The Lane Closes
The Lane Closes
Read aloud
Shatter-Skerry Market is all barter and bustle until a low hum rolls in from the northern ice. The western lane darkens beneath your feet, and someone cries that people are trapped below the stalls. At the same time, the Market's winter-store convoy begins to slide toward the same failing shelf.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Rescue the twelve people trapped in the flooded stall-cellar.
- 2Choose whether to save the winter stores or prioritize the trapped civilians.
- 3Stop the siphon rig or take control of it.
- 4Learn the rig's weak point and open the sealed hearth.Optional
The clock
Track 10 minutes of safe ice openly in one-minute steps, including time spent in social scenes. Minutes 1 to 3: the west ring is cracking and difficult terrain. Minutes 4 to 6: it is failing; creatures on it make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw each round or fall prone and take 1d6 cold damage. Minutes 7 to 10: the west ring collapses, sinking its stalls, cargo, and anyone still on it. The cellar water rises 1 foot per minute. The rig's separate Surge Track triggers on rounds 3, 6, and 9 during combat.
Scenes
- 0:00The Market Goes Quiet
- 0:20Time Has a Price
- 0:50The Rescue Under the Ice
- 1:50The Rig at Full Draw
- 3:00A Warmth Kept in Stone
Cast
- Halla OttesenQuestgiver and Market-Warden
- Edda BrightmantleWitness and stall-keeper
- Quill AshbyWildcard and young Vanguard rigger
- Brindle AskeAntagonist and Glacial Vanguard rig captain
The hook
Set the scene
Begin amid the Market's dense traffic of stalls, skiffs, and ice lanes. Let the players hear prices being called, smell salt cod and lamp oil, and feel the shelf's vibration through their soles before the hum begins. As the crowd quiets, show the western ice turning blue and bring Edda forward with her knife and ice-pick. Introduce the visible ten-minute clock before the characters commit to a route.
How Halla Ottesen asks
Halla Ottesen approaches with her whistle in one hand and a slate in the other.
She speaks quietly over the rising noise: the west ring has minutes, not hours, and the wardens can help if the characters tell her what they need and what they are willing to risk.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
20 min
explorationThe table is here
1. The Market Goes Quiet
The crowded floating bazaar on a ring of broken ice, with the failing western stalls and the northern rig visible across the market.
The market's ordinary noise thins as the rig begins to hum. The west ring darkens, stalls shift, and Edda identifies the cellar where her child is trapped. Put the ten-minute safe-ice clock in view and explain the three stages before the party chooses what to do.
NextAs the party moves toward the cellar, Halla steps into their path with a slate of remaining safe lanes and offers a choice of where the wardens can spend their hands.
0:20
30 min
social
2. Time Has a Price
Between the wardens' signal post, the Vanguard's north gate, and the vent-runner stalls.
Halla can lend six hands for a share of salvaged cargo. Vanguard representatives may pause the rig for its logbook, while Compact vent-runners can help if the party has sufficient Standing. Quill can provide the rig's weak point if found and persuaded. Each attempt costs a minute unless the group agrees on a quick plan.
Neutral Market BargainingNextThe next crack runs beneath the stalls. With the clock advancing, the party must commit to the cellar, the convoy, or a split effort before the west ring changes stage.
0:50
60 min
exploration
3. The Rescue Under the Ice
The stall-cellar, a flooded stone room beneath the western ring.
Reach the frozen hatch, descend, and extract as many civilians as possible while the water rises. Run rescue actions in one-minute blocks. The warm bronze hearth in the north wall may draw the characters' attention, but it cannot be opened while the rig is drawing.
The Rescue Under the IceNextAs the last available minute runs thin, the rescued and the lost become visible to the crowd above, while the siphon's glow draws every eye toward the northern platform.
1:50
70 min
combat
4. The Rig at Full Draw
The 30-by-30-foot rig platform at the northern edge of the Market.
The party confronts Aske and the rig crew. Before initiative, show the Surge Track for rounds 3, 6, and 9, and the separate ice track. Tell the players the Engine brightens one round before each surge. If they approached by the Ice Ridge or spoke with Quill, give them one free round to move and take a single action, but not to attack Aske. On round 3 and every third round after, the Engine's Draw Heat recharges automatically and the platform becomes difficult terrain within 15 feet of it. Aske uses Overdraw when bloodied. Pulling the throttle lever with a Strength (Athletics) check prevents Draw Heat from recharging for one round; a character who spoke with Quill knows its position and uses on the follow-up attempt.
Brindle Aske's Siphon RigNextAs the Engine's hum falters, the platform settles against the shelf, and the way back across the Market opens through ice that still groans underfoot.
3:00
25 min
exploration
5. A Warmth Kept in Stone
The cellar's north wall, then the Market's departure lane.
The bronze hearth can now be opened. Inside rests the Unbanked Ember. Let the party decide who carries it, then mark the Market's response to the civilians, cargo, and rig. As they leave, every bell in the Archipelago rings once from below the ice.
NextThe last bell-note fades below the shelf as the party carries the Ember toward the next leg of its journey.
Behind it
What people believe
A siphon rig has begun cooling the western ring of Shatter-Skerry Market.
Twelve civilians are trapped in a flooded cellar, while the Market's winter-store convoy occupies the same failing ice. The characters must find help, make their priorities clear, and stop or take control of the rig before the shelf gives way.
Background
The Shatter-Skerry Market floats on broken ice, its trade lanes maintained by wardens, pilots, and crews who know which seams can bear weight.
A Glacial Vanguard siphon rig has been installed at the northern edge. Its draw is cooling the western ring, where a flooded cellar holds twelve people and a convoy of winter stores is being marshalled to leave. The rig's activity resembles other unexplained heat diversions, but its purpose and the source of the deeper pulse remain uncertain.
The stakes
The trapped civilians and the winter stores occupy the same failing shelf.
Delaying to negotiate, rescue, or secure cargo consumes the Market's ten minutes of safe ice. The party may manage both through extra hands, added time, or an exceptional plan, but absent such advantages the rescue and convoy each demand roughly six minutes and compete directly. The rig is a separate threat: left running, it continues the draw and may collapse the west ring.
Encounters
3Brindle Aske's Siphon Rig
Combat
A 30-by-30-foot platform on the northern ice shelf, with crates providing half cover, the Engine occupying the center, and a ladder on the southern edge. A creature knocked prone at an outer edge must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall 10 feet to the ice below, taking 1d6 cold damage and landing in difficult terrain. The throttle lever is on the southern edge.
Foes
Cold-Captain Brindle Aske, Overdrawn (use the campaign's CR 7 Appendix A statistics, or a custom CR 7 boss)
Siphon Engine (use the campaign's CR 7 Appendix A statistics, or a custom CR 7 object-creature)
Rig-Technician (use the Mage stat block)
Four Vanguard Hands (use the Guard stat block)
ComplicationThe western ice continues advancing through its three stages: cracking, failing, then collapse. On the failing stage, creatures on the west ring make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw at the end of each round or fall prone and take 1d6 cold damage. At collapse, the west ring, its stalls, and anything still on it sink. Announce each stage before it takes effect.
ScalingFor three characters, remove the Rig-Technician. For five characters, add a second Rig-Technician. If the party has spent substantial resources on the rescue, have the technician and Hands arrive as reinforcements on round 3. If needed for level 7 characters, remove two Hands and have the technician arrive on round 3. For an easier finale, treat the Engine as an object with AC 17, 45 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage; destroying it ends the draw and Rig Surge.
The Rescue Under the Ice
Exploration
A flooded 50-by-30-foot cellar. The frozen trapdoor requires a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to lift. Two stone pillars provide full cover from the current. Twelve civilians huddle on a raised bench, including four children and two unconscious adults. The ladder is slick; carrying a child down it requires a DC 14 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or the carrier loses their next action.
ComplicationThe cellar water rises 1 foot each minute. At 5 feet, a creature that tries to move through it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check or lose its remaining movement that turn. Cracking pillars can drop ice from the ceiling.
ScalingThe core challenge is extraction, not combat. For a smaller party, allow conscious adults to carry children or assist with the ladder. For a larger party, keep the four-rescue-actions-per-minute ceiling unless extra hands have been secured. A character who damages a support pillar for 20 or more damage triggers a falling 5-foot ice block, DC 15 Dexterity save for half of 2d10 bludgeoning damage.
Neutral Market Bargaining
Social
A crowded market of narrow lanes, ice-ring walkways, piled trade goods, and gathering onlookers. Halla can speak privately beside the wardens' signal post; Vanguard representatives remain near the north gate, while Compact contacts can be sought among the vent-runner crews.
ComplicationThe bargaining consumes time. Each negotiation attempt takes one minute unless the players establish a clear, quick agreement. Track time openly so the party understands the cost.
ScalingHalla lends six workers for the rescue on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check and a promise to share salvaged cargo. The Vanguard pauses the rig for two minutes if given Aske's Act II logbook or its contents, requiring a DC 17 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check. If the party has Standing 2 or higher with the Compact, a vent-runner team arrives without a check. Each successful bargain grants either one extra minute before the ice advances or one additional pair of hands, which provides one extra rescue action per minute.
Cast
4Halla Ottesen
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Market-Warden, a dwarf in her sixties who manages the ring with a whistle on a chain.
WantsProtect the Market's neutral status and its people while keeping the ice-ring usable. She will lend six workers for the rescue if the party agrees to share any recovered cargo.
“I keep the ring. I do not take sides. Tell me what you need and I will tell you what it costs.”
Edda Brightmantle
Witness and stall-keeper, whose child is among the trapped.
WantsGet her child and the other trapped civilians out alive. She does not want pity or promises, only action.
“They're in the third cellar. Take my knife and ice-pick. Don't stop.”
Quill Ashby
Wildcard and young Vanguard rigger, a human who wants out.
WantsEscape Aske's crew and avoid being made a scapegoat. If the characters find and persuade him, he will reveal the throttle lever and the Engine's exposed core in exchange for safe passage.
“There is a lever by the south edge. The core shows its workings when the glow climbs. I can show you, if you get me out.”
Brindle Aske
Antagonist and Glacial Vanguard rig captain.
WantsKeep the rig operating long enough to complete the draw, believing that releasing the stored heat all at once would be worse. She follows a written chain of orders from Vanguard command and may surrender it if spared.
“Draw it down now or it comes up all at once. You can't tell me you've never felt it.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Unbanked Ember, a very rare campaign magic item. Its bearer remains warm in ordinary cold; once per long rest, it can rekindle a dead vent. Its deeper origin is unknown to the characters.
On a win
The crisis ends when the rig's draw stops or the Vanguard takes custody of it.
The sealed hearth opens, revealing the Unbanked Ember. Record whether the people, the convoy, or both survived, which groups lent aid, and whether Aske was spared. Grant the party a Market-Warden Favor for the rescue; a negotiated handover grants the Vanguard 1 Standing and costs the party Standing with the Compact. The party reaches level 8 at the milestone if using milestone advancement.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party does not complete the cellar rescue before the west ring collapses.
- The twelve trapped civilians are lost beneath the west ring. Edda survives and waits at the dock afterward. The next campaign chapter can open with their funeral and the party's account of the choice.
- The party does not secure or move the convoy before collapse.
- The winter stores are lost, leaving the Market and nearby settlements facing a lean season. Survivors may still be grateful if the party got the civilians out.
- The party leaves the rig operating or cannot stop it during the confrontation.
- The rig continues drawing heat. Market-Warden trust suffers, the failing lane may collapse, and the Vanguard can remove or relocate the rig. The sealed hearth remains closed until the draw stops or the rig is handed over.
- The party is defeated on the platform.
- If the party loses the fight, survivors can wake in Vanguard custody or on a rescue sled, depending on the table's preferred continuation. The Vanguard gains leverage over the Market, and the party's next chance to learn the chain of orders comes through negotiation or a later recovery.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sharp crack splits the western lane. Until the party's next minute of action, crossing the west ring costs twice as much movement.
- 2A crate breaks loose and slides toward the water. A character can spend an action and succeed on a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check to stop it; otherwise it blocks a 5-foot-wide route until shifted.
- 3A trapped adult panics and grabs the ladder. The next character carrying someone down or up must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or lose that action steadying both people.
- 4A Vanguard hand spots Quill and calls him a deserter. Unless a character intervenes, Quill retreats into the crowd and cannot be approached again this scene.
- 5A sudden current sweeps through the cellar. Each creature in water must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet toward the cellar's lower end.
- 6A bell sounds once from beneath the ice. Nearby voices falter, and for a few seconds the rig's hum seems to answer it. No one can identify the source.
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