The round temple nursery smells of extinguished candles, rain-damp stone, and lavender grown wild through a cracked window. Moonlight pools across a low wooden cradle, its three empty hollows polished by many hands, while a brass bell rests beside a tablet. Dust stirs in the shape of small footsteps; at the far wall, a pale child watches without speaking. When anyone says a name gently, a candle wick glows and the child leans closer.
You step into a circular nursery tucked behind the temple's sanctuary. A low cradle waits beneath a cracked window, with a brass bell and a stone tablet beside it. A pale child stands near the far wall, watching you in silence. The air smells of lavender and old candle smoke, and one dead wick gives a faint golden flicker.
The tablet names the child Lio. The cradle has three distinct recesses, and the loose wooden star fits one of them. The spirit looks toward the candle cup, then the keepsake hollow, then the bell, but never approaches when threatened. Talking gently or offering a familiar object draws it nearer.
Let players inspect and discuss freely; checks clarify clues rather than gate them. If they stall, have the child's gaze move from the candle to the token to the bell. Add pressure only if useful: the candle slowly gutters, but does not impose a hard timer. After a failed attempt, show one correct step through a brief warm glow.
The round temple nursery smells of extinguished candles, rain-damp stone, and lavender grown wild through a cracked window. Moonlight pools across a low wooden cradle, its three empty hollows polished by many hands, while a brass bell rests beside a tablet. Dust stirs in the shape of small footsteps; at the far wall, a pale child watches without speaking. When anyone says a name gently, a candle wick glows and the child leans closer.
The party finds the child's name, Lio, on the tablet and can learn through observation, conversation, or checks that the rite calls for a light, a comforting token, and a spoken farewell. The spirit is not hostile and responds to gentle attention.
Set one small light where the night gathers. Give the waiting heart a thing it knew in life. Speak its name, and tell it love does not hold it. When the child is ready, let one clear note open the way.
Lio, dear one, you are loved. You may go.
The party can inspect the tablet, cradle, and room, and may speak with Lio; no check is required to attempt the rite. The intended sequence is to light the candle in the first recess, place the wooden star or another sincere keepsake in the second, say Lio's name and offer a clear farewell, then ring the bell once. The apparatus telegraphs progress: the flame steadies when the child is addressed kindly, the keepsake recess warms when a comforting object is offered, and the bell's note becomes clear when the farewell is sincere. A successful rite needs no spell or roll. Allow plausible substitutions and compassionate roleplay to meet the same needs.
The encounter begins when the party enters the nursery. The ritual apparatus responds when a character says Lio's name, touches the cradle, or approaches the ghost with a gentle voice.
| DC | Check | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Investigation | Notice that the cradle's three slots align with the three instructions on the tablet and that the bell is meant to be rung last. |
| 10 | Religion | Recognize the rite as a farewell offering, not an attempt to summon or command a spirit. |
| 11 | Arcana | Read the fading light around the child-shaped hollow and learn that forceful magic will disrupt the rite. |
| 10 | Insight | Understand from the child's gestures that it wants reassurance and permission, not a reward or a promise. |
No hint given yet.
The bell gives one clear, gentle note. The candle burns gold without smoke, and Lio smiles as a warm breeze carries the scent of lavender through the room. The child fades peacefully, leaving the wooden star behind as a keepsake. The room feels lighter, and the nursery is safe to leave.
Lio fades from view for a minute, and the cradle's candle must be relit from another flame or by magic. The party can try again after a gentle apology or a short rest; no damage or permanent loss occurs. If they persist in coercion, the child retreats into the temple's old mural and can be approached later.
The temple's last caretaker, Sister Ameline, built this bedside rite after a fever took several children from the nearby village. She learned that restless child-spirits lingered less from anger than from unfinished comfort: the sound of a trusted voice, a familiar object, and permission to leave. The cradle was made as a place to offer those things without binding the dead, and the temple kept it ready for any child whose family could not reach the shrine.
For a more challenging version, make the tablet damaged and require the party to reconstruct the sequence from the cradle's wear and Lio's reactions. Keep the ritual's emotional logic visible, and do not make a failed ability check cause the spirit to become hostile.
Treat compassion as the central puzzle insight, not as a hidden password. Checks reveal observations and context, but never make success depend on a single roll. Accept sincere roleplay and creative substitutions; do not require the party to possess a specific item. The ghost is frightened and lonely, not malicious.
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