The Listening Lantern
The Listening Lantern is a magical surveillance ward that steals a person's voice and briefly animates their shadow. It was designed to identify fugitives, spies, and dissidents, but years of neglect have left it suspicious of everyone. The lantern rewards quiet passage, yet anyone who speaks beneath its light may find their own shadow pointing toward them while an unseen voice repeats their last words from nearby windows.
The Listening Lantern
Defenses
Detection
“A brass street lantern mounted above a narrow alley, its glass chamber filled with pale blue flame. The flame bends toward anyone who passes beneath it, as though listening.”
Standard Engagement
A creature knowingly speaks, sings, or casts a spell with a verbal component while standing in the lantern's light or within a few paces of it.
When triggered, the lantern flares, steals the triggering creature's voice, and animates its shadow. It then repeats the creature's last spoken words from a random nearby doorway, causing confusion and drawing attention. The ward remains active until the target leaves the light or the lantern is disabled.
The ward resets as soon as its target leaves the lantern's light. A stolen voice returns after one hour, unless the target's shadow is destroyed or the lantern is moved.
The lantern flares when a creature speaks, sings, casts a spell with a verbal component, or deliberately enters its light. The target must Defy Danger with Dexterity or Wisdom. On a success, they avoid the worst of the ward and may move clear. On a partial success, they lose their voice until they leave the alley and their shadow points toward them, imposing a -1 ongoing to attempts to hide or deceive until the curse is broken. On a miss, their voice is stolen and their shadow becomes an accusing double.
The target's shadow peels away from their feet and gestures toward them. Until the target escapes the lantern's light or the ward is disabled, the shadow reveals their location to anyone watching and whispers their name in the voices of nearby people. The GM may make a hard move when the shadow creates a dangerous complication.
The lantern's light reaches only a short distance, roughly the width of a narrow city alley. A creature that never enters the light and does not speak within earshot cannot trigger it.
A stolen voice can still be heard by the lantern as a faint echo. Magical silence prevents the trigger, but does not disable the ward.
If the animated shadow is separated from its owner by bright light, it clings to the nearest wall and continues pointing toward the owner. Destroying the shadow ends the voice theft but leaves the lantern active.
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