A Safe Passage
A Safe Passage
Read aloud
A worker named Tamsin Vale came back from a rift changed, and the Choir has declared that they belong to it. Lantern Warden Sera Quill will pay you to escort Tamsin across the rifts to Bellwether before the Choir's claimants arrive. Tamsin is not cargo, and the route is already beginning to shift.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Escort Tamsin Vale safely across the rifts.
- 2Resolve the Choir's attempt to claim Tamsin.
- 3Keep the passage usable for future travelers.Optional
The clock
After each major delay or loud confrontation, advance the Choir's pursuit by one step: distant signals, scouts on the route, claimants at the Glass Ford, then a final interception before Bellwether. At the final step, the Choir attempts to separate Tamsin, not necessarily to kill the party.
Scenes
- 0:00The Warden's Charge
- 0:25The March of Lost Markers
- 1:05A Claim in the Open
- 1:55The Unmoored Causeway
- 2:40Arrival at Bellwether
Cast
- Tamsin ValeTransformed worker and person to be escorted
- Warden Sera QuillQuestgiver and escort ally
- Cantor VeyAntagonist and Choir emissary
- Merrit AshWitness and route guide
The hook
Set the scene
At a Warden checkpoint, Sera Quill presents a hooded lantern and a route map marked with three safe lights. Tamsin waits nearby, wrapped in a travel cloak; their shadow occasionally moves a fraction of a second out of step. Sera explains the route and asks the party to agree that Tamsin makes the final decisions about their own safety and destination. As the group sets out, a distant bell rings once from the direction of the Glass Ford, though no Warden is stationed there.
How Warden Sera Quill asks
Warden Sera Quill approaches the party at a Lantern Warden checkpoint.
She offers an advance of supplies and asks them to escort Tamsin to Bellwether, emphasizing that Tamsin is a person with a say in the journey, not a parcel to be delivered.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Warden's Charge
A Lantern Warden checkpoint at the edge of a pale, fractured plain.
Establish the escort, introduce Tamsin's agency, and set the route's immediate stakes. Give the party a chance to ask questions or adjust supplies.
NextSera hands over the route map and leads the party to the first safe light.
0:25
40 min
skill
2. The March of Lost Markers
The Pale March, a field of chalk-colored stones separated by hairline rifts.
The party crosses an exposed stretch where landmarks drift and the lantern's light reveals only fragments of the path. Use a complication to make the group choose between speed, caution, and supplies.
NextMerrit Ash identifies a sheltered approach to the Glass Ford, but warns that the Choir has been seen nearby.
1:05
50 min
combat
3. A Claim in the Open
The Glass Ford, where pale water flows beneath a suspended riftstone sheet.
The party reaches the ford and must decide whether to negotiate, evade, or confront Cantor Vey's claimants. Let Tamsin speak for themself if present, and make the consequences of each approach clear.
The Claim at the Glass FordNextAfter the confrontation, the party follows a rough route toward the Unmoored Causeway or searches for a safer crossing.
1:55
45 min
exploration
4. The Unmoored Causeway
A broken stone bridge hanging above a narrow, soundless rift.
The party must get Tamsin across a shifting causeway while dealing with unstable footing and possible Rift Hounds. They can spend time securing a safer route or risk a faster crossing.
The Unmoored CausewayNextThe causeway leads to a ridge from which Bellwether's lanterns are visible.
2:40
25 min
social
5. Arrival at Bellwether
Bellwether's outer gate, protected by a ring of steady lanterns.
Bring the escort to a close and give Tamsin a chance to state what they want. Sera offers the promised payment, while the party decides whether to share what they discovered or keep it private.
NextEnd with the reward and a choice of follow-up lead: investigate the beacon, track the Choir, or secure the route.
Behind it
What people believe
Tamsin Vale survived a rift accident with an unexplained transformation and is now being pursued by the Choir, who claim that Tamsin belongs with them.
Lantern Warden Sera Quill asks the party to escort Tamsin across a hazardous rift route to Bellwether, where they can decide what comes next. The route is unstable, the Choir is closing in, and Tamsin's consent matters as much as their safe arrival.
Background
In the Pale Accord, ancient treaties hold reality together around a network of unstable rifts.
Lantern Wardens guide travelers between settlements using calibrated lamps and strict passage rites. The Choir, a secretive order that believes rift-transformed people belong to the spaces between worlds, has begun claiming those who survive exposure.
The stakes
If Tamsin is taken, the Choir may use their transformation to reach an old beacon.
If the route collapses, nearby settlements lose a vital passage. If the party ignores Tamsin's wishes, they may complete the escort while losing the trust of the person they were meant to protect.
Encounters
2The Claim at the Glass Ford
Combat or social confrontation
A shallow stream crossing beneath a suspended sheet of glass-like riftstone. Banks of pale reeds provide cover, while stepping onto the riftstone risks a brief disorienting echo.
Foes
Cantor Vey
2 Choir Claimants
ComplicationThe Choir tries to separate Tamsin from the party with a resonant call that disorients anyone who answers aloud. If the party keeps Tamsin close and disrupts the call, the Choir may retreat rather than fight to the last.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use Cantor Vey and one Claimant, and let the Wardens' lantern disrupt the call automatically once. For a larger or more experienced party, add two Claimants and have the call affect a wider area.
The Unmoored Causeway
Combat or hazardous traversal
A broken stone causeway crossing a narrow rift. Loose slabs, drifting fragments, and patches of gravityless air make movement hazardous.
Foes
Rift Hounds
ComplicationA failed approach to the rift seam may split the group across two nearby paths. Tamsin remains visible but unreachable until the party coordinates a safe crossing. The seam is hazardous, not an enemy, and can be handled with planning, tools, or a deliberate expenditure of time.
ScalingFor an easier passage, use one Rift Hound and allow it to be driven off with a bright lantern. For a harder passage, use three Rift Hounds and have the causeway shift once during the encounter.
Cast
4Tamsin Vale
Transformed worker and person to be escorted
WantsReach the refuge at Bellwether and choose what to do about their transformation without being treated as property or a threat.
“The rift changed what I am, but it did not give anyone the right to decide where I go.”
Warden Sera Quill
QuestgiverQuestgiver and escort ally
WantsDeliver Tamsin safely to Bellwether while upholding the Wardens' oath and preventing the Choir from exploiting the passage.
“Keep the lantern hooded until I say otherwise. The light is a promise, and promises travel farther than people think.”
Cantor Vey
Antagonist and Choir emissary
WantsBring Tamsin to the Choir's sanctuary, convinced that the transformation marks them as a willing conduit to the rift.
“We offer a place among the heard. You call it a claim because you fear what you cannot keep.”
Merrit Ash
Witness and route guide
WantsKeep the caravan route open and repay an old debt to Warden Sera without becoming entangled in Warden politics.
“I heard the rift sing before the lamps went dark. If you hear it too, do not answer in your own voice.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A hooded Warden lantern with enough fuel for one dangerous crossing. This is a custom item, not a system-specific magic item.
A sealed Bellwether travel warrant that grants access to Warden shelters along the route.
On a win
Tamsin reaches Bellwether alive and with their choices respected.
The party has either kept the route open or made a deliberate decision to sacrifice it for safety. Sera honors the agreed reward, while the Choir withdraws for now, leaving the larger question of Tamsin's transformation unresolved.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party loses Tamsin during a separation, or knowingly abandons them to escape danger.
- Tamsin is taken to the Choir's sanctuary. The party can pursue them in a follow-up adventure, but the Choir gains time to strengthen its influence over the rift route.
- The party gets Tamsin across but leaves the Glass Ford or another route marker unusable.
- Tamsin reaches Bellwether, but the route is compromised. The next caravan must take a longer, more dangerous path, and Warden Sera's standing suffers.
- The party treats Tamsin as cargo, restrains them without consent, or conceals a material choice from them.
- Tamsin arrives safely but refuses the refuge, believing the party has ignored their wishes. They leave under their own power, creating a strained but open-ended relationship.
Complications (d6)
- 1A bank of pale mist hides the route markers. The party must spend time finding the next marker or risk emerging at a dangerous ledge.
- 2A lantern wick gutters in the thin air. Relighting it requires shelter from the wind, and the pause gives pursuers time to close in.
- 3A rift echo repeats Tamsin's voice from ahead, calling for help. Following it leads toward a fissure unless someone notices that the echo uses words Tamsin has not yet said.
- 4A narrow bridge shifts out of alignment. The group must stabilize it, find another crossing, or leave behind bulky supplies.
- 5A Choir scout offers a safe shortcut in exchange for a private conversation with Tamsin. Accepting risks a marked trail; refusing may provoke the scout to signal the pursuers.
- 6The transformed worker's shadow detaches briefly and points toward a nearby rift seam. Tamsin is frightened, and the party must reassure them before continuing at full pace.
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