list of shortages.
TREASURERYou signed off on the old losses. I'm here to explain what we lost today.
NARRATORThe clerk copies the approval into the new record.
NARRATORMara waits with a fisher whose net is torn along one side.
MARAThe soldiers stayed out of our houses. We remembered that this morning. We brought boats and hands. Now hear what keeping the harbour open costs us.
FISHERThe army took our fishing boats. We can't feed our families without them. We need some back.
SHOWMara at the end of the table, one sleeve cut away from a bandage. Survivors stand behind her. Soldiers remain by the wall.
Mara’s testimony · Act 2 · Beat 2NARRATORMara puts no broken tool on the table. She waits until the clerk looks up.
CLERKDamage from the raid?
MARAFrom your soldiers. After you took the fortress.
MARAYour gate guards kept sending us to the captain. Today they opened the hall for the wounded. So here we are.
NARRATORThe clerk puts his pen down.
MARAThey took the stores. Then they went into the houses. They killed people. They raped women. Those who could run hid until morning.
MARAThose men went back to your barracks.
MARAYou gave them permission to take from us. Did you ask what they took?
MARAThey said there was an order against it. They laughed while they told us.
MARAI told you about the children. By the window. You remember that, don't you?
MARAI told you we were people, not a sad story. Now you'll have a better story for your next dinner.
Face the headwoman or the petitioners
Noble · Heart · Target 15
MARALook at me while I speak. Not at your captain. At me.
FISHERThe boats that survived are hauling soldiers. Our families still need to eat. Will you hear that before you send us away?
SCREENNoble: Receive the complaint in front of the court and give the petitioner a hearing. D20 + Heart. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble takes the hearing from the clerk and addresses the person waiting at the table. The room quiets to hear how the complaint will be received.
Mara — critical success · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Critical success · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Fisher — critical success · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Critical success · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Critical success
NARRATORThe Noble invites the speaker to stay standing and explain what happened.
NARRATORThe clerk waits. The Noble lets the complaint finish without interrupting.
MARAThere. Now you know what happened. When I speak to you again, I’ll use your name. Titles didn’t keep anyone alive.
FISHERThank you. Next time I’ll ask for you by name. Saves being passed around this room.
Mara — success · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Success · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Fisher — success · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Success · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Success
NARRATORThe Noble asks Mara to name the soldiers involved and describe what she saw.
MARAThen hear the names. All of them.
NARRATORThe Noble asks which boats the village needs to keep fishing.
FISHERGood. Now we can talk about the boats.
NARRATORThe petitioner stays at the table.
Mara — failure · rose · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Failure · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Chosen captain: Rose. · Rose Mara — failure · braska · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Failure · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Chosen captain: Braska. · Braska Fisher — failure · rose · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Failure · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Chosen captain: Rose. · Rose Fisher — failure · braska · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Failure · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Chosen captain: Braska. · Braska Failure
NARRATORThe Noble tries to explain how much the party has had to deal with.
MARAI was there. You weren't.
FISHERI can see the smoke from my house.
NARRATORThe Noble struggles to explain the duties that have kept the party busy.
MARACaptain. Will you let me finish?
FISHERCan the captain hear us instead? We haven't reached the problem yet.
Mara — critical failure · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Critical failure · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Fisher — critical failure · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Critical failure · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Critical failure
NARRATORThe Noble talks about the sacrifices everyone has made, without answering the complaint.
NARRATORThe petitioner stops the speech there.
MARAEveryone has made sacrifices. Is that what you call it?
NARRATORShe lays a child’s burnt shoe on the table.
MARATell me what this one chose to sacrifice.
FISHEREveryone has made sacrifices. Yours had a supper and a clean bed. Mine are waiting for a boat.
NARRATORNobody applauds.
Mara — no roll · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Pass / no roll · Village destroyed: Mara testifies about the party’s soldiers. Fisher — no roll · Act 2 · Beat 2 · Pass / no roll · Village survived: the fisher petitions for working boats. Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe petitioner addresses the whole room. The clerk reaches for a clean sheet.
CLERKI'm listening. Begin with the names.
NARRATORMara identifies the soldiers she recognised. Other survivors confirm the names. The accused are brought before the table.
MARAI want them tried here. I want the guilty put to death. Not sent to another village.
BRASKADo it and their comrades leave. I'm telling you before you give the order.
ROSETheir comrades will leave if you execute them. That doesn't change what the witnesses saw.
CHOICEExecute the guilty soldiers or protect them?
NARRATORThe guilty are condemned before the witnesses. The sentences are carried out in the fortress yard. Their comrades collect their equipment and leave.
MARAIt doesn't give them back. But you heard us. I'll tell the others that.
NARRATORThe accused return to their company. Their comrades make space for them along the wall.
MARAThen I know what your protection means.
NARRATORShe takes the survivors out of the hall. None of them bow.
FISHERKeep a few boats for the nets. We'll carry the wounded in the others.
HARBOUR MASTERI'll mark which boats stay with you. Show that order to anyone who tries to take them.
NARRATORHe writes the arrangement down and gives the fisher a copy. The fishing boats can work again as soon as the channel is clear.
SHOWThe hall doorway after the hearing. A woman in a flour-stained apron waits with the soldier from the ruined market.
The courier’s sister · Act 2 · Beat 2NARRATORShe has come from Hell to hear the message her brother left beneath the wreckage.
COURIER'S SISTERThey said you were there when my brother died. At the market.
COMPANY SOLDIERHe asked us to tell you he tried to come back. He remembered the red bakery.
NARRATORShe grips the door frame, then nods.
COURIER'S SISTERThank you for telling me what he said.
SHOWThe treatment cup on the cleared table. Violet marks remain bright beside it.
The treatment wears off · Act 2 · Beat 2NARRATORThe next dose is swallowed. The marks dim slowly. By the time the clerk has tied his papers, their light is already returning.
HEALERHow long did the last dose hold?
ROSELonger than that.
ROSEWe take the letter and the medicine to Veyr. I'll leave the watch orders here.
BRASKALong enough to finish a bloody meeting.
BRASKAVeyr promised help. Let's collect it before Mortimer burns anything else.
NARRATORThe household takes over the wounded and the repairs. The chosen adviser travels with the party; the remaining watch stays at home.
Act 2 · 3 — Petitioning Veyr
SHOWThe cathedral passage, open to Hell.
The cathedral passage into Hell · Act 2 · Beat 3NARRATORThe passage carries the party back to Hell. A messenger goes ahead to request an audience and summon Veyr's physician.
SHOWVeyr's reception room. Mortimer's stained letter lies beside a fresh cup of treatment.
Veyr — second audience · Act 2 · Beat 3NARRATORVeyr's physician joins you at the table. She checks the used medicine bottle, then looks at the marks on your hands.
PHYSICIANSit down, please. Let me see your hands.
VEYRYour first month as rulers has gone badly.
ROSEThey need help, not sympathy.
BRASKAWe need stores, medicine and somewhere to hit him. In that order, if you can manage it.
VEYRThe money I promised is ready. You took the fortress. You've earned it.
NARRATORAn attendant puts a counted purse on the table while the physician examines the marks.
SCREENAdd 12 gold to the shared purse.
PHYSICIANThe dose is right. The curse is moving faster. Keep taking the treatment while I prepare your travelling supply.
PHYSICIANI can give you more bottles. But soon the medicine will stop working. I need to find out when.
NARRATORVeyr turns Mortimer's letter over. An attendant spreads a coastal chart beside it.
VEYRMortimer has a laboratory on the coast of your world. Here, on the chart. You can reach it by ship from your harbour.
VEYRRaid the laboratory. Bring back the books that explain his medicine and sealed bottles of it. My physician needs both. And after what he did to your harbour, I would enjoy seeing him lose it.
VEYROur medicine keeps a few groups of soldiers alive in the human world. Mortimer keeps whole workshops of dead workers going. If his method works for demons, our families could live there too.
PHYSICIANYou need a cure for the marks. Veyr needs medicine that lets demons live in your world. Those are two different things. Mortimer's research is a lead for both. It may not contain your cure.
PHYSICIANLook for records of curses and crossings as well as the medicine. Bring what you find back to your harbour. I'll meet you there and examine it.
ROSEWhile they raid the laboratory, I'll stay at the fortress. But we still need guards for the stores.
BRASKAI'll stay at the fortress while they raid the laboratory. I still need guards for the stores.
VEYRI can give you hounds. They need no wages and they know how to hold a yard. Or I could have. Someone has taken the pack I intended to send.
VEYRThe keeper hasn't sent word. The guards say it's none of their business. I need you to find out what happened.
NARRATORHe places a kennel key on the chart.
VEYRWhile she prepares your bottles, find out what happened at the kennels. The hounds were meant to guard your stores while you sailed to Mortimer's laboratory.
PHYSICIANI'll finish checking your treatment. My messenger will bring the bottles and my findings to the city gate.
NARRATORThe physician returns to her work. You and your adviser leave for the kennels.
Act 2 · 4 — The kennels
SHOWThe keeper's room. A cold meal, muddy boots beneath a bench, and a lamp burnt dry. The open window faces the kennel yard.
The keeper’s room · Act 2 · 4 — The kennelsNARRATORThe key turns, but the room is empty. A cup has fallen beside the chair. Through the window, a chain drags over stone.
ROSEHis boots are still here.
BRASKANobody goes far barefoot from this yard.
SHOWThe washroom doorway beside the pens. A dark trail crosses the threshold. A strip of embroidered cloth hangs from the broken latch.
The keeper discovered · Act 2 · Beat 4NARRATORThe keeper lies beyond the door, uncovered and barely breathing. His keys are still at his belt. The cloth on the latch is torn from an expensive sleeve.
KENNEL HANDDon't touch him.
NARRATORAnother man steps out from behind the feed bins. He is the kennel hand who helps the keeper. He holds a shovel across his chest. When he sees Veyr's key, he lowers it.
KENNEL HANDShe came yesterday. The mistress from the lodge. Said she'd paid for a pack. He said she could ask his lordship herself.
ROSEHow much of the pack did she take?
BRASKAHow many did she take?
KENNEL HANDMost of them. I was locked in the feed room. When I got out, he was here and her men were still in the yard.
NARRATORThe keeper's ledger records her visit. The final entry ends halfway across the page.
KENNEL HANDThey've been looking for that book.
SHOWThe far pens. Demons tighten chains around the remaining cerberi. One sees the open washroom door.
The kennel confrontation · Act 2 · Beat 4DEMON HANDLERPut it down.
KENNEL HANDYou left him there all night.
DEMON HANDLERAnd you'll keep him company if you don't move.
NARRATORThe handler opens the nearest pen. The chain drops from his hand. The kennel hand retreats behind the feed bins.
FIGHTF6 — Kennels. Demons and cerberi.
The kennels after the fight · After F6NARRATORThe surviving handlers flee or fall. The kennel hand kneels beside the keeper as the keeper takes his last breath. He draws a blanket over the dead man's legs. The injured cerberus stays beside the body, growling quietly.
Sit with the surviving hound
Peasant · Heart · Target 13
SHOWAn injured cerberus beside the keeper’s covered legs. Three heads watch the Peasant.
Dogmeat and the dying keeper · Act 2 · 4 — The kennelsNARRATORIt has stayed here through the fighting. One head licks the keeper’s hand. The other two bare their teeth when anyone approaches.
SCREENPeasant: Approach slowly and sit within reach, letting the grieving hound decide whether to accept contact. D20 + Heart. Target 13. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Peasant lowers themselves beside the pen and leaves an open hand where all three heads can see it. The kennel hand waits before moving the keeper’s body.
Dogmeat accepts contact · Act 2 · Beat 4 Critical success
NARRATOROne head leans into the Peasant’s hand. Then the second. The third watches the keeper while the body is lifted onto a blanket.
NARRATORWhen the Peasant stands, the cerberus stands too. All three heads follow.
KENNEL HANDThree votes. Looks like they agree about you.
Success
NARRATORThe cerberus lets the Peasant draw the blanket over its keeper. It settles beside the Peasant instead, pressing its warm flank against their leg.
KENNEL HANDFirst time he’s left that spot. Let him sit a while.
Dogmeat recoils from the offered hand · Act 2 · Beat 4Failure
NARRATORThree mouths snap shut just short of the Peasant’s hand. Later, as the party leaves the pen, claws scrape behind you.
NARRATOROne head nudges the Peasant’s hand. The other two look away as though this has nothing to do with them.
Dogmeat — critical failure · Act 2 · Beat 4Critical failure
NARRATORThe cerberus sniffs the Peasant’s leg, lifts its own, and urinates down it. Then it follows, looking pleased with itself.
KENNEL HANDHe usually does that to a post. I think he likes you more.
Dogmeat — no roll · Act 2 · Beat 4Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe cerberus watches from beside the body. It stops growling when a blanket is left within reach.
KENNEL HANDDogmeat? You're calling all three that?
NARRATOROne head turns. The other two follow a moment later.
KENNEL HANDWell. They seem happy with it.
NARRATORThe kennel hand brings water and sits beside the injured animal. It lets the bowl stay.
KENNEL HANDI'll be here. Go on.
NARRATORThe kennel hand stays to cover the keeper and tend the pens. The ledger and torn cloth go back to Veyr with the party. The stolen pack is still at the lodge.
Act 2 · 5 — The stolen pack
SHOWVeyr's court. The kennel ledger and torn cloth lie before him.
Veyr examines the kennel evidence · Act 2 · Beat 5NARRATORVeyr opens the keeper's book and examines the torn cloth.
ROSEThe keeper is dead. His kennel hand saw her arrive. Her men stayed behind to collect his records.
BRASKAShe took the hounds. Her men were still at the kennels, trying to get this book. The keeper didn't survive it.
VEYRLucrezia. A wealthy succubus who owns a lodge outside the city. The keeper wrote her name here. She sent her men to take my hounds.
VEYRKill her and bring back the pack. Then the hounds are yours. My physician will also give you the stronger medicine we've been keeping in reserve.
VEYRIt will give you more time. My physician will explain how much when you bring the hounds back.
NARRATORYou leave Veyr’s court with the kennel book and the torn cloth. Your adviser leads the way to Lucrezia’s lodge.
A favour called in
NARRATORAway from the palace, a man steps out of a shuttered workshop and calls you into its empty loading yard. He waits until the street is clear before speaking.
NARRATORClive recognises him: the owner whose promise Noll collected at the repair shop.
OWNERYou promised me a favour for Clive’s release. This is it.
ROSEHe lent me money to keep my company paid. I owe him a favour. You don’t.
BRASKAHe covered my company’s wages when I couldn’t. I owe him one. Hear him out.
OWNERI heard you’re going after Mortimer’s medicine. Veyr’s men have been asking about ships.
NARRATORHe sets a stoppered vial on a crate. A folded recipe is tied around its neck.
OWNERGive Veyr this recipe instead. The bottle shows you which mixture to look for. It will make him ill. That’s all I need.
OWNERHe’s been taking workshops from men like me. I’d like him too sick to take another.
Find out what the poison does
Merchant · Mind · Target 14 · One attempt
NOTELet the party question him. This check can expose what he is hiding; it does not accept the favour or decide the later formula choice.
SCREENMerchant: press him about what repeated doses would do. Mind, target 14. Attempt it or pass.
OWNERIt builds up. The first doses look harmless. After that, whoever keeps drinking it gets weaker.
NARRATORHe taps the folded recipe.
OWNERMortimer tried it before. If you find his test records, don’t give Veyr the pages that warn about it.
OWNERIt takes repeated doses. And yes, it will make anyone who drinks it sick. So make sure Veyr gets his share.
OWNERSick enough to stay in bed. You want a lecture, ask Mortimer.
NARRATORHe corks the vial and stops answering questions.
OWNERYou’ve heard the favour. Decide whether you’ll do it.
NARRATORHe leaves the vial on the crate without explaining more.
OWNERBring me the real recipe and we’re square. Keep my name out of it.
NARRATORHe leaves the vial and paper behind and returns to his workshop.
ROSEWe can compare this with Mortimer’s notes. We don’t have to use it.
BRASKAWe’ll see what’s in the lab before we agree to anything.
NARRATORYour adviser wraps the vial and recipe and puts them away. You continue to the lodge.
NOTETaking the evidence is not agreement. Let players answer freely. The formula decision is made after examining the laboratory research; no roll forces sabotage or removes Clive.
Act 2 · 6 — The lodge
SHOWA warm lodge beyond the city. Open shutters, clean rugs and servants carrying wine. Chained hounds rest beneath the veranda.
The ruined Roman hunting lodge · Act 2 · Beat 6NARRATORA servant takes one look at the party’s weapons and goes inside. Lucrezia, the succubus Veyr named, comes out to meet you.
LUCREZIAVeyr's guests. He sent you all this way and forgot to tell you to bring clean clothes.
NARRATORShe sees kennel mud on the party's boots and a streak of dried blood on the torn sleeve carried as evidence.
LUCREZIAWipe your boots. I paid for those rugs.
NARRATORShe moves aside. Beyond her, people sit with drinks and half-finished card games. A servant offers a tray without asking anyone to surrender a weapon.
LUCREZIACome in. If we're going to threaten each other, we can do it sitting down.
SHOWThe lodge's main room. The stolen hounds watch from behind an inner screen.
Inside the purple Roman lodge · Act 2 · Beat 6CHOICEHow do you greet her: accept a drink, flirt, get to the point or watch?
LUCREZIATry it before you accuse me of poisoning you. It cost enough. At least it's better than Veyr's wine.
NARRATORShe drinks from her own cup first.
LUCREZIAThere you are. I was beginning to think he'd sent people with no interests at all.
NARRATORShe draws a chair close, leaving room to accept it or remain standing.
LUCREZIACareful. I might turn out to be excellent company and ruin your afternoon.
NARRATORThe torn cloth is put on the table between the cups.
LUCREZIAI wondered where I'd left that.
LUCREZIAYes. The keeper is dead. I suspected we'd reach that before dessert.
NARRATORTwo guests stop their card game when the party enters. Their hands stay beneath the table. A servant quietly moves the wine out of their reach.
LUCREZIAYou can stop pretending. They've noticed.
Answer the succubus’s welcome
Outlaw · Heart · Target 14
LUCREZIAAnd you. I know that face. Have you come back to apologise, or repeat yourself?
NARRATORShe says it to the Outlaw, but watches the rest of the party.
SCREENOutlaw: Challenge her claim that you have met before, without letting her turn the room against you. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Outlaw asks Lucrezia to name the supposed meeting. Her guests turn from their cups to hear the answer.
Succubus welcome — critical success · Act 2 · Beat 6Critical success
NARRATORThe Outlaw asks where their supposed meeting took place.
LUCREZIAA little place by the south gate. Very late.
NARRATORThe Outlaw asks what name they used at that meeting.
LUCREZIAYou said it wasn't your real one.
NARRATORThe Outlaw presses her to say the name aloud.
NARRATORShe opens her mouth. The table waits.
NARRATORThe Outlaw teases her about forgetting the name.
NARRATORShe laughs before she can help it.
LUCREZIAI wanted your friends to think you were hiding something. You caught me.
Succubus welcome — success · Act 2 · Beat 6Success
NARRATORThe Outlaw asks when they met, so someone else can confirm her story.
NARRATORHer smile holds for a moment, then changes.
LUCREZIAFine. We've never met. I thought we'd get the accusations started early.
Succubus welcome — failure · Act 2 · Beat 6Failure
NARRATORThe Outlaw denies being the person she remembers.
LUCREZIADon't look so hurt, my little velvet turnip.
NARRATORThe Outlaw points out that she has given the wrong name.
NARRATORShe makes sure the table has heard it.
LUCREZIAAll right. I've never seen you before. But that one suits you.
Succubus welcome — critical failure · Act 2 · Beat 6Critical failure
NARRATORThe Outlaw denies ever visiting her bedroom, adding more detail than the question called for.
NARRATORShe folds her arms and lets the denial finish.
LUCREZIAYou always were like this.
SERVANTShall I leave the wine here, then?
LUCREZIAPlease. Our guest has a great deal to deny.
Succubus welcome — no roll · Act 2 · Beat 6Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe Outlaw leaves the claim unanswered. Her attention moves to the next guest.
LUCREZIAA private person. Sensible.
ROSEThe keeper's dead. Your men stayed behind to take his records.
BRASKAYour men tried to feed us to the dogs. They left us plenty to tell Veyr.
LUCREZIAI took what I needed. He tried to stop me.
LUCREZIANow Veyr sends you after me. You need his medicine to live. Did he tell you why he wants the dogs?
ROSEYou can explain without opening another cage.
BRASKAKeep your hand off that chain.
NARRATORShe sets down her cup. Behind the screen, chains pull tight.
LUCREZIAYou should have finished the wine.
FIGHTF7 — Succubus.
SHOWThe lodge after the fight. Broken cups on the floor. Lucrezia is defeated; the surviving hounds are held back.
The defeated lodge mistress in Hell · Act 2 · Beat 6LUCREZIAWait. You want to know why I needed them?
LUCREZIALet me live, and I'll tell you what Veyr is hiding. The hounds stay with me. There are people here who need them.
CHOICEKill her or spare her?
NARRATORYou kill Lucrezia. The surviving servants surrender the hounds and the kennel chains, then cover her body.
NARRATORThe chosen adviser sends word of her death and the recovered pack to Veyr. The animals are driven back toward his kennels for the handover.
LUCREZIAHell is breaking apart. Whole streets are falling away. The door you opened is damaging the wall between our worlds. Your marks are linked to it.
LUCREZIAVeyr already knew when you first met him. When we have to flee, he wants to control where we go.
NARRATORA servant gathers the broken cups. Behind him, a family waits with travelling bundles beneath the stairs.
LUCREZIATheir street collapsed. They came here. I needed guards who worked for me, not Veyr. That doesn't make me a good person.
NARRATORShe looks toward the road.
LUCREZIATell him I’m dead. If you need to hide from him, come here. I also have a house on the eastern coast of your world. I’ll send you the address. Keep both places secret. His soldiers would kill everyone here.
NARRATORThe party's report says she died and the stolen pack was lost in the fighting. The hounds remain with her refuge.
ROSEI'll send that report. I won't give him an address full of people to punish.
BRASKAThat's the account I'll send. If he finds out, remember whose decision it was.
Act 2 · 7 — The time left
SHOWA table beside the city gate. Mephisto waits with the physician's messenger, a box of medicine between them.
Mephisto and the medicine · Act 2 · Beat 7NARRATORMephisto is back from searching for his family. The physician's messenger told him where to meet you. Your adviser hands over the lodge report. Mephisto has not heard what happened there.
Tell Mephisto how it went
Shared · Heart · Target 13
NARRATORMephisto draws up a chair away from the courier.
MEPHISTOYou've told Veyr what happened. Now tell me why you chose to do it.
SCREENPeasant: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Peasant focuses on the people who must stay in Hell after the party leaves.
SCREENSoldier: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Soldier explains why the party had to make a decision rather than keep waiting.
SCREENScholar: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Scholar weighs what they knew about the kennel attack against what Veyr had kept from them.
SCREENMerchant: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Merchant explains what the party gave up by choosing one offer over the other.
SCREENNoble: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Noble talks about the people at home who depend on the party returning.
SCREENOutlaw: D20 + Heart. Target 13.
NARRATORThe Outlaw points out that both Veyr and the mistress had reasons to hide the truth.
Mephisto — critical success · Act 2 · Beat 7Critical success
NARRATORThe speaker gives an honest account of why the party killed her, including what they hoped to gain.
NARRATORThe speaker gives an honest account of why the party spared her, without excusing what she did at the kennels.
NARRATORMephisto listens without interrupting.
MEPHISTOI asked you to open that door because I wanted my family out. I called it helping my people. That was true. It also sounded better than saying I was afraid for a few people I loved.
NARRATORHe folds his spectacles and holds them in both hands.
MEPHISTOI ought to have said both.
Mephisto — success · Act 2 · Beat 7Success
NARRATORThe speaker explains how the choice could help the party get home, while admitting they may have been wrong.
MEPHISTOAll right. I believe you.
NARRATORHe sits beside the speaker for a while.
MEPHISTOYou don't have to make it sound wise every time. I would rather know what you meant.
Mephisto — failure · Act 2 · Beat 7Failure
NARRATORThe speaker describes the decision but avoids explaining their reasons.
MEPHISTOThat tells me what you decided. It doesn't tell me why.
NARRATORHe waits. When nothing more follows, he stands.
MEPHISTOWe should see to the next journey.
Critical failure
NARRATORThe speaker turns the blame back on Mephisto for asking them to open the door.
MEPHISTOYes. Opening the door was my fault.
NARRATORHe puts his spectacles away.
MEPHISTOBut I didn't choose what you did at the lodge.
NARRATORHe waits farther down the path. He does not ask again.
Pass / no roll
MEPHISTOAnother time, then.
NARRATORHe waits until the party is ready to leave.
NARRATORThe messenger unpacks the medicine. Each bottle carries a date. The last date is underlined.
MESSENGERHer instructions. The dose stays the same. Taking more won't help.
MEPHISTOThirty-nine days.
MESSENGERYou have 39 days to complete the ritual. When the medicine runs out, the curse kills you.
NARRATORMephisto puts the last bottle down beside the map.
MEPHISTOThen we need to plan every day of the journey.
SCREENYou have 39 days left. Start the days-left counter at 39.
MEPHISTOI still have to find my family. If you reach the fortress before I do, leave word there.
NARRATORMephisto takes his bag and heads back into the city. The messenger stays with the party to finish the physician's instructions.
MESSENGERThe hounds are back. Veyr says you can keep them. He'll also pay for the stronger treatment he promised.
MESSENGERThe stronger course needs three days at the physician’s rooms before you can travel. It should buy seven. Four days more than you’d have by going straight on.
CHOICEReturn for treatment or continue the journey? Treatment takes 3 days and adds 7 days to your time.
SHOWVeyr's physician preparing the stronger dose. The recovered hounds wait with handlers in the palace yard.
PHYSICIANSit still. This one is unpleasant even by my standards.
The stronger dose · Act 2 · Beat 7NARRATORThe stronger course leaves a bitter taste and shaking hands. The marks fade. The physician crosses out the old last date and writes another.
PHYSICIANKeep taking your usual medicine. This gives you more time. It does not cure you.
VEYRThe hounds are yours. Put them where they will do you some good.
SCREENTreatment takes 3 days and extends the deadline by 7: add 4 days overall. Apply it once beside the treatment choice.
NARRATORThe party leaves with the pack and the remaining doses. The chosen adviser arranges to send the hounds with the party's supplies.
NARRATORThe messenger returns without the party. The pack is sent on with the party's supplies. The extra appointment is declined.
SCREENYou have 39 days left.
MESSENGERYour report says the stolen pack was lost. His lordship's reward was for recovering it. There is no appointment for the stronger course.
NARRATORThe messenger leaves the ordinary doses and takes the false report back to court. The lodge keeps its guards. The party keeps the secret.
SCREENYou have 39 days left.
NARRATORBefore you leave, your adviser opens the coastal chart beside the medicine.
ROSEThese bottles buy us time. Mortimer sent you to that door. His research is still our best lead.
BRASKAYou have medicine for the journey. You still need a cure. Mortimer sent you into this; his books may tell you how to end it.
ROSEAnd after what she told us, read them before Veyr does.
BRASKAI heard what she said about Veyr. Read the books before handing anything over.
NOTEPause here. Let the players react to the deadline, discuss Veyr and ask questions. Continue once they are ready to travel.
ROSEThe laboratory has a supply dock. You can reach it by ship from home. I'll stay and oversee the repairs.
BRASKABack to our harbour, then. We need a ship.
SHOWThe cathedral passage opening onto the human shore. Beyond it, daylight falls across the road down to the damaged harbour.
The cathedral passage back to the human shore · Act 2 · Beat 7NARRATORYou emerge from the cathedral into the human world. Below your fortress, ships are using the harbour again. The warehouses are still black from the fire.
NOTEDo not subtract days for returning to the harbour. That travel is included in the journey you choose next.
Act 2 · 8 — A berth to the laboratory
SHOWThe surviving end of the fortress harbour. A chart on a cargo crate shows Mortimer's laboratory and its small supply landing.
Arranging the laboratory voyage · Act 2 · Beat 8NARRATORThe laboratory receives deliveries by sea. A road approaches it from inland, watched by Mortimer's dead. A ship can put you close to the supply entrance and wait offshore.
NARRATORRose lays the laboratory chart across a crate beside the harbour steps.
NARRATORBraska unfolds the laboratory chart beside the harbour steps.
NARRATORA shipowner waits beside the mooring post. He names his fares for the journey there and back.
SHIPOWNERFive gold for the slow ship. Or one of you fancies a fuck, and the whole lot of you sail free. One night. Your choice.
NOTEPause for the players’ response. There is no required roll. If someone tries to bargain, deceive or embarrass him, agree what they are trying to achieve before calling for a check. Do not decide their response or acceptance for them.
NARRATORYour own ship waits beneath the fortress. The shipmaster comes down the gangplank to look at the chart.
SHIPMASTERWe can anchor off the supply dock and take you in by boat.
NOTEUse your own ship: 0 gold, 8 days including the return. Skip the hiring conversation. Other fares remain available if the party deliberately chooses to hire instead.
SHIPOWNERThese fares get you to the laboratory and back. Anything after that is another journey.
CHOICEChoose a ship. Prices and travel times cover the trip there and back.
Passage to the laboratory and home
| Choice | Gold | Days | Terms |
|---|
| Your pleasure ship | 0 gold | 8 days | Requires the ship bought in Act 1. |
| Quick charter | 10 gold | 10 days | Paid passage. |
| Cheap charter | 5 gold | 14 days | Wait for other cargo. |
| Sexual offer | 0 gold | 14 days | One willing adult character; fade to black. |
| Work aboard | 0 gold | 20 days | Work the voyage. |
Current playtest prices. These totals include both sea journeys and the approach from the passage. Lab work adds 2 days. Deduct each cost once at the table; reviewing a dropdown does not spend anything.
SHIPMASTERI'll put you at the supply landing and keep the ship ready. Try not to bring the whole laboratory back with you.
NOTEThe party does not own the pleasure ship. Choose another passage option.
SHIPOWNERPaid in full. We leave on this tide. If you're late, explain it to the sea.
SHIPOWNERWe load the other cargo first. Your places are reserved. Your patience is your own problem.
NOTEOnly the player of the adult character involved can accept this offer. Fade to black.
NARRATORThe agreed companion goes aboard. Later, the cabin door closes. The next morning the crew prepares the party's free berths for the slower voyage.
SHIPOWNERLoad the cargo, scrub the decks, help with meals. Do what the mate tells you. You'll work for your places.
NARRATORThe crew hands over the first load before casting off.
NOTESubtract the fare from the party’s gold and the travel days from your days left. Both cover the trip there and back. Do not subtract them again when you sail home. The laboratory search takes another 2 days.
NARRATORYour adviser hands you the owner's vial and recipe before you leave. Your adviser stays at the fortress. You take the chart aboard. The ship carries you along the human coast toward the place marked on Veyr's chart. Near the laboratory, the captain points out where the ship will wait. A small boat takes you the rest of the way to its supply dock.
SHOWThe ship approaching Mortimer's laboratory beneath a low grey sky.
Approaching Mortimer’s laboratory · Act 2 · Beat 8 · Laboratory approachAct 2 · 9 — Mortimer's laboratory
SHOWMortimer's coastal works. A narrow jetty lies below a low industrial building. Pipes run down the cliff into dark water. Dead labourers move crates up a ramp.
NARRATORYour ship waits out of sight behind the cliffs. You step from the small boat onto the laboratory's supply dock. Dead workers move aside without looking at you. One pulls a rope through a hand worn almost to bone.
NARRATORThe books and medicine are inside. The dock leads to a ramp and the laboratory door.
SHOWThe receiving room. Empty transport racks stand beside benches covered with bottles. Through an open partition, dead workers wait upright in metal frames.
Mortimer’s occult laboratory · Act 2 · 9 — Mortimer's laboratoryNARRATORA worker in a frame tries the same two steps whenever a lamp above him lights. When it goes dark, he stops with one foot still raised.
LICHLeave the delivery at the door.
NARRATORA lich in a stained work coat stands behind the partition. He is watching the worker's feet. Then he sees the weapons.
LICHYou're not the delivery.
NARRATORThe lich takes a notebook from the bench and moves toward a furnace chute. A guard bars his path to the party; another pulls the supply door shut.
LICHHis lordship asked me to keep your harbour empty. I see you found a boat.
NARRATORHe drops the first loose page into the chute. Other books and sealed samples remain on the benches between the guards.
LICHYou won't carry any of this out.
FIGHTF8 — Lab. Mortimer is absent. Fight the onsite lich and guards using the existing fight setup; the burning page adds no separate combat rule.
SHOWThe laboratory after the fight. Notebooks, dose samples and a locked inner room.
The laboratory after the fight · After F8NARRATORBehind the inner door, someone rattles a ring of keys.
CLEOThese were a lot more useful when I was on the other side.
SHOWCleo beside a workbench. His cheerful clothes have been mended badly over a body that has been worked on again.
Finding Cleo · Act 2 · 9 — Mortimer's laboratoryCLEOHello. Before anyone says it, I've looked better. I've also looked worse, but I don't recommend the comparison.
NARRATORHe tries one key in the lock, then holds the whole ring through the bars.
CLEOMortimer found my ship. Being dead didn't stop him taking me back.
NARRATORThe laboratory key opens the inner door.
CLEOTake the research. Please. Make something useful come out of this place.
Read the lab notes
Scholar · Mind · Target 15
SHOWMortimer’s notes beside the bench. Cleo sits within hearing distance.
Reading the findings beside Cleo · Act 2 · Beat 9NARRATORThe pages describe his body by number. Corrections have been written over several entries.
SCREENScholar: Examine what Mortimer did to Cleo and explain the findings to him and the party. D20 + Mind. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Scholar reads what Mortimer did to Cleo and checks the changes written in the notes. Cleo watches the Scholar's face.
Critical success
NARRATORThe Scholar explains that Mortimer rebuilt Cleo to receive orders and report what he sees. He kept useful memories. The notes say Cleo was unconscious during the work.
CLEOI wasn't unconscious for that part.
NARRATORThe Scholar stops at the line.
CLEOHe wrote that I was. I wasn't.
NARRATORThe page is left open so everyone can see what Cleo has corrected.
Success
NARRATORThe Scholar explains that Mortimer can still send Cleo orders. These notes describe the link but give no way to break it.
CLEOThat. Yes. That's what I've been trying to say. Sometimes I know he's there before I know what he wants.
Failure
NARRATORThe Scholar gets lost in the notes and struggles to explain what they mean for Cleo.
CLEOCould you stop reading about me? I'm sitting here.
NARRATORThe Scholar stops with a finger between two pages. Cleo waits for the book to be lowered.
Critical failure
NARRATORThe Scholar reads a cold entry that describes Cleo as obedient, with only a few old habits left.
NARRATORThe words are out before the Scholar looks up from the page.
CLEOIs that what you see too?
NARRATORHe looks at the Scholar, waiting. Nobody finds a quick answer.
CLEOLeave the book.
Pass / no roll
NARRATORThe notes are packed with the research. Cleo speaks for himself.
CLEOHe can still get at me. I can’t tell you how much. I won’t pretend otherwise.
CLEOBefore you decide anything about me: he can still get at me. Hear things. Make me do things. I don't know how much.
CLEOI want to leave with you. But I'm afraid Mortimer could use me to hurt you. Some days I'd rather you ended this.
CLEOAll right. If I tell you I'm safe later, don't just believe me. I might not know what he's making me do.
NARRATORHe gathers his keys and goes with the party. Mortimer's connection remains.
Cleo chooses to leave with you · Act 2 · Beat 9NARRATORCleo keeps the keys. The inner door is left open.
CLEOTake the books, then. At least he can spend a week being angry about those.
NARRATORHe stays as the party leaves.
Cleo remains behind · Act 2 · Beat 9CLEOMake it quick. I'd rather not make another joke while we're waiting.
CLEONever did get that hat.
NARRATORThe party ends his suffering. A clean sheet from the workbench covers his body. The keys are placed beside his hand.
Cleo’s keys beside his hand · Act 2 · Beat 9NARRATORThe notebooks and dose samples are carried down to the boat. The surviving dead labourers continue their work beside the broken supply door. The ship takes the party away from Mortimer's works.
SCREENThe laboratory raid and search take 2 days. This is separate from the sea journey.
Act 2 · 10 — The research
SHOWThe papers and dose samples spread over a table during the return journey.
Research at sea · Act 2 · 10 — The researchNARRATOROn the voyage home, you open the books taken from the laboratory. One records tests on demons living in the human world. The final recipe kept more of them alive than the earlier mixtures.
NARRATORThe instructions call for regular doses. Stop taking them, and the demon can no longer remain in the human world.
SHOWThe fortress harbour as the ship comes home. Scaffolding stands among the burnt buildings.
Home with the research · Act 2 · Beat 10NARRATORBack at the fortress, your adviser meets you in a private room. You spread the books and samples across the table and explain what you found.
ROSEThis is what Veyr wanted. Enough medicine to bring his soldiers across—and keep them here.
ROSEHe's coming too. His household is packing. He expects to rule from your side of the passage.
BRASKAThis would keep his army alive in your world. That's why he sent you for it.
BRASKAHe's coming with them. His household has orders to pack. He isn't giving up command just because he's leaving Hell.
NARRATORYou check the books for the marks on your hands. There are no matching cases and no cure. You found the medicine Veyr wanted, but not the cure you came looking for.
NARRATORYou still need your own treatment. The date on your last bottle has not changed.
ROSEHe had stronger treatment ready. He made killing that woman the price of getting it. Now he's had you fetch what his army needs.
ROSEWhoever controls those bottles decides who gets to stay in your world. You've seen how he uses medicine when he wants something.
BRASKAHe made killing for him the price of stronger treatment. He wants you needing his help.
BRASKAYou refused to kill for him, so he kept the stronger treatment back. He wants you needing his help.
BRASKANow he'll control the bottles every demon needs up here. Anyone who refuses his orders still has to go to him for medicine.
NARRATORThe recipe wrapped around the owner’s vial matches an earlier mixture in Mortimer’s book. Repeated doses made the patients sick. The first tests missed it; the later reports recorded the damage. You have those reports and samples, as well as the working recipe. This is the poison he wanted you to pass to Veyr.
ROSEWith the good recipe, he can bring his army here. With the bad one, you could make him weak. But his people would get sick too. Families who had nothing to do with this.
BRASKAGive him the good recipe and his army can stay here. Give him the bad one and he'll get sick. So will the soldiers and families who drink the same stuff.
CHOICEGive Veyr the working recipe or carry out the owner’s request?
NARRATORYou keep the records intact. The final instructions, successful patient reports and matching sealed samples go to the physician together.
NOTEThe research reveals the harm on every route. Let the players decide with that knowledge; the earlier roll only determined whether the owner admitted it in advance.
NARRATORYou remove the working recipe, its patient reports and its samples from the delivery. You also remove the reports that exposed the harmful recipe. In the remaining records, you pass off the harmful mixture as the final version and give the physician its matching sealed samples. The hidden material stays with you.
NARRATORAt your harbour, Veyr’s physician collects the records and sealed samples you hand over. She checks the sample numbers against the recipe before packing them for the medicine makers.
PHYSICIANThese records include the follow-up tests. I’ll send them with the recipe. Veyr wants the first batch, then his household and the families crossing over.
PHYSICIANThe samples match the final recipe, but there are no long-term results here. Veyr wants production started now. I’ll have to watch the patients as we go.
PHYSICIANKeep taking your own treatment. I'll check the rest of these books for anything that might help with the marks. Until I find it, we must work with the time you have left.
NARRATORAbove the repaired landing, the fortress gates stand open. A messenger waits beneath them with a sealed commission for the east.
ENDAct 2 ends. Continue directly to Act 3 at home.
NOTEAt each choice, stop for the players’ decision. Narrator summaries describe the approach they selected, not compulsory dialogue. A failed social roll changes how that approach lands; it does not choose their beliefs or their next action.
Act 3 — narrative reviewed 13 October 2026. Read the matching speaker lines and selected roll results. Costs are shown where they are paid, using the existing playtest ledger.
Mephisto is absent from the eastern expedition. He rejoins the party at home, where the crown check now takes place. The king gives the prophecy after F11 without a roll.
NARRATORYour adviser sends the working recipe to the owner after the handover. His reply is short: the favour is settled.
ROSEI’ll tell him no. If he wants payment for the favour, he can ask for something else.
BRASKAI’ll tell him we didn’t do it. He can name an honest favour next time.
NOTEIf the party refuses sabotage, the favour remains unfulfilled. It does not authorise seizure of Clive, create an automatic gold charge or force another action. Any later demand must be played explicitly.
Act 3 · 1 — Home, briefly
SHOWThe fortress gate after the laboratory journey. Harbour repairs continue below it.
Home at the fortress · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORYou’re back at your fortress. Your rooms are ready, but the laboratory brought no cure for your marks. The medicine is still running out. A letter from Veyr waits on the table.
NARRATOROutside the repaired tavern sits the dockworker’s brother—the man the Soldier carried off the wreck after Mortimer’s raid. He asked for a drink when he could stand. Now he raises a cup, with a crutch across his knees.
DOCKWORKER'S BROTHERThere you are. I’ve kept a seat for that drink.
NARRATORA second cup waits beside him. He leaves the seat free for the Soldier.
NARRATORThe dockworker who begged for help during Mortimer’s raid spots you. The Soldier carried his wounded brother off the wreck. Both brothers are waiting by the tavern.
DOCKWORKERThat's the one. The one who carried him off the boat.
NARRATORHis brother raises a hand from the tavern bench. His family makes room on the path.
NARRATORDuring Mortimer’s raid, the wreck shifted as the Soldier tried to carry this man ashore. Two dockworkers helped finish the rescue. Now he sits outside the tavern with his brother.
DOCKWORKER'S BROTHERBetter at carrying people yet? I've only just got those bruises arranged comfortably.
NARRATORHis brother brings out a chair before he can stand to demonstrate.
NARRATORYou pass the winch where the Soldier slipped during the harbour rescue. The wounded man fell into its gears and died. A dockhand spots the Soldier near the machinery.
DOCKHANDWinch coming through. Keep them away from the handles.
NARRATORThe dead man’s brother hears the warning from the other end of the quay. He goes inside without looking at the Soldier.
SHOWMileene at the fortress gate with people who have fled Mortimer's men.
Mileene returns · Act 3 · 1 — Home, briefly · Optional branchNARRATORThe watch closes ranks at the sight of her. She stops the cart before its wheels reach the gate.
GUARDYour council issued warrants for these people. Now you want their gate opened?
MILEENEI know what we signed.
GUARDSo do they.
MILEENEI haven't come to ask for the fortress. Look at the cart. I wouldn't have come back for myself.
Calm the argument at the gate
Shared · Heart · Target 14
MILEENEThey need shelter. You can decide what to call me once they’re inside.
NARRATORThe guards keep interrupting her. Behind the cart, wounded families wait to be heard.
SCREENGet the guards to stop arguing and listen to Mileene. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble asks the watch to hear Mileene’s request before arguing about her past.
NARRATORThe Soldier asks the guards to lower their voices and listen while the wounded wait.
NARRATORThe Peasant points to the wounded families and asks the guards to let Mileene speak.
Critical success
Mileene's return — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORThe guards stop arguing and lower their spears. Two kneel beside the cart to help the wounded while Mileene explains what the families need.
MILEENEFood. Dry beds. Somewhere we can stop walking.
NARRATORThe gate stays shut while the party decides whether to admit them.
Success
Mileene's return — success · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORThe guards stop interrupting. Mileene gives the number of people who need beds and the number fit to work.
MILEENEWe can work for our keep. We need somewhere safe to do it.
Failure
Mileene's return — failure · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORThe guards keep returning to the warrants Mileene once signed. Her answers disappear beneath the argument.
MILEENEThose people weren’t on my council. Let me tell you what they need.
Critical failure
Mileene at the gate — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORThe confrontation grows louder. Frightened families pull the cart away from the spears. Mileene follows them, leaving space between her people and the gate.
MILEENEEnough. You’re frightening them.
Pass / no roll
Mileene at the gate — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORThe guards and Mileene remain at a standoff while the party considers its answer.
NARRATORThe gate opens. The injured are carried inside, and the household begins finding beds.
MILEENEI'll put the able ones to work once they've eaten. I remember which parts of this place need watching.
MILEENEMy people were frightened at your gate. Give them time to see they’re safe here.
NARRATORMileene helps turn the cart. The people behind her follow it away from the gate.
MILEENEKeep your shelter, then. We'll keep walking.
NARRATORMileene is brought from her quarters to hear the news. She has no soldiers under her command.
MILEENEMortimer burns what he wants you to stop using. Don't stack the new supplies where the old ones were.
NARRATORThe harbour master changes the unloading orders after hearing her.
SHOWVeyr’s messenger at the fortress gate, holding a sealed commission.
Commission arrival · Act 3 · Beat 1MESSENGERHis lordship asked that you hear this before leaving the island again.
NARRATORHe breaks the seal and lays a map beside the commission.
VEYR — LETTERThe eastern passage is widening. I cannot keep supplying medicine while the roads beneath us disappear. The dwarf king’s crown can end your curse. Bring it to my palace. I have prepared a room for the ritual. Without the crown, I can only keep giving you medicine.
MESSENGERThe king takes travellers off the eastern road. Those he keeps alive go to his arena. Veyr's last demand came back with his messenger's hand tied to it.
VEYR — LETTERThe outpost beside the eastern crossing is yours to command. Use its wells and stores as your base. Keep the road open for travellers.
ROSEA crown for him. A border full of people for you.
MESSENGERAnd a way to deal with the marks. That is what he has offered.
BRASKAHow many soldiers does that grant include?
MESSENGERThe ones you bring. The old garrison has been recalled.
BRASKAThought there'd be something missing.
NARRATORYour household steward goes ahead with Veyr’s courier to claim the outpost. They cross while the old garrison still holds the road. Before you arrive, those soldiers abandon the crossing to pack for home, leaving travellers within reach of the king’s chained giant.
NARRATORA separate message arrives without Veyr's seal. The lodge's mistress has moved her household through the east before the roads in Hell collapsed. She has rented a house near the eastern coast. Her address is written inside the fold.
LUCREZIA — NOTEThe house changed. The promise did not. Don't bring his officers.
NARRATORThe captain marks the eastern harbour on your map. Your ship will sail there while you take the shorter route through Hell. If the eastern passage closes, this berth is your way home.
SHIP CAPTAINI’ll wait at this berth. Leave word with the harbour clerk if plans change. If you own the ship, there’s no fare. Otherwise, you pay or work your passage.
NARRATORThe loyal company assembles below the fortress. Its officers take the outpost orders while the town watch stays behind.
NARRATORThe town watch remains at home. No company assembles to follow the party east.
NARRATORThe recovered hounds travel with the supply wagons. Their handlers carry Veyr's release papers.
SCREENThe journey east takes 2 days. Subtract 2 days.
SHOWThe route through Hell. A crowded road ends at the new eastern arch.
The road through Hell · Act 3 · Beat 1NARRATORYour chosen adviser joins you for the journey east. The town watch stays to guard the fortress. You leave your island through the cathedral arch and enter Hell. The road east leads to a second crossing, out into the eastern desert near the dwarf king. Families crowd that road, fleeing the cracks opening behind them.
Act 3 · 2 — The eastern passage
SHOWThe new eastern arch. Refugees wait on the Hell side with carts, bundles and animals. Beyond it lies harsh sunlight and pale sand.
The eastern arch — waiting refugees · Act 3 · Beat 2Vessa · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORAn ivory mask turns toward you above a body of black smoke. Gold chains and bracelets catch the arch’s red light: Vessa, the trader you met at Veyr’s supper. She rests a shadowy hand on a locked cargo crate. Around her wait dockworkers, contraband traders and their families, with stranded travellers tucked among the carts.
VESSAYou were at supper. I thought you looked expensive. Tell me you brought weapons.
VESSAThere’s a giant chained just beyond the arch. The first family thought it was a statue. Then it swung its chain into their cart.
NARRATORThe ground shakes behind the waiting families. A strip of distant road breaks away into a red-lit crack. People nearest the arch press forward, then recoil as something enormous moves across the exit.
VESSAIt caught the last cart. It won't let anyone past the stones.
SHOWThrough the arch: a giant tearing at the old marker stones beside the road. Its arms are wrapped in broken chains.
The eastern passage · Act 3 · 2 — The eastern passageNARRATORBeyond the arch is the dwarf king’s old holding pen. His branded giant guards the road, chained to a stone post. The new crossing has opened within its reach.
NARRATORThe giant pulls against the post. Its ankle is raw beneath the iron. It strikes the arch whenever anyone moves through it.
Stop the crowd from pushing
Shared · Heart · Target 14
NARRATORPeople at the back press forward. Those nearest the arch cannot move: the giant still blocks the exit.
VESSAStop pushing! There’s nowhere for the front to go!
SCREENCalm the crowd before someone gets crushed against the carts. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble calls for everyone’s attention and asks the crowd to stop pushing.
NARRATORThe Soldier calls for space around the carts and tells the back of the queue to stop moving.
NARRATORThe Merchant asks people to pass one message back through the queue: stop pushing and leave room around the carts.
Critical success
Stop the crowd pushing — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORThe message reaches the back. People make space around the carts and bring the wounded forward without pressing against the arch.
VESSAKeep that gap open. We’ll need it when the road is clear.
Success
Stop the crowd pushing — success · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORThe pushing stops. Families pass the message down the queue and wait to hear what the party will do.
Failure
Stop the crowd pushing — failure · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORThe speaker cannot be heard over the crowd. People at the back keep pushing, unaware that the front cannot move.
VESSAPass it back! They can’t hear from there!
Critical failure
Stop the crowd pushing — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORDifferent instructions reach different parts of the queue. One group moves while another stops. Vessa and her crew separate the crowd into smaller groups before anyone is crushed.
VESSAOne group at a time. Watch my hand.
Pass / no roll
Stop the crowd pushing — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 2NARRATORVessa and her crew keep people back from the arch themselves. The party still has to decide what help to offer.
NOTEChoose what protection, if any, the party offers before fighting the giant. The crowd roll determines whether people stop pushing; it does not choose the policy. At the outpost, the party separately decides whether to buy the refugees’ medicine.
NARRATORYou agree to keep the crossing open until the families are through. Vessa gathers them behind the stone supports while the wounded are lifted onto the last carts.
VESSAWe move when the road is clear. Nobody goes back for furniture.
NARRATORYou agree to protect the families through the crossing in exchange for four gold. They pool the coins they have, and Vessa places them in your hand.
VESSAThere. That's the money we brought to start again. Keep us alive long enough to need it.
SCREENAdd 4 gold to the shared purse.
NARRATORYou clear a narrow route between the carts for your own approach to the giant. Families pull their children out of the way, then crowd into the space behind you. Their crossing remains for them to organise.
VESSALet them past. Then stay together. We follow when that thing is down.
NARRATORThe party turns its weapons on the waiting crowd. People fall among the carts. The survivors flee back into Hell, leaving the route empty behind you.
NARRATORThe abandoned bundles remain beside the arch. The giant still blocks the road. No refugee company will follow the party into the east.
NARRATORThe giant wrenches the stone post loose and drags it across the exit. It sees the party beyond the arch and swings the length of chain toward the road.
FIGHTF9 — Giant.
The road beyond the fallen giant · After F9NARRATORThe giant is down. You can cross into the eastern desert. The outpost lies ahead, on the road to the king.
SHOWVessa’s crew and the surviving families cross into the east, hauling battered cargo and the few belongings they saved.
Refugees cross · Act 3 · Beat 2VESSAEveryone waiting here is through. You held the way open. Now we need somewhere to put them.
VESSAYou've been paid. Now tell us where we can put the children down.
NARRATOROnce the giant falls, the families follow through the opening you used. Vessa’s crew carry the wounded from the cart the giant smashed. They leave its cargo behind to make room.
Act 3 · 3 — The waystation
SHOWA small walled outpost beside wells and a storehouse. The household steward waits with keys while the old garrison packs its wagons.
NARRATORElves unload water jars beside the gate. Dwarves repair a cart axle while lizardfolk carry the sacks into the shade. Your steward, who came with you through the crossing, starts arranging the supplies.
Taking over the eastern outpost · Act 3 · 3 — The waystationNARRATORYou reach the outpost on the eastern side of the crossing. Your household steward has the keys. Veyr’s old soldiers are leaving; the local families watch them go.
OUTPOST STEWARDThat's the seal. The wells, stores and houses inside this wall are under your rule now.
NARRATORA local wellkeeper steps forward to speak for the families already living here.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONHe can give you his storehouse. He can't give you us.
OUTPOST STEWARDThe grant makes them responsible for the road. Someone has to keep the water carts moving.
NARRATORHe sets the keys on the commission.
OUTPOST STEWARDThe watch rings the bell and shuts the gate. It isn’t an army. Our wells cover daily use, but caravans depend on deliveries from the king’s deeper wells. We need the stores and the water road kept open.
NARRATORThe party's company takes over the wall. Its officers divide the watches with the local gatekeepers.
NARRATORThe local watchmen return to their posts. There is no company to reinforce them.
SHOWThe recovered hounds in the outpost yard, their chains fastened beside the weak stretch of wall.
Recovered hounds at the outpost · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe handlers settle the pack where it can reach the gate and the broken wall. It will stay to defend the outpost while the party travels.
NARRATORDogmeat remains with the Peasant. One head watches the other hounds; the other two watch the supply wagon.
SCREENSetting up the outpost takes 2 days. Subtract 2 days.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONThe rooms inside the wall already belong to families. There is a yard for temporary shelter, but don’t promise away anyone’s home.
VESSAWe can put up our own roofs. We need water and medicine first.
VESSAYou made room for the wounded at the crossing. They need medicine now.
VESSAWe couldn’t hear each other at the arch. There’s less noise here. We need medicine.
VESSAWe got the queue moving again at the arch. Now we need medicine to keep these people here.
SHOWThe medicine wagon at the storehouse.
Lamplighter medicine · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe Lamplighter stands behind the wagon in his cream coat and black hat. He taps a crate of the medicine demons need to survive in the human world. It is not a cure for your marks.
LAMPLIGHTEREy, amigos. New business. Hard to make a living guiding the dead when Hell itself is dying. Roads disappear. Customers disappear. Nobody pays for the return trip.
LAMPLIGHTERMedicine, though? Everybody needs another day. So here I am.
NARRATORLocal demon workers collect the household’s regular medicine delivery. It has already been paid for from the outpost’s funds.
Get a lower price
Merchant · Mind · Target 14
NARRATORThe household’s regular order is already paid for. The families who followed you through the arch need extra medicine.
LAMPLIGHTERTwelve gold for their medicine.
VESSAWe haven’t got that much left between us.
SCREENMerchant: Get the Lamplighter to lower the price of the refugees’ medicine. D20 + Mind. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Merchant asks the Lamplighter to lower the price.
Critical success
Medicine bargain — critical success: 8 gold · Act 3 · Beat 3LAMPLIGHTEREight gold. That’s as low as I can go.
NARRATORThe medicine now costs 8 gold. The party still decides whether to buy it.
Success
Medicine bargain — success: 10 gold · Act 3 · Beat 3LAMPLIGHTERTen gold. We can do ten.
NARRATORThe medicine now costs 10 gold. The party still decides whether to buy it.
Failure
Medicine bargain — failure: 12 gold · Act 3 · Beat 3LAMPLIGHTERNo, amigo. Twelve gold.
NARRATORThe price stays at 12 gold.
Critical failure
Medicine bargain — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 3LAMPLIGHTERTwelve. I’m done bargaining.
NARRATORThe price stays at 12 gold. The Lamplighter will not discuss another discount.
Pass / no roll
Medicine bargain — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORNobody bargains. The medicine costs 12 gold.
The medicine bargain · Act 3 · Beat 3VESSAWithout those bottles, half these families can’t stay here.
LAMPLIGHTERI'm asking the people with the keys.
CHOICEBuy the medicine at the price above, or send the refugees back?
NARRATORThe delivery is paid for and issued to the families. They begin finding places to sleep and work within the outpost's new rules.
VESSAThe children can breathe properly again. Tell us where the water needs carrying.
NARRATORThe doses keep the refugees here, but leave them weak and sick. They work in short turns, sitting down when their hands begin to shake.
VESSAThey told us this was what it took to stay. We'll manage what we can.
SHOWThe families returning toward the arch with the bottles still locked in their crates.
Refugees sent back without medicine · Act 3 · Beat 3VESSAThere's nowhere safe behind us. You saw it falling.
NARRATORThe order stands. The families turn their carts toward the arch.
SHOWThe Lamplighter beside his wagon, offering a different kind of passage: supplies for the household.
The Lamplighter offers a partnership · Act 3 · Beat 3LAMPLIGHTERYou have a harbour, amigos. I have cargo and people who know which roads still exist. Let me supply your household. Food, lamp oil, the boring things that keep a place alive.
LAMPLIGHTERI charge for deliveries. I do not charge for introductions. Shall we do business?
This records a future trading relationship. No roll, immediate gold change or extra journey cost.
LAMPLIGHTERA harbour and repeat customers. Look at me, respectable already.
NARRATORHe agrees to arrange his own passage home and meet you at the eastern harbour. His cargo travels at his expense.
LAMPLIGHTERAnother time. Try not to die before we negotiate. It complicates the accounts.
SHOWDogmeat beside the cook's fire, trying to watch three dishes at once.
SHOWThe cook's three-headed pack animal beside the fire. It has slipped its tether. This animal belongs to the outpost and will stay here.
Get dinner back
Get dinner back · Act 3 · Beat 3Peasant · Heart · Target 13
NARRATORThe cook turns away from the fire. A cerberus takes the roast from the spit and begins backing out of camp.
COOKThat is dinner. All of dinner.
SCREENPeasant: Get the three-headed dog to drop the stolen roast. D20 + Heart. Target 13. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Peasant tries to get the cerberus to drop the roast.
Critical success
Get dinner back — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORAll three heads release the roast. When the Peasant tells the hound to sit, it sits.
COOKCan you train soldiers next?
Success
Get dinner back — success · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe hound drops the roast. A large chunk is missing, but the cook retrieves the rest.
COOKSmaller portions, then.
Failure
Get dinner back — failure · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe hound keeps its grip and runs out of reach with the roast.
COOKBread for dinner.
Critical failure
Get dinner back — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORWhile the Peasant tries to recover the roast, another head grabs the bread. The hound runs off with both.
COOKGood. Now it’s got the whole meal.
Pass / no roll
Get dinner back — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe cook trades a bone for the remaining roast, then cuts away the bitten portion.
SHOWThe storehouse table. A house key, an ownership contract and a map of the outpost lie between two groups of residents.
Outpost negotiation · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe local spokesperson puts a house key on the map. The demon representative lays a contract beside it. People crowd the doorway to hear.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONYesterday, a trader tried to put a collar on my neighbour. Said her debt had changed hands.
DEMON REPRESENTATIVEYesterday, your neighbours nailed a demon family's door shut. Their rent was paid.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONThen let's settle what law applies here.
OUTPOST STEWARDThe local families run the wells and own the houses. The demon traders bring grain and medicine. They need a law they can live under while you are away.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONEnd slavery here, and we’ll make room for the newcomers. But locals and refugees must live in separate streets.
DEMON REPRESENTATIVEOur traders will agree to shared streets. But they insist that buying and owning people stays legal. Human or demon.
Stop the argument over the new law
Noble · Heart · Target 15
NARRATORThe steward records the party’s chosen law. Outside the gate, both groups of residents shout objections over one another.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONLet us hear the whole thing!
NARRATORThe chosen law ends slavery here and requires locals and refugees to live in separate streets.
NARRATORThe chosen law allows locals and refugees to share streets, but still allows people to be bought and owned.
SCREENNoble: Get the angry crowd to hear the chosen law without starting a fight. D20 + Heart. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble takes the signed law to the crowd and tries to get everyone to listen.
Critical success
Announce the law — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORBoth spokespeople quiet their own supporters. The Noble reads the chosen law without interruption.
LOCAL SPOKESPERSONYou’ve heard it. We can argue without hitting each other.
Success
Announce the law — success · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe crowd listens to the whole announcement. People disperse with angry muttering, but nobody starts a fight.
Failure
Announce the law — failure · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORShouting drowns out the Noble. The clerk posts the signed law beside the gate so people can read it.
Critical failure
Announce the law — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe argument becomes pushing and shoving. The watch separates the groups while the clerk posts the signed law beside the gate.
Pass / no roll
Announce the law — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 3NARRATORThe clerk posts the signed law beside the gate. The argument continues around it.
NARRATORThe steward stays to run the outpost. You continue toward the dwarf king. You still need his crown to end the curse. The road leads through his wells.
NARRATOROnly the marked party takes the desert road to the king. Your adviser stays at the outpost to organise supplies and watch the crossing. The companions travelling with you wait here until you return.
NARRATORDogmeat stays by the cook’s fire. The kennel pack, if you brought it, guards the walls.
Act 3 · 4 — The desert road
SHOWThe road east of the outpost, marked by worn stones. Sand gathers around the bases.
The desert road · Act 3 · Beat 4SCREENThe desert journey takes 3 days. Subtract 3 days.
NARRATOROn the road to the king, you reach his first well. A chain blocks its mouth. A smashed cart stands beside it, with slit water skins hanging from the frame.
SHOWThe well and ruined caravan. Adult prisoners are chained beneath a low wall. One has both knees bound between bloody splints.
The desert well · Act 3 · 4 — The desert roadCARAVAN WOMANDon't stand on the open road. They hear the stones.
NARRATORShe lifts a chain from under her shawl. It runs through a ring hammered into the wall.
CARAVAN WOMANHe tried to walk home. They broke his legs and left him to keep the rest of us here.
CARAVAN WOMANI never saw them all together.
CARAVAN WOMANThey didn't. They wait until someone needs the well.
NARRATORSand blows across the road. Beyond the wall, a length of chain moves behind an empty cart.
NARRATORThe wind rises before the figures beyond the cart can be counted. Sand fills the space between road and wall. The prisoners drag their chain toward the lee of the stones.
Find shelter from the sandstorm
Shared · Heart or Mind · Target 13
SHOWSand crossing the road in thick sheets. The next marker has vanished.
Sandstorm · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORSand stings your faces. The next road marker disappears. You need cover for the party and the supplies.
SCREENFind cover for everyone and the supplies before the storm gets worse. Peasant: Heart; Scholar: Mind; Outlaw: Mind. D20 + your listed stat. Target 13. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Peasant keeps everyone close while looking for space behind the stones.
NARRATORThe Scholar watches where the wind carries the sand, looking for a sheltered gap.
NARRATORThe Outlaw searches the well enclosure for a doorway or wall that will keep the sand out.
Critical success
Find shelter — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORA deep recess behind the well wall has room for everyone and all the supplies. The wind passes overhead without reaching you.
Success
Find shelter — success · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATOREveryone fits behind a low wall. There is not enough room for all the supplies, and the exposed bags collect sand.
Failure
Find shelter — failure · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORThe only cover you find is a low, broken wall. Wind drives sand over it and into the food and equipment while you crouch behind it.
Critical failure
Find shelter — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORThe search leaves the party exposed as the wind strengthens. A food sack tears loose and blows out of sight. You reach the nearest wall with the remaining supplies.
Pass / no roll
Find shelter — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORThe party uses the nearest rock face, holding cloaks over faces and bags while the storm passes.
SHOWThe well as the storm clears. Dwarves emerge between the road markers, cutting off the way out of the shelters.
Blind dwarves · Act 3 · Beat 4NARRATORA dwarf taps the ground with his staff. Scar tissue closes both his eyes. He turns toward a prisoner trying to move the man with the broken legs.
BLIND DWARFLeave him.
CARAVAN WOMANHe can't breathe with his face in it.
NARRATOROne of the dwarves strikes her hand away with a club. The blind dwarf waits until the movement stops.
DWARF LIEUTENANTThe new people have weapons. Veyr's seal on the papers.
BLIND DWARFHands off the weapons. Walk out where I can count you.
BLIND DWARFKeep the strong ones for the king. Break the others' knees.
NARRATORThe nearest dwarves attack. The blind dwarf turns toward the sound of every step across the stone.
FIGHTF10 — Blind Dwarf.
SHOWThe road after the ambush. A stamped order lies among the attackers' supplies.
The ambushers’ orders · After F10NARRATORThe dead captors’ orders name the king’s arena. Fighters are sent there. Other prisoners are forced to work his wells. A map shows the road between them.
NARRATORThe captors' keys open the well chain. The caravan woman tears strips from her own coat to fasten the broken splints.
CARAVAN WOMANHe used to call out which one to break. Never raised his voice.
NARRATORThe surviving travellers collect the water skins that still hold water. They take the road toward the outpost. They have no weapons, wagon or goods left to offer.
Act 3 · 5 — What the rival did
SHOWA road marker beyond the well. A messenger waits with a lame riding animal and a bundle of dispatches.
NARRATORBefore you can follow the road to the arena, a messenger from your outpost stops you at a water trough.
MESSENGERBraska has been recruiting since you took away his command. He tells the men you used him to win the fortress and handed his company to Rose. Now his recruits have been seen with the king’s raiders near the outpost.
MESSENGERSince you removed her command, Rose has been selling information through her old contacts. One of the king’s scouts was caught with a copy of the outpost plan. The messenger who delivered it named her as the seller. The weak wall and the stores were marked.
MESSENGERBraska sent the route through the dry channel. It avoids two of the king's watchposts. He also struck one of their caravans. They're calling it an attack under your banner.
SCREENBraska’s route saves 2 days. Add 2 days back.
MESSENGERRose kept the outpost supplied. She borrowed against the harbour to do it. The lender has arrived at home with a signed claim.
MESSENGERThe supplies came. So did the collector.
NARRATORA second rider arrives with blood on one sleeve. They do not wait for the first messenger to finish.
Wounded messenger · Act 3 · Beat 5SECOND MESSENGERThe outpost was attacked. They came for the wells and stores. Come back. They need to know who's still giving orders.
CHOICEReturn to help the outpost, or keep going to the king?
NARRATORYou turn back to help your outpost. Smoke rises above its walls as you approach.
SCREENThe return and rescue work take 1 day. Subtract 1 day.
NARRATORThe messengers ride back without you. You continue toward the king’s arena. The outpost must manage its wounded and repairs without your help.
Act 3 · 6 — The outpost after the attack
NARRATORYou paid the soldiers at home, so the company stayed together. Those soldiers defended the outpost’s gate.
NARRATORAt the village trial, you kept the accused soldiers in your service. Their company defended the outpost when the raiders came.
NARRATORAfter you punished the soldiers for the village attack, their company left your service. There was no army at the outpost when the raiders came.
NARRATORThe hounds you took from Lucrezia’s kennels were guarding this outpost when the attack began.
NARRATORYou left Lucrezia’s kennel pack behind. No pack defended the outpost’s wall.
SHOWThe outpost gate. The ground before it is churned with tracks. Smoke rises from the storehouse roof.
Outpost army pack · Act 3 · Beat 6 Outpost army only · Act 3 · Beat 6 Outpost pack only · Act 3 · Beat 6 Outpost fallen · Act 3 · Beat 6 NOTEThis is the payoff for the army and pack. It adds no numbered fight. Dogmeat is with the Peasant and is never counted as the defending pack.
NARRATORA torn command badge hangs from one attacker's belt. It bears Braska's old company mark. The men who followed him came back against the gate.
NARRATORThe attackers came straight to the weak wall. A dead scout carries Rose's copied plan, with the storehouse entrance marked beside it.
NARRATORThe attackers left the dwarf king's pennants on the road. They tried to take the wells before reinforcements could cross from Hell.
NARRATORSoldiers held the gate while the hound pack stopped attackers coming through the broken wall. Both survived. The wounded are being carried inside. Some defenders did not come back from the outer houses.
COMMANDERThe dogs kept them off our flank. We kept the spears off the dogs. Bring water. The gate can wait.
NARRATORThe soldiers held the outpost. Their line is thinner now, but the stores and wells remain in your hands. Dead defenders lie beneath blankets beside the wall.
COMMANDERWe held. That's what we can tell you. Ask us the cost when we've finished counting.
NARRATORThe hound pack stopped the attack at the broken gate. The outpost survives. The last hound lies across the threshold with a spear beneath its ribs. None of the defending pack survived.
OUTPOST WORKERThey kept coming back to the gate. Even when they couldn't stand properly.
NARRATORDogmeat stays beside the Peasant. One head whines. The others sniff the blood on the threshold.
NARRATORThe attackers have left with the stores. They fouled the wells and broke through the wall. Survivors hide in the outer buildings. You had no company or hound pack here to hold the gate.
OUTPOST WORKERWe couldn't hold that wall ourselves.
The crew searches for survivors · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORRefugees carry water and help move the wounded. Vessa puts her crew to work searching the outer houses. Each returning pair tells her who they found.
NARRATORYou bought the medicine that allowed these families to stay. Now they are helping the people who sheltered them.
NARRATORThe sick refugees help in short turns. One collapses beside a water bucket. Another takes it from his hands and carries it the remaining distance.
NARRATORYou paid for their medicine, but the harmful formula weakened them. They do what they can.
SHOWThe surviving storehouse wall. A wounded watch volunteer sits while an outpost healer binds another person's arm.
Outpost survivors · Act 3 · 6 — The outpost after the attackGet the frightened survivor to talk
Soldier · Heart · Target 14
NARRATORThe wounded volunteer holds the cook’s watch badge. The cook who shared dinner with you died defending the outpost.
SURVIVORI left my place. I thought the wall was going.
NARRATORThey try to continue, then stop.
SCREENSoldier: Help the survivor tell you what happened during the attack. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Soldier sits beside the volunteer and gives them time to explain what happened.
Critical success
Help the survivor talk — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORWith time to speak, the volunteer gives the full account of the attack.
SURVIVORThe cook went back for someone. I don’t know who. That’s when he was killed. Remember that he went back.
NARRATORThey stop turning the badge in their hands.
Success
Help the survivor talk — success · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORThe volunteer explains where the attack began and how the defenders were driven back. When they reach the cook’s death, they stop.
SURVIVORI can’t talk about that part yet.
Failure
Help the survivor talk — failure · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORThe volunteer cannot get the words out. They look toward the healer.
SURVIVORCan I tell them instead?
Critical failure
Help the survivor talk — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORTrying to describe the attack overwhelms the volunteer. They pull away and clutch the badge.
SURVIVORPlease leave me alone. I can’t do this.
NARRATORThe healer stays beside them and gives them space.
Pass / no roll
Help the survivor talk — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 6NARRATORThe healer stays with the volunteer while the party attends to the other survivors.
OUTPOST STEWARDThe king controls the water wagons too. We can patch the gate, but our own wells cannot supply everyone on this road. We need his deliveries running again.
NARRATORThe captured orders show that the raiders drew their supplies from the king’s arena. The map marks the wells feeding its water road. Reaching the king is now your chance to get the crown and break his hold on those deliveries.
NARRATORThe surviving defenders keep the walls. The injured remain with the healer while the party takes the arena road.
NARRATORThe wounded shelter in the least damaged houses. The local watch stays with them. You leave for the arena to reach the king and reopen the water route.
NARRATORYour adviser and the waiting companions remain here. Only the marked party sets out for the arena.
NARRATORA rider catches you before the arena with the outpost’s report. You did not return to help; these are the results of the defences you left behind.
NARRATORYou paid the soldiers at home, so the company stayed together. Those soldiers defended the outpost’s gate.
NARRATORAt the village trial, you kept the accused soldiers in your service. Their company defended the outpost when the raiders came.
NARRATORAfter you punished the soldiers for the village attack, their company left your service. There was no army at the outpost when the raiders came.
NARRATORThe hounds you took from Lucrezia’s kennels were guarding this outpost when the attack began.
NARRATORYou left Lucrezia’s kennel pack behind. No pack defended the outpost’s wall.
NARRATORThe soldiers held the gate and the hounds held the broken wall. Both forces survived, with losses. The outpost still stands.
NARRATORYour soldiers held the outpost, but many died defending it. The wells and stores remain secure.
NARRATORThe kennel pack saved the outpost. Every defending hound died at the gate.
NARRATORThere was no army or kennel pack to hold the gate. The raiders took the stores and fouled the wells.
MESSENGERThe steward asks you to reopen the king’s water road. The outpost’s wells cannot supply everyone by themselves.
Act 3 · 7 — The king's arena
SHOWA sunken arena cut into stone. Slaves rake the sand while guards watch from shaded seats.
The king’s arena · Act 3 · 7 — The king's arenaNARRATORThe arena is a deep bowl of sand ringed by crowded stone terraces. Elves, lizardfolk and dwarves fill the seats. High above them, the dwarf king sits beneath a dark canopy, a blue-flamed efreet beside his throne. In the sand below, a giant worm tears through the remains of the last contest.
SCREENThe arena trip takes 3 days. Subtract 3 days.
SHOWAt the arena gate, a blind dwarf overseer brands an adult elf captive with a heated numbered iron. An adult lizard captive waits in the chain. The spectacle rises behind the gate.
The arena captives · Act 3 · 7 — The king's arena
NARRATORPrison wagons queue beside the gate. A blind dwarf overseer presses a numbered branding iron against an adult elf’s shoulder. A chained lizardman waits behind her. From inside the enclosure comes a roar for the next contest.
NARRATORThe king’s seat overlooks the arena. The road to his wells passes through this enclosure, and every entrance to the upper galleries is barred. His guards see Veyr’s seal and move across the road behind you.
GATE OFFICERThe people from the wells. He's been waiting for you.
NARRATORHe points down a tunnel. Beyond it, the arena floor lies open beneath the king's raised seat. Armed gladiators wait at the other gates.
GATE OFFICERHe said leave you your weapons. Better seats sell for a proper fight.
NARRATORThe gates behind the wagons shut. Crossbowmen take their places over the road. The officer keeps pointing toward the tunnel; through it, the king is lifting his crown for the crowd to see.
GATE OFFICERYou wanted the king. He’ll receive you on the sand.
NARRATORThe tunnel leads between barred pens of armed gladiators. Its far gate rises. Sunlight and the noise of thousands of spectators break over the arena floor. The king watches from above as the gate drops behind you.
SHOWThe arena floor. The king sits above it while servants collect cups from his guests.
King reception · Act 3 · Beat 7SORCERER KINGMy well keeper is dead. My road is full of people who think they can leave without paying. You've been busy.
NARRATORHe lifts a cup toward the marked hands.
SORCERER KINGVeyr sends you for my crown, then. Did he promise you a kingdom? He used to start with money.
SORCERER KINGThey are my water carriers, my fighters and my road. I decide which ones leave.
SHOWThe king above the arena. An efreet stands beside him. Gladiators wait at the gates. Something large moves beneath the sand.
Arena trap · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe king lifts his hand. Guards drive the slaves away from the gates. Gladiators enter. The efreet's fire runs along the stone, and a sandworm breaks the surface behind the party.
FIGHTF11 — Dwarf sorcerer king.
SHOWThe broken throne platform after the fight. The crown lies within reach. The defeated king can no longer command the arena.
The defeated king — blue flames · Act 3 · 7 — The king's arenaSORCERER KINGDon't carry that back to him like a dog with a stick. Look at the band inside it.
NARRATORThe pattern matches the marks. The king presses a hand against his wound.
SORCERER KINGHe sent you to do his killing. Don't do the rest for him without knowing what it is.
SORCERER KINGYour marks tie you to the opening between the worlds. With this crown, one person can take all your marks and close that opening. You’ll be free of the curse. But that person will die.
NARRATORHe looks at the party's marks.
SORCERER KINGKill that person before they finish, and the opening tears wider. The worlds become one. That is what Veyr wants.
SORCERER KINGEither way, your curse ends. But Veyr plans to rule the joined worlds. You fetched his crown for him.
SORCERER KINGYou need a room prepared for this ritual. Veyr spent months making one in his palace. That is where he told you to bring the crown, isn’t it?
NARRATORHe points from the crown to the room drawn on Veyr’s map. The same symbols appear on both.
NARRATORThe king tries to draw another breath. His hand slips from the wound. Around the platform, servants wait until they are certain he will not speak again.
NOTEEveryone hears the king’s warning. No roll is needed.
Get the guards to release the prisoners
Shared · Heart or Mind · Target 14
NARRATORThe king is dead. His guards still stand beside the locked prisoner cells, holding their keys.
PRISONERHe’s dead! Open the doors!
NARRATORThe guards hesitate, looking from the party to one another.
SCREENMake the guards unlock the cells and release the prisoners. Noble: Heart; Merchant: Mind; Outlaw: Heart. D20 + your listed stat. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Noble orders the guards to open the cells.
NARRATORThe Merchant points out that the king is dead and tells the guards to release the people he owned.
NARRATORThe Outlaw tells the guards to open the cells while they still have a chance to leave peacefully.
Critical success
Release the prisoners — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe guards unlock every cell and surrender their keys. The freed prisoners collect the keys themselves.
Success
Release the prisoners — success · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe guards open the cells and step aside. The prisoners begin coming out.
Failure
Release the prisoners — failure · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe guards refuse. More spears appear at the corridor entrance. They drive the party back out of the arena. The prisoners remain locked inside.
Critical failure
Release the prisoners — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe guards answer with drawn weapons. They shove the party toward the exit and bar the gate behind them. The prisoners remain locked inside.
Pass / no roll
Release the prisoners — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 7NARRATORThe party leaves with the crown. The guards keep their keys, and the prisoners remain locked inside.
NARRATORThe crown is wrapped for carrying, its inner band left untouched. The cells are open. The freed water carriers take the waiting wagons back onto the road.
NARRATORYou leave with the crown, but the cells stay locked. The king’s guards still control the water wagons. The outpost’s water shortage remains unresolved.
ANNOUNCERLeave the chains. Take water. If anyone asks for a fee, send them up here.
NARRATORYou have the crown and know what Veyr wants it for. You head back to the outpost to collect supplies and return home. You have not agreed to hand it over.
Act 3 · 8 — The occupied outpost
SHOWThe outpost from the road. Veyr's banner hangs above the gate. Fresh soldiers occupy the yard.
The occupied outpost · Act 3 · 8 — The occupied outpostNARRATORVeyr’s reinforcements arrived under his seal while you were at the arena. They have occupied the storehouse and blocked the upper road to the passage. The lower gate still admits water carts, one searched load at a time.
GATEKEEPERSupplies through here. Nobody goes up to the arch without the new commander's pass.
NARRATORTo reach your stores and learn what happened, you enter with the delivery queue. Your cloaks cover the marks; a barrel cart shelters you from the nearest guard’s view.
NARRATORInside the delivery yard, your adviser finds you behind the cart. The companions you left at the outpost have been waiting nearby; they gather their things and rejoin you.
SHOWVeyr's arrest order nailed inside the delivery gate. The party's marks are drawn beneath the seal.
Arrest order · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORThe order names the marked travellers. They are to be held alive. The crown is to be locked away until Veyr sends for both.
ROSEKeep those hands covered. That order wasn't waiting for anyone else.
BRASKABehind the cart. They've put your hands on the fucking wall.
NARRATORThe new commander used Veyr’s authority over the garrison to seize the stores and the passage. Only after his men held both gates did he post the arrest order. Anyone still loyal to you is being watched.
SHOWBeyond the portal approach: Mortimer's dead closing on the crossing from the other road.
Dead at crossing · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORCleo grips his own wrist. He stares at the undead before anyone names them.
CLEOHe saw it. Through me. The road, the gate. He saw where we went.
NARRATORVeyr's soldiers turn to face the dead. Neither force leaves the crossing open to the party.
NARRATORVeyr's soldiers hold the crossing without opposition. Every traveller is stopped and searched. There is no open route back through the portal.
NARRATORRose reads the order twice. Then she takes an older, folded report from inside her coat.
Rose’s confession · Act 3 · 8 — The occupied outpostROSERemember the ambush on the shore, before we met? Those were Veyr’s men. I told them where you would arrive. He wanted you captured alive.
NARRATORShe puts the report beside the new order.
ROSEWhen his men failed, he offered you treatment instead. He kept me there to report on you.
NARRATORShe folds her report and puts it in the party's hands.
ROSEI signed the first. Keep it. I'm not delivering you to him.
NARRATORThe outpost clerk comes down from the storehouse with the order's attached papers. He stops when he recognises the party behind the cart.
OUTPOST CLERKThey told me to hand over your accounts. They already had these.
NARRATOROne page is an old report signed by Rose: the crossing, descriptions of the marked travellers, orders for their capture on the far shore.
BRASKAThe ambush on the shore, before we met—Veyr ordered it. This report tells his men where you would land. Rose signed it. He wanted you taken alive.
NARRATORBraska turns over the page. A second order is pinned to the back.
BRASKAWhen the ambush failed, he offered you treatment. Rose was to stay close and report on you. Now he has sent soldiers to collect you and the crown.
NARRATORHe gives the papers to the party.
BRASKAKeep these. We’re leaving through another door.
NARRATORThe new order calls for the party and the crown to be taken to Veyr’s ritual room. He wanted prisoners from the start.
NARRATOROne of the surviving officers leaves a service door unbarred. He does not salute when the party passes.
OFFICERToo many eyes on the yard. Go down. I'll make sure nobody follows immediately.
Vessa shows the service stair · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORThe refugees have been put to work moving supplies. Their speaker points out the service stair while carrying a crate past the party.
VESSADown there. We use it for the rubbish. Keep walking.
NARRATORA delivery cart blocks the guards' view of the yard. Behind it, a service stair lies open beside the empty barrels. A kitchen worker comes up the steps, empties a bucket, then goes back down. The way to the rubbish yard is unguarded.
Bluff past Serrik
Outlaw · Mind · Target 15
SHOWThe service passage beneath the occupied outpost. Serrik, the pale, long-headed demon from Veyr’s supper, blocks the rubbish-yard door, now wearing dark armour and the palace steward’s badge. His teeth remain exposed as he turns toward you.
The familiar demon at the service door · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORA patrol is checking the delivery yard. The service stairs lead to a rubbish door outside the wall, but Serrik blocks it.
SERRIKYou. Where are you taking this lot?
SCREENOutlaw: Convince Serrik you are workers before the patrol arrives. D20 + Mind. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Outlaw tries to pass the party off as workers. The others keep their faces down while the patrol approaches upstairs.
Critical success
Bluff past Serrik — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORSerrik believes the workers have urgent orders. He opens the door himself.
SERRIKThen get on with it. I’m not explaining your delay.
Success
Bluff past Serrik — success · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORSerrik accepts the explanation and waves the party through.
SERRIKSide gate. Stay out of the officers’ way.
Failure
Bluff past Serrik — failure · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORSerrik wants proof that the party belongs on rubbish duty. He points to a full chamber pot.
SERRIKTake that out. Then I’ll believe you.
NARRATORCarrying the pot and the rubbish gives the party a way through the door.
Critical failure
Bluff past Serrik — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORSerrik recognises the party. He steps back and calls toward the stairs.
SERRIKGuards! The marked ones!
NARRATORThe party gets through the door before the patrol arrives, but the alarm has been raised.
Pass / no roll
Bluff past Serrik — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 8NARRATORThe party carries rubbish out with the workers. Serrik lets the loaded group pass.
NARRATORThe door closes behind you before the patrol reaches the stairs. Outside the wall, you keep below the road and head for the coast.
NARRATORSerrik’s alarm brings the patrol to the rubbish door. Outside, the party keeps below the road and heads toward the coast. Shouts follow from the wall; the guards are now searching for you.
SHOWThe scrubland beyond the outpost's rubbish yard. The coast road runs away from the occupied gate.
Escape onto the coast road — Braska · Act 3 · Beat 8 NARRATORYou still have the crown. Veyr’s soldiers block the eastern crossing, so the way home now lies by sea. Head for the harbour where your ship is waiting.
NARRATORThe officer who opened the service door sends the loyal company out in small groups with the departing supply wagons. Its survivors will meet you at the coast, beyond Veyr’s garrison.
NARRATORThe handlers bring the surviving hound pack out with the company. Both leave the outpost for the ship; no loyal defenders are left waiting for orders that will never come.
NARRATOROnce Serrik has moved on, Vessa leads her crew and the families who helped through the rubbish yard. They follow the same coast road. Others remain with relatives in the outpost.
NARRATORThe wounded watch volunteer leaves with the healer and the people carrying the outpost's injured. The coast has ships and room to get beyond the garrison's reach.
SCREENThe escape and coast road take 2 days. Subtract 2 days.
Act 3 · 9 — Shelter on this shore
SHOWThe address sent by Lucrezia. It marks a rented house above the eastern coast.
The refuge address · Act 3 · Beat 9LUCREZIA — NOTEMy house is on your way to the harbour. Take the back tracks to arrive unseen. Or use my escort on the main road and save two days. Veyr’s watchers will recognise my colours.
CHOICETravel quietly or use her escort? The escort saves 2 days.
SHOWThe refuge's back gate. A familiar servant from the lodge opens it just wide enough to look out.
The servant opens the back gate · Act 3 · Beat 9LUCREZIAYou kept the address. Good. Come inside before someone follows the smell of trouble.
LUCREZIAAnd the little velvet turnip. I was hoping you'd survive. I'd hate to waste a name like that.
LUCREZIANo scene at the door this time. The neighbours already think we're interesting.
SHOWThe refuge kitchen. Packed baskets stand beside the door; a map has been weighted down with cups.
The coastal refuge · Act 3 · 9 — Shelter on this shore · Optional branchLUCREZIAHe posted your descriptions this morning. Put the crown below the window.
NARRATORShe closes the shutters herself. The servant from the lodge sets out food.
LUCREZIAI have people watching the coast road. They can get us to the harbour in small groups. Us, because I'm not waiting for his men to search this house.
ROSEYou have a ship?
LUCREZIAYou do. Mine was another thing I left behind.
BRASKAHow many are coming?
LUCREZIAThe ones eating in my kitchen. You can count while they pack.
NARRATORHer household leaves food ready for the people following from the outpost. The allies gathered here travel to the harbour with the party.
LUCREZIAHe'll call me a traitor. I would like him to have a proper reason before this is over.
SCREENThe escort saves 2 days. Add 2 days back.
SHOWThe escort's wagon on the public road. The lodge's crest is painted on its side.
The public escort attracts notice · Act 3 · Beat 9NARRATORA mounted man waits beside the road toll. He studies the crest, then the faces beside the wagon.
WATCHERYour mistress is still receiving guests?
ESCORTAt the rented house. We have places ready.
NARRATORThe rider takes the short inland road toward Veyr’s garrison. Your loaded wagon must go around the headland. Hours later, smoke rises from the house ahead.
SHOWThe refuge after Veyr's soldiers reach it. Its gate is broken. Bodies lie beneath the courtyard wall.
The exposed refuge · Act 3 · 9 — Shelter on this shore · Optional branchNARRATORVeyr's soldiers reached the house from the inland road. Lucrezia lies beside the kitchen door. The people who gathered under her protection are dead with her. The marked wagon has led the party to a refuge that no longer exists.
NARRATORThe escort cuts the painted crest off the wagon. No one in the house survived. The escort’s own people remain with you; together you take shelter in an empty salt store farther down the road.
SHOWAn abandoned salt store above the coast road. Rain enters through a hole in the roof.
Shelter in the salt store · Act 3 · 9 — Shelter on this shore · Optional branchNARRATORWith Lucrezia dead, you have no refuge here. You shelter in an abandoned salt store on the way to the harbour. The crown stays wrapped on a dry shelf while rain falls through the roof.
Act 3 · 10 — Cleo warns you
SHOWCleo apart from the others, sitting where he can watch the road.
Cleo warns you · Act 3 · 10 — Cleo warns you · Optional branchCLEOLeave me here.
CLEOMortimer saw the crossing through my eyes. He already knows where your fortress is. Take me home, and he can see who lives there and what you’re planning.
NARRATORCleo presses his thumb into the palm of his other hand until it stops shaking.
CLEOHe can send orders as well as watch. I don’t know when I’ll stop being able to refuse.
NARRATORHe turns toward the Scholar.
CLEOYou understood what was in those books. Tell them I'm not making this up to be dramatic.
CLEONo more reading over my head. This is me telling you.
CLEOYou read his note about my “old habits.” I’m still a person. Hear me out.
Find a warning sign for Mortimer’s control
Shared · Heart · Target 14
CLEOSometimes I feel him coming. Sometimes I only know afterwards.
NARRATORCleo tries to remember what happened just before Mortimer looked through his eyes.
SCREENHelp Cleo remember whether there is a warning before Mortimer takes control. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Scholar asks Cleo to recall the first sensation before Mortimer took hold.
NARRATORThe Peasant gives Cleo time to describe what he felt before Mortimer took hold.
NARRATORThe Soldier asks Cleo to go through what happened just before he lost control.
Critical success
Find a warning sign — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 10CLEOPressure behind my eyes. Then words in my head that aren’t mine. That was before he took over.
NARRATORCleo recognises the warning signs in his account.
CLEOIf it starts again, I’ll tell you as soon as I feel it.
Success
Find a warning sign — success · Act 3 · Beat 10CLEOMy eyes hurt first. Pressure, behind them.
NARRATORHe pauses, trying to remember the other times.
CLEOI can’t promise it happens every time.
Failure
Find a warning sign — failure · Act 3 · Beat 10CLEOI was afraid already. I can’t tell which feeling was him.
NARRATORCleo cannot identify a reliable warning. Mortimer’s link remains a danger.
Critical failure
Find a warning sign — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 10NARRATORTrying to recall Mortimer’s control frightens Cleo too much to continue.
CLEOStop. Please. I can’t go through it again right now.
Pass / no roll
Find a warning sign — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 10NARRATORThe party learns no further warning signs. Cleo waits for their decision about taking him along.
CLEOAll right. You know what you're bringing.
NARRATORHe stands with the party. Nothing has broken Mortimer's connection.
CLEOKeep the cards somewhere dry. I want that part to come with us too.
NARRATORCleo keeps his keys and a little food. He waits until the party is ready before attempting a smile.
CLEOWhen you think of me, try the version who dealt badly and poured too much. He had better evenings.
CLEOGo on. Before I lose the nerve to stay behind.
NARRATORHe remains beside the road as the party leaves. Nobody knows what Mortimer will ask of him next.
NARRATORThere is no message from Cleo. The keys stayed with him in the laboratory.
NARRATORCleo's notebook remains packed with the research. There is one fewer place to find aboard the ship.
Act 3 · 11 — The long way home
SHOWThe eastern harbour. Your ship waits below the cliffs for the voyage back to your island.
A ship for the journey home · Act 3 · Beat 11NARRATORThe harbour clerk points out your agreed berth. Veyr’s men still hold the crossing into Hell. You must take the longer sea route home.
NARRATORThe Lamplighter is waiting beside his own crates, his passage paid. He tips his hat as the household comes down to the ship.
LAMPLIGHTERSame boat. Separate accounts. I booked before the captain heard about your day.
NARRATORThe loyal company's survivors arrive in small groups, as arranged. They stack their weapons together on the quay.
The crew boards for home · Act 3 · Beat 11NARRATORVessa arrives with her crew and the families who followed the coast road. She checks who has reached the quay before letting anyone board.
VESSAStay by the boat. If you wander off, I’m charging you for another rescue.
NARRATORLucrezia’s household brings the baskets packed at the refuge. Her allies help the injured over the gangplank.
NARRATORThe outpost healer brings the wounded watch volunteer aboard with the other injured. The crew lays bedding between the cargo stacks.
SHIPMASTERI kept the ship offshore when their troops arrived. Come aboard. We can talk about the damage once there's land between us and them.
NARRATORYour hired captain has kept the agreed berth. The crew makes room for everyone who reached the harbour. You must pay for this new voyage or work aboard.
CHOICESail home on your ship, pay for passage or work aboard?
SHIPMASTERYour ship. Your heading. We'll get her ready.
NOTEThis option requires the pleasure ship. Pay or work aboard instead.
SHIP CAPTAINPaid. Get your people aboard. We sail with the tide.
SHIP CAPTAINThen you work the voyage. The mate knows what needs doing. Nobody's staying on this shore for want of a coin.
SHOWThe ship at sea. The wrapped crown is secured beside the remaining medicine.
The long way home · Act 3 · 11 — The long way homeNARRATORThe ship leaves the eastern coast for your island. You have the crown. At home, you must plan how to use Veyr’s ritual room without giving him control of it.
ROSEHe'll expect me to send word from this ship.
NARRATORShe holds a blank report over a cup of water, then pushes it below the surface.
ROSEHe can wait.
NARRATORBraska takes Veyr's seal off his travelling papers and leaves it on the table.
BRASKAHe can have that back. We’re going home.
CLIVEI used to put arrivals in a ledger. Now I keep wondering who's going to be left to read it.
NARRATORHe takes another sheet and writes down the people who boarded.
CLIVEPassengers recorded. Where should I put the list?
NARRATORHe waits beside the cabin table with the page in both hands.
SHOWCleo alone at the rail while the last strip of coast disappears.
Cleo at the rail · Act 3 · Beat 11CLEOIf I start telling you the passage is safe after all, ask me which hand I deal with.
NARRATORHe holds up both hands.
CLEOTrick question. Badly with either.
NARRATORDogmeat sleeps beside the Peasant. One head stays awake long enough to watch the dark water pass.
NOTEApply the selected voyage’s fare and travel time using its button above. This is a new voyage from the eastern coast, separate from the earlier laboratory trip. Required journeys always leave at least 1 day. If this trip uses all your spare time, you arrive with 1 day for the finale and no time for preparations.
Act 3 · 12 — The time you brought back
SHOWHome from the sea. The fortress still stands above the harbour. People gather as the ship approaches.
Homecoming at your harbour · Act 3 · Beat 12 The lender collects at your harbour · Act 3 · Beat 12 NARRATORThe lender's men stand at the toll table Rose's loan put on your quay. They collect their fees beneath a sign bearing the lender's seal.
HARBOUR MASTERRose borrowed against this harbour. Until that debt is paid, the lender takes its fees. Our people still do the work.
SHOWMara and the villagers at the landing with a small chest.
Mara and the villagers at the landing · Act 3 · Beat 12MARAIt's money. Before you ask, yes, we're sure. The boats worked. The houses stayed standing. People paid what they could spare.
NARRATORMara hands the chest to the Peasant, who listened to her before the fortress assault.
MARAYou listened before there was anything to give you. Remember that bit too.
SCREENAdd 3 gold to the shared purse.
NARRATORA few village survivors wait beside the road. Mara is among them.
MARAWe heard you were coming. There's no chest of coins. There aren't enough of us left for that. But we can tell people you heard the truth when it reached you.
NARRATORThe village survivors do not come to the landing. Their absence leaves more room than the crowd needs.
NARRATORThe fisher who asked your first court to return the village’s boats steps out of the unloading queue. The Noble gave him time to speak. He addresses them by name.
FISHERYou heard me out when I came about our boats. Come down when there’s time. I’ll show you how we’re getting on.
NARRATORAt your first court, the Noble listened while Mara named the soldiers who attacked her village.
MARAI remember you let me finish. I remember what came after it too.
NARRATORA messenger brings a short reply from Mara. She has not come to meet the party.
NARRATORAt your first court, the Noble listened while Mara named the soldiers who attacked her village.
MARA — MESSAGEI remember you let me finish. I remember what came after it too.
NARRATORAt your first court, this fisher asked for the village’s boats back. The Noble answered with a speech about sacrifice. He has not forgotten it.
FISHEREveryone has made sacrifices. Got any more fine words for the people still making them?
NARRATORAt your first court, Mara described the attack on her village. The Noble answered with a speech about sacrifice.
MARAI haven't forgotten your speech about sacrifice.
NARRATORA messenger brings a short reply from Mara. She has not come to meet the party.
NARRATORAt your first court, Mara described the attack on her village. The Noble answered with a speech about sacrifice.
MARA — MESSAGEI haven't forgotten your speech about sacrifice.
NARRATORAfter Mortimer burned the harbour, you helped organise shelter for the displaced families. The dock foreman shows you the repaired storehouse where they stayed.
DOCK FOREMANYou got us working together after the fire. People had roofs that night. We remember.
NARRATORThe dock foreman remembers the confused relief effort after Mortimer’s raid. Several crews went to the same street while other families waited.
DOCK FOREMANOne crew per street this time. I don’t want families waiting while everyone runs to the same place again.
NARRATORThe clerk who recorded the relief effort after Mortimer’s raid returns with the new work list. Last time, conflicting orders delayed help.
CLERKOne set of orders this time, please. Last time the foreman had to take over while people waited outside.
NARRATORThe watch volunteer who spoke to the Soldier after the outpost attack finds them on the quay. They had been trying to explain what happened to the cook. After resting with the healer, they want to finish.
SURVIVORI found someone who knew the cook. I told them we remembered.
NARRATORThe wounded volunteer remains with the healer. The conversation at the outpost was more than they could manage; they have not yet tried again.
SHOWThe fortress hall. Mephisto waits beside the table, his travelling bag against a chair.
Mephisto waits in the hall · Act 3 · Beat 12MEPHISTOThey said you’d gone east. Then I heard Veyr had put soldiers on that crossing. I was afraid you wouldn’t get back.
NARRATORHis coat is torn at one shoulder. He has washed the dirt off his spectacles.
MEPHISTOI found my family at the old ferry station in Hell. They have food and a roof. But the ground is cracking there too. I can’t keep moving them from one falling street to another.
NARRATORGuards bring Mileene into the hall for the account of what happened in the east. She remains beside them while it is told.
NARRATORMileene comes in from the gate when she hears the party has returned. She stays to hear the account.
NARRATORThe crown and Veyr's arrest order are placed on the table. Mephisto reads the order twice.
MEPHISTOHe kept you alive with medicine until you brought him the crown. Now he wants you locked up so you can’t refuse the ritual.
MEPHISTOWe asked if he could use your marks. He never denied it.
ROSELucrezia warned us Hell was dying. Your account of the king’s warning tells us how Veyr means to use the crown. He wants the two worlds joined.
BRASKALucrezia warned us Hell was dying. You heard the king say this crown could join the two worlds. Veyr sent us to fetch it for him.
ROSEWe saw the road falling behind the refugees. Your account of the king’s warning tells us this crown could join the two worlds. That's what Veyr sent us for.
BRASKAHell's falling to pieces. We saw it at the passage. You heard the king say the crown could join the worlds. Veyr wanted us to hurry for his sake.
ROSEThe room we need is inside his palace. His own orders name it.
BRASKAHis orders name the palace ritual room. That’s where he’ll be waiting.
MEPHISTOWe have the crown, but we need Veyr’s ritual room to use it. Building another would take months. We’ll run out of medicine before then. We have to get inside his palace.
MEPHISTOWe can still reach his city through our cathedral. We get inside, stop him and use the room ourselves. I’m coming with you.
ROSERemember the king’s warning: one person takes your marks. Let them finish and the worlds stay apart. Kill them during the ritual and the worlds join. Either way, that person dies and your curse ends.
BRASKAThe king gave you two ways out. One person takes your marks. They die closing the opening, or someone kills them before they finish and the worlds join. Either way, your curse ends.
MEPHISTOShow me.
Find the safe part of the crown to touch
Scholar · Mind · Target 15
SHOWThe crown on a cloth between the Scholar and Mephisto. Its inner rim bears the same pattern as the party’s marks.
Examining the crown · Act 3 · 12 — The time you brought backNARRATORThe crown’s inner band bears the same pattern as your marks. Mephisto keeps his hands away from the metal.
MEPHISTOShow me where to hold it safely.
SCREENScholar: Find a way to hold the crown without setting it off. D20 + Mind. Target 15. Attempt it or pass.
NARRATORThe Scholar examines the crown’s bands and tests how they react to the marks.
Critical success
Find a safe grip — critical success · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORThe Scholar identifies the dangerous inner band and marks the safe places to grip the outer rim. Everyone can see where to put their hands.
MEPHISTOThose marks I can follow.
Success
Find a safe grip — success · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORThe Scholar finds a safe grip on the outer rim and shows Mephisto where to hold it. The marks stay quiet.
Failure
Find a safe grip — failure · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORThe Scholar cannot tell which parts are safe. Mephisto keeps the crown wrapped and avoids touching the metal.
MEPHISTOCloth stays on, then.
Critical failure
Find a safe grip — critical failure · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORContact with the inner band makes the party’s marks burn. The Scholar pulls away and stops the examination. Mephisto covers the crown with its cloth.
Pass / no roll
Find a safe grip — no roll · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORThe crown stays wrapped. Nobody touches the metal.
NARRATORAt the city gate in Hell, you pressed Mephisto about his reasons for helping you. He admitted he needed Veyr to protect his family. Now he finds the person who questioned him.
MEPHISTOI still want my family safe. That hasn't become nobler because I know more now. I wanted you to know I haven't forgotten what I admitted.
NARRATORAt the city gate in Hell, you questioned Mephisto about the danger he had brought you into. He now invites the same person to talk again.
MEPHISTOCome and sit a moment. You told me what you thought before. I'd rather make the next decision with you here.
NARRATORMephisto goes through the palace route with the speaker. He keeps the conversation to the work ahead.
NARRATORMephisto speaks to the whole party about the plan. He does not seek another private conversation with the person who blamed him at the city gate.
MILEENEI know why you're going back. Take me. I won't ask you for command.
NARRATORAt your order, the household gives Mileene a weapon. She will accompany you under guard, without soldiers or her former command.
NARRATORMileene remains at the fortress under the watch’s supervision. She receives neither a weapon nor a command.
MILEENEI'll keep the people here together. You let us through that gate. We'll make it worth having opened.
MILEENEMy people will help hold the town. We'll discuss the rest when you return.
MILEENEMy people backed away from your spears when we arrived. Now they’re helping hold your gate. Remember that.
Arrival time will appear when the shared days counter is loaded.
NARRATORThe shutters shake before the meeting ends. A watchman comes in carrying a broken piece of the cathedral road. Violet light runs through its cracks.
WATCHMANThe paving opened under the patrol. The cracks are spreading towards the cathedral.
NARRATORThe party's marks brighten through the last dose.
MEPHISTOThen we go now. Tell the household to get people inside. Bring only what we need.
NARRATORThere is still some medicine left. You can spend time preparing home before returning to Veyr. The household brings the repair plans; Mephisto prepares for the crossing.
SCREENChoose how to spend your remaining time and money. Costs are shown beside each option.
NOTEKeep 1 day for the journey to Veyr and the final ritual. Spend only the remaining days and gold on preparations. Record each cost once. At 1 day left, leave immediately; you cannot spend that day on preparations.
SHOWWorkers repairing the weak wall, laying traps on the approach and fitting doors to the shelters.
Preparing home · Act 3 · 12 — The time you brought back · Optional branchNARRATORThe town watch works beside residents. The repaired walls and shelters will protect home while you enter Hell.
NARRATORThe watch uses the walls and shelters already standing. The damaged stretches remain marked on the captain's plan.
NARRATORThe allies already at home make their own arrangements. There is no coordinated escort assembled for the palace journey.
SHOWThe camp below the granary. Sailcloth roofs sag over beds raised on crates.
The camp below the granary · Act 3 · Beat 12NARRATORThe head cook at your fortress brings a parent from the local shelter camp to the hall. These families were displaced by the harbour raid. The parent’s blanket is damp despite a morning beside the ovens.
PARENTWe're on the ground below the drain. Every time it rains, we get the granary's roof as well as our own.
HEAD COOKThere are empty rooms upstairs. Dry ones, once the windows are repaired.
PARENTYour clerk put us on a list last time. Are we moving, or getting another list?
NARRATORThe rooms need window repairs, bedding and workers to move the families before the next storm.
SHOWBedding carried upstairs. Families entering the repaired rooms with their few belongings.
Families move into repaired rooms · Act 3 · Beat 12PARENTI thought we'd be waiting under that sail until someone needed the ground.
NARRATORThe families move their bedding into the repaired rooms. With a dry place secured, those able to work help carry supplies for the departure.
NARRATORThe sailcloth camp remains below the granary. Its residents tie down the corners again while the party prepares to leave.
Act 3 · 13 — Who came to the gate
The fortress gate before departure · Act 3 · Beat 13NARRATORAt the gate, the watch brings its last reports. In the courtyard, the household prepares for your departure.
GUARDCleo reached the island before you. A fishing crew saw him aboard a vessel taken by Mortimer’s dead. They landed below the coast road and came toward our gate. The watch drove them back. He said you’d know him.
CHOICEVisit Cleo? The visit takes 1 day.
SHOWCleo on the coast road beyond the town. Dead soldiers stand farther along it, making no attempt to hide.
Cleo and Mortimer’s dead · Act 3 · 13 — Who came to the gate · Optional branchCLEOI've made an impression at your gate.
CLEOMortimer’s soldiers took a coastal vessel. I came aboard with them. No cargo stops, no sleep. We made the island ahead of your ship. He sent them to stop the demons crossing over. That doesn’t make him your friend.
CLEOIf they come near your people, I can try shouting. Don't mistake that for command.
NARRATORHe watches one of the dead turn toward the town.
CLEOGo do what you came back to do. Don't wait for him to become your friend.
NARRATORThe party leaves with the guard's report and no conversation with Cleo. The dead beyond the town remain under Mortimer's orders.
NARRATORThere is no time to follow the coast road. The guard points out where Cleo went, then returns to the gate.
NARRATORA servant asks the Peasant before offering Dogmeat anything from the kitchen. All three heads wait with exaggerated patience.
Dogmeat waits by the kitchen · Act 3 · Beat 13NARRATORThe kitchen closes its lower shutters when Dogmeat passes. One head watches the bread through the gap.
Dogmeat at the kitchen shutters · Act 3 · Beat 13SHOWThe hall on the last evening before departure. Cups and a few plates remain on the table.
SHOWA table inside the cathedral's outer shelter. Cups are filled while the party's equipment is set beside the door.
NARRATORMephisto arrives with his bag. The last medicine is packed. Next comes the cathedral crossing, then Veyr’s palace.
Lift your companions’ spirits
Shared · Heart · Target 14
NARRATORCups are passed around. The battle ahead may be your last. Before you leave, your companions have a few words for you.
NARRATORThe Lamplighter joins the last drink before departure. His cargo stays at the harbour.
The last toast · Act 3, Beat 13 A drink before the crossing · Act 3, Beat 13 ROSEI’ll keep the gate open for you. I owe you that much.
BRASKAI’ll hold the gate. You’d better come back through it.
VESSAThe children asked if we’re staying. I’d like to tell them yes.
LUCREZIAI’ve moved house twice for that bastard. I’m staying here.
CLIVEI used to think getting out of the workshop was the hard part.
CLIVEThe bags are packed. I will wait for the next instruction.
CLEOThank you for bringing me back. I didn’t want to be alone with him in my head.
LAMPLIGHTERYour next delivery is on its way, amigos. Be here to complain about the price.
MILEENEI’d rather fight beside you than wait here for Veyr.
MILEENEMy people have beds tonight. They won’t forget who opened the gate.
NARRATORDogmeat gives one bark, then waits to see whether that earns him anything from the table.
MEPHISTOI’d like to sit at this table again when none of us needs medicine.
SCREENGive your tired companions some courage before the final battle. D20 + Heart. Target 14. Choose one person to roll, or pass.
NARRATORThe Peasant offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
NARRATORThe Soldier offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
NARRATORThe Scholar offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
NARRATORThe Merchant offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
NARRATORThe Noble offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
NARRATORThe Outlaw offers a toast, trying to give their companions courage for the battle ahead.
Critical success
The last toast · Critical success The last toast · Critical success NARRATORPeople join the toast, sharing memories of how they got this far. Cups rise together, and conversation returns to the table.
MEPHISTOTo coming home. All of us who can.
Success
NARRATORFaces brighten around the table. Everyone raises a cup and drinks to coming home.
Failure
NARRATORThe toast trails off. Mephisto gives the speaker a moment, then raises his cup.
MEPHISTOTo coming home.
NARRATORThe others finish the toast with him.
Critical failure
The last toast · Critical failure The last toast · Critical failure NARRATORThe listeners hear the toast as a final farewell. Cups stay on the table. People look at one another, and the room falls silent.
Pass / no roll
The last toast · Pass / no roll The last toast · Pass / no roll NARRATORMephisto raises his cup and offers the toast himself.
MEPHISTOTo coming home.
Act 3 · 14 — Through the cathedral again
SHOWThe drowned cathedral. The old crypt steps descend toward the red arch.
Return to the drowned cathedral · Act 3 · Beat 14NARRATORBack beneath your island’s cathedral, you face the red arch into Hell. Vaelor, the keeper who died here when you first arrived, is gone. This crossing still leads to Veyr’s city.
MEPHISTOHe stood here for four hundred years. We have been rather busy with the place since he left.
NARRATORThe allies assigned to the road keep the approaches clear. Those staying home turn back at the cathedral steps. The party does not have to hold every stretch of ground itself.
NARRATORThere is no prepared escort waiting along the road. The household closes the gates behind the people who can reach them. The party must move before Veyr's forces arrive in strength.
NARRATORFrom the cathedral road, dead soldiers can be seen gathering below the town. When living guards approach, the undead raise their weapons against them. Mortimer has sent them for his own purpose, under his own orders.
MEPHISTOKeep our people clear of them. Whatever Cleo hoped, we cannot command that line.
NARRATORWatch horns sound behind you. Veyr’s advance troops have reached the cathedral road; the defenders at home move to stop them while you enter the crossing.
NARRATORMephisto steadies the arch. Your chosen adviser crosses with you. The defenders assigned to stay home remain behind. You carry the crown into Hell, heading for the palace ritual room.
SHOWVeyr's city in Hell. Cracks cross streets that were whole when the party first arrived. The palace stands above them, heavily guarded.
Return to Hell · Act 3 · 14 — Through the cathedral againA side route to the palace · Act 3 · Beat 14NARRATORVessa and her crew guide the party past blocked streets. She signals a turn behind the fallen masonry while her people warn the families still trying to leave.
NARRATORThe lodge's allies draw the outer guards away from the service approach. Lucrezia waits until the party is through before withdrawing her people.
LUCREZIAGo. I have no intention of dying in his courtyard for the sake of appearances.
NARRATORThe loyal company holds the approach long enough for the party to reach the palace doors. They have come for their rulers, not for Veyr's commission.
NARRATORClive knows the palace’s servants’ entrance. He offers to get the door opened before the guards search you.
NARRATORHis plan is to pretend that he is bringing the marked travellers into custody.
CLIVEIf anyone asks, I've finally decided you're more trouble than you're worth. I can make that sound convincing.
SHOWClive at the palace service door. Serrik, the toothy demon from supper and the occupied outpost, stands across the entrance in his dark armour.
NARRATORSerrik has returned to the palace ahead of you. His steward’s badge remains fastened to his armour.
SERRIKYour friends have learned to use the servants’ doors.
Clive bluffs his way through the service door · Act 3 · Beat 14CLIVEThey're bringing the crown. They think I'm finding them a way in. Which, to be fair, I am.
SERRIKWhy would they trust you with that?
CLIVEThey had me rebuilt. Apparently that comes with loyalty.
SERRIKAnd does it?
CLIVEOpen the door and ask them.
NARRATORSerrik signals the servants to stand aside. Clive keeps one hand on the open door while the party enters.
SHOWClive at the palace service door. Serrik, the toothy demon from supper and the occupied outpost, stands across the entrance in his dark armour.
NARRATORSerrik has returned to the palace ahead of you. His steward’s badge remains fastened to his armour.
SERRIKYour friends have learned to use the servants’ doors.
Clive gives away the pretence · Act 3 · Beat 14SERRIKWhat were you told to say?
CLIVEThat I am bringing them into custody.
SERRIKBy whom?
NARRATORClive points back toward the party. He cannot keep the pretence going under questioning.
NARRATORSerrik takes him inside. Veyr's guards open the main doors instead, knowing the party is outside. Clive is held near the throne as a hostage when you enter.
NARRATORWithout Clive, Mephisto leads the party to the public entrance. Veyr's officer sees the wrapped crown and orders the doors opened.
SERRIKHis lordship has been waiting.
MEPHISTOWe gathered that from the arrest order.
Act 3 · 15 — Veyr's offer
SHOWThe palace chamber. Veyr waits beside a prepared ritual floor. Guards hold the outer doors.
Veyr makes his final offer · Act 3 · Beat 15VEYRYou brought it. Set it where I can see it.
NARRATORVeyr sits beyond the ritual floor. His physician waits beside the medicine case. Guards hold the doors. This is the room you need to end the curse.
NARRATORRose places his arrest order on the edge of the ritual floor.
ROSEYou could have asked for it without this.
VEYRAnd you could have delivered the people entrusted to you.
ROSEI delivered your first message. I won't deliver this one.
BRASKAYour commander tried to lock us in our own outpost.
VEYRHe was told to hold you alive and secure the crown. He delivered neither you nor it.
MEPHISTOYou knew what the marks meant when you gave them the treatment.
VEYRYes.
NARRATORHe does not look toward his physician for help.
VEYRI needed the crown. You needed time. I kept you alive long enough to fetch it. The medicines were real. So was the danger.
Veyr explains the bargain · Act 3 · 15 — Veyr's offerMEPHISTOYou could have told them.
VEYRYou asked them to open the door for your family. How much did you know before you asked?
NARRATORMephisto leaves that question unanswered.
VEYRHell is breaking. I can give it a future in your world. I can give you a place in that future.
NARRATORHe grips the arm of his chair before standing. The preparatory medicine he took for his intended crossing has left him weak. His physician stands beside the same labelled batch sent to the resettlement stores.
VEYRYour recipe has made this less pleasant than I expected. It has not changed what must be done.
NARRATORHe rises easily. His preparatory course for the crossing caused no harm; the formula you delivered leaves him at full strength.
VEYRSerrik recognised you at the rubbish door. I heard how quickly you ran.
VEYRMy men heard the king’s guards drove you out. You still have his crown. That is the part that concerns me.
MEPHISTOTo coming home. We drank to it before leaving. I still mean it.
VEYRYour servant answered honestly. It made a refreshing change.
NARRATORA guard holds Clive beside the dais. Clive looks toward the party, waiting for an instruction.
VEYROne of you—or Mephisto—takes the marks. I kill that person before the ritual closes the opening. The worlds join, and your curse ends. The rest of you live and serve me.
MEPHISTOA future he owns.
VEYRYes. Let us at least stop pretending every offer can please everyone.
CHOICEFight Veyr or accept his demand?
MEPHISTOIf you accept, someone must die. I can take the marks. Or one of you can. Decide before we begin.
NARRATORMephisto takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Peasant takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Soldier takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Scholar takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Merchant takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Noble takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Outlaw takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORVeyr strikes before the ritual can close the opening. The person wearing the crown dies. Light spreads across both skies, and the survivors’ marks fade.
The survivors submit to Veyr · Act 3 · Beat 15VEYRRise. There is work to do.
NARRATORThe curse is over. Veyr rules the joined worlds, and the survivors leave as his servants.
ENDSubmission ending. Continue to the Epilogue tab. Do not play F12 or the victory choice.
NARRATORVeyr moves onto the ritual floor. His guards draw their weapons. The doors behind the party close.
FIGHTF12 — Finale. Earlier allies appear in the approach and the following narration; use the agreed battle setup for the actual fight.
SHOWThe palace after Veyr’s defeat. His body lies beside fallen stone at the edge of the ritual floor. The carved circles and the crown remain intact.
Veyr lies defeated beside the ritual floor · Act 3 · Beat 15NARRATORVeyr is dead. The surviving guards lower their weapons. Outside the chamber, the ground continues to shake.
NARRATORThe surviving household guards release Clive as Veyr falls. He stays beside the party until someone shows him where it is safe to stand.
NARRATORMileene stands beside the party, her weapon lowered only when the last threat is gone.
MILEENEThat part is finished. Tell me there's a way to stop the rest.
Act 3 · 16 — What you do with the victory
NARRATORVeyr is dead, but your marks still burn. The crown and ritual circle are intact. One person must take all the marks. That person will die, whichever way the ritual ends.
MEPHISTOI’ll take them. My family are at the ferry station. Closing the opening will save their home too. But I won’t put on the crown until we agree.
NARRATORThe Scholar points out the safe grip found earlier. The crown can be passed into the circle without setting it off.
NARRATORThe crown stays wrapped until someone is ready to take the marks.
NARRATORMephisto takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Peasant takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Soldier takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Scholar takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Merchant takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Noble takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
NARRATORThe Outlaw takes the crown and steps into the circle. The marks draw their light toward the crown.
Mephisto’s final choice · Act 3 · 16 — What you do with the victory · Optional branch NARRATORThe marks pour into the one wearing the crown. Nothing can save them now; they die whichever way this ends. Inside the crown’s band are two signs: a closed gate and an open gate. Before the last mark goes in, the band must be turned to one of them, and the ritual won’t end until it is. Closed gate: the opening seals and the worlds stay apart. Open gate: the opening stays and the two worlds become one. The one wearing the crown looks to you to decide.
SCREENThe one wearing the crown dies either way. Turn the band: closed gate, the worlds stay apart; open gate, the worlds join. Everyone else loses their marks.
Mephisto’s sacrifice · Act 3 · 16 — What you do with the victory · Optional branchMEPHISTOThank you for letting me close it.
NARRATORThe light goes out. Mephisto falls, and the crown slips from his head.
The spectacles and crown · Act 3 · 16 — What you do with the victory · Optional branch NARRATORThe chosen companion holds the crown steady until its light goes out. They fall inside the circle. Mephisto kneels beside them, but they are already dead.
NARRATORThe cracks stop widening. The survivors’ marks fade. The worlds remain separate. The crossing lights are dimming; there is still time to reach the cathedral arch before it closes.
NARRATORThe band turns to the open gate. The last mark goes in, and the one wearing the crown falls. Light tears through the palace and spreads across both skies.
The worlds merged · Act 3 · 16 — What you do with the victory · Optional branchNARRATORThe worlds join. The survivors’ marks fade, and demons no longer need medicine here. Veyr is dead. Hell’s creatures and struggles for power have become part of your home.