The Wrong-Way Stones
The Wrong-Way Stones
Read aloud
The canyon opens like a lung. Pale crystal walls rise on either side, and the sea runs between them in long, slow breaths you feel in your teeth. Three stones stand along the rim, each marked with the old bell glyph, and none points the same way. Below, the convoy road bends into the dark and does not come out.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Win the Wardens' Moot's consent, or find another way to reach the stones.
- 2Descend the old convoy road and investigate all three Wrong-Way Stones.
- 3Reset the three stones and learn what their alignment reveals.
- 4Notice the rhythm shared by Hurn's memory and the Ember's response.Optional
The clock
At the Act's conclusion, advance the Silence Clock by 1 if all three stones were reset and by 1 additional mark if the Moot failed. Advance the Hunters' Pride Clock by 1 if the Moot fails. If all three stones are reset, advance Drift by 1 and show a dark aurora above the Rim for the first time.
Scenes
- 0:00The Road That Bends Away
- 0:35The Wardens' Moot
- 1:45Down the Old Road
- 3:35The Blockade at the Heart
- 5:15Where the Stones Point
Cast
- Warden-Speaker Brynja TholeWarden ally and witness
- Halvren Cold-VeinHostile envoy and potential antagonist
- Oskeld MarnTrench-Warden antagonist
- HurnRetired Warden and wildcard witness
The hook
Set the scene
The party reaches the Crystal Canyon Rim as the sea draws through the narrow channel below. The stones stand above the water, each turned toward a different stretch of darkness. The old bell glyphs are worn smooth by weather, but the route chart at the Rim shows the convoy road bending sharply beneath them. As the party takes in the view, a cold draft carries the tang of mineral salt and something faintly sharp from below.
How Warden-Speaker Brynja Thole asks
Warden-Speaker Brynja Thole meets the party at the Rim after hearing they carry the Unbanked Ember.
She asks them to investigate the stones before the next convoy attempts the passage. Her appeal is practical and personal: she has seen one stone from below, knows it is out of place, and wants the truth established before the dead become an excuse for open conflict.
Rumours
Scenes
about 6 hours0:00
35 min
explorationThe table is here
1. The Road That Bends Away
Crystal Canyon Rim, above the old convoy road.
The party arrives at the Crystal Canyon Rim and sees the three stones pointing in different directions. The sea's slow surge is audible through the crystal walls, while the convoy road disappears beneath dark water. Brynja explains the losses and invites the party to the Moot before the factions settle on a culprit.
NextBrynja leads the party into the floating hall of cut ice, where the argument below the Rim has already begun.
0:35
70 min
social
2. The Wardens' Moot
A floating hall of cut ice on the Rim, with a Warden speaker at each stone and representatives from the Navy and Crews.
The Moot's Warden, Navy, and Crews representatives dispute what happened. Halvren argues that the bell is the true danger, while Oskeld sits beside him and never openly disagrees. Run the challenge as 4 successes before 3 failures. On success, the Moot votes to reset the stones and Brynja joins the descent. On failure, it fractures; Halvren and Oskeld go down alone and gain a one-day lead, the Silence Clock advances 1, and the Hunters' Pride Clock advances 1. Afterward, Hurn draws three short beats, one long beat, then silence on the table with a cold fingertip. Tick Heard Track box 4 if the party watches him.
NextThe Moot's decision, or the party's chosen alternative, carries them to a survey rig, cable ferry, or open-water descent route.
1:45
110 min
exploration
3. Down the Old Road
The descending old convoy road beneath the Rim, passing the three stones through mineral haze and drifting gas pockets.
The descent passes the First Stone at 1,200 feet, the Second at 1,600 feet, and the Third at 2,000 feet. Apply the supplied pressure checks between 1,000 and 3,000 feet and the caustic-gas rules below 1,200 feet. At the First Stone, the pivot is turned 40 degrees south and welded across. At the Second, the bell glyph has been scored through and a second glyph carved beside it. The cut is Oskeld's Warden turn-mark, the same style seen on the Act II memorial stones. The Ember grows warmer by one degree at the First Stone and becomes unmistakable at the Second.
NextAs the party reaches the Third Stone, a shadow shifts across the shelf and the Vanguard blockade moves to stop them.
3:35
100 min
combat
4. The Blockade at the Heart
A 60-foot crescent shelf at 2,000 feet, with a gas vent along the north edge and open water beyond the southern edge.
At the Third Stone, a Vanguard team protects the gas seam and prevents anyone from resetting the route. Run The Gas Seam encounter. The Colossus holds the stone, Legionnaires deny the southern approach, and the Siphon-Warden manipulates the vent. After the fighting, the party can align the undamaged Heart stone. If the party missed Hurn's rhythm, the water hums once and stops; tick Heard Track box 4.
The Gas SeamNextThe last stone settles into alignment, its vibration traveling down the line toward the Basin as the Ember warms against its bearer.
5:15
55 min
exploration
5. Where the Stones Point
The Third Stone and the aligned road descending toward the Sovereign Basin.
With all three stones reset, the glyphs point in a single direction. Brynja asks the party to sight along the line. A successful Survival check identifies the route as a pilgrim road rather than a convoy road, leading toward the Sovereign Basin. The Ember is warm enough to make its bearer sweat inside a glove. Oskeld and Halvren appear at the shelf's northern edge. Oskeld says the stones are a door; Halvren does not contradict him. They leave together, sharing a cable, while Brynja marks the next destination on her chart.
NextBrynja turns the chart toward the Boiling Chimney Fields, and the party begins the journey north as the Ember's warmth follows the road.
Behind it
What people believe
Three founder-stones once marked a safe road toward the Sovereign Basin.
Now they point in conflicting directions, and convoys that trusted them have vanished into a caustic gas seam. Wardens, Navy officers, and Crews representatives blame one another. The party must navigate their dispute, descend to the stones, discover who altered them, and decide whether to restore the route. If correctly aligned, the stones point not to a harbor but toward the Basin itself.
Background
In 224 HC, the old convoy road through Crystal Canyon has become a grave route.
Three founder-stones once marked a safe passage toward the Sovereign Basin, but they now direct vessels toward a caustic gas seam. The resulting deaths have sharpened distrust among the Wardens, Navy, and Crews. The party arrives carrying the Unbanked Ember, whose response to the stones grows warmer as they are restored.
The stakes
Each failed passage risks more lives and deepens distrust between the Wardens, Navy, and Crews.
Restoring the stones may make the route usable, but it also reveals a path toward the Sovereign Basin and prompts Oskeld to accelerate his effort to silence the bell. The danger, the stones' purpose, and the Ember's response remain entangled but unexplained.
Encounters
1The Gas Seam
Combat
A crescent shelf 60 feet across surrounds the Third Stone at 2,000 feet depth. Gas vents along the north edge; the south edge falls away into open water. The stone stands in the center. The Colossus holds its position, Legionnaires guard the southern approach, and the Siphon-Warden works the vent.
Foes
Vent-Glass Colossus
Vanguard Siphon-Warden
4 Void-Ice Legionnaires
ComplicationThe gas seam vents on initiative count 20. Creatures within 20 feet of the vent line make a DC 15 Constitution save, taking 4d6 poison damage on a failure or half as much on a success. The Siphon-Warden can open or cap the vent as a bonus action. A character can suppress it for 3 rounds with an action and a successful DC 17 Athletics or Tinker's Tools check.
ScalingUse the supplied sourcebook stat blocks where available. For four level-13 characters, the listed encounter is Moderate. For four level-12 characters, it is High. For a smaller or already depleted party, remove two Void-Ice Legionnaires; for a larger or well-rested party, add two Legionnaires. These adjustments are encounter guidance, not changes to the sourcebook creatures.
Cast
4Warden-Speaker Brynja Thole
QuestgiverWarden ally and witness
WantsBrynja wants the route understood and the dead honored without allowing blame to harden into another feud. If the Moot votes to reset the stones, she accompanies the party.
“I have seen them from below. They are not where my mother set them.”
Halvren Cold-Vein
Hostile envoy and potential antagonist
WantsHalvren wants the bell silenced and suspects that the stones are connected to it. He presents himself as an envoy, not an attacker, and works with Oskeld without trusting him.
“The stones are a symptom. The cause is the bell, and the bell is a weapon someone is holding.”
Oskeld Marn
Trench-Warden antagonist
WantsOskeld believes the bell's answer is dangerous and wants the stones left misaligned so the route cannot be followed. He openly marked his work in the Warden manner, confident that his cause justifies it.
“The dead are dead, whatever name you give the hand that turned the road.”
Hurn
Retired Warden and wildcard witness
WantsHurn wants the party to notice a rhythm he has kept secret since childhood. He offers no explanation for it and will not interpret what the Ember's response means.
“Ask the Ember. It knows more than I do.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Ring of Abyssal Adaptation, very rare, granted by Brynja as the Wardens' thanks. Use its campaign sourcebook description.
On a win
When all three stones are reset, Brynja asks the party to look along their line.
The glyphs now agree, and the old road no longer bends away into the dark. A Survival check reveals that it is not a convoy route but a pilgrim road, cut to reach the Sovereign Basin on foot. The Unbanked Ember has grown steadily warmer at each stone; its meaning remains unresolved. Advance the Silence Clock by 1 if all three stones were reset, and advance it by 1 more if the Moot failed. Increase Drift by 1 if all three stones were reset. Grant the party Standing with the Wardens for each stone reset, and Standing with the Navy if Halvren was left alive and uncornered. The party reaches level 13 at the Act's conclusion.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The Wardens' Moot reaches 3 failures before 4 successes.
- Halvren and Oskeld descend ahead of the party and gain a one-day lead. The Silence Clock advances 1, and the Hunters' Pride Clock advances 1. The party can still pursue and reset the stones.
- The party skips or bypasses the Gas Seam encounter.
- The Vanguard captures Brynja and the Silence Clock advances 2. The party can pursue the blockade, attempt a rescue, or continue to the stones without her support.
- The party abandons the descent, cannot overcome a reset check, or leaves a stone untouched.
- A stone remains misaligned. The route stays unsafe, the Ember's full response is not revealed, and Wardens' Standing is gained only for stones actually reset. The party may return to finish the work.
- The party presents no persuasive case and allows the Moot to fracture without negotiating a practical route forward.
- The Moot's factions blame one another more openly, and passage or assistance from the Wardens becomes harder to secure. The party retains its evidence and can still act independently.
Complications (d6)
- 1A pressure-suit filter clogs with pale mineral grit. Until cleared with an action and a successful DC 14 Tinker's Tools check, it does not halve caustic gas damage.
- 2A drifting gas pocket cuts across the descent line. Each creature caught in it must make the usual DC 15 Constitution save or take 4d6 poison damage, half on a success.
- 3A cable ferry pilot refuses to depart until the Crews' representatives confirm the party's Standing. A character can secure passage with a DC 15 Persuasion check or by arranging another safe descent.
- 4A Warden recognizes Oskeld's turn-mark on a rubbing and accuses the party of hiding evidence. The Moot's next check to persuade the Wardens is made with Disadvantage unless the party shares the rubbing openly.
- 5A sudden pressure pulse shakes loose a crystal flake the size of a shield. Each creature in its path must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity save or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage and be pushed 10 feet.
- 6The Unbanked Ember gives a brief, stronger warmth near a stone. Anyone holding it feels a three-short, one-long rhythm through the glove, followed by silence.
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