Ashes Beneath the Crimson Cup
Ashes Beneath the Crimson Cup
“A tavern riot is only the first spark in a war beneath Monkhurst.”
— Hook · Investigation, dungeon delve, and ritual interruption
“The Crimson Cup erupts into shouting when every flame in the tavern turns blue and the iron doors of the Ember Gate slam shut outside. Chancey begs you to find the person who stole the ward-coins before the district suffocates in its own heat. Then a scorched courier staggers through the crowd and whispers, "The fire below has started to wake."”
— Hook · Investigation, dungeon delve, and ritual interruption
Read the hook as the party stands inside the Crimson Cup during the blue-flame disturbance. The tavern is packed with miners, couriers, ward-workers, and residents from the Ember Gate district. Several patrons are demanding that Chancey explain why a sealed maintenance hatch beneath the bar is glowing red. Before the crowd turns violent, a scorched dwarf courier named Nessa Pell collapses near the hearth. She carries a broken brass key marked with the same sigil appearing on the tavern's walls. Chancey asks the characters to calm the crowd, examine the hatch, and find Ilyra Voss before the district's emergency wards fail.
Chancey
Chancey approaches the characters after the crowd begins accusing him of sabotaging the Ember Gate. He offers free drinks, access to his private cellar, and every piece of information he can gather if they protect the tavern and stop the crisis. Ilyra Voss arrives shortly afterward and offers official authority, but warns that the city council will shut down the district if the characters make the situation worse.
Rumours
d5 · table- 01The Crimson Cup's cellar was built over a sealed furnace road that predates Monkhurst.
- 02People who sleep near the Ember Gate have started dreaming of a bird made of molten iron.
- 03The Ashen Covenant recruits among workers who believe the city council has stolen the fire spirits' birthright.
- 04A ward-inspector disappeared after reporting that the ember-coins were being replaced with painted stones.
- 05Chancey once served drinks to a masked patron who never cast a reflection in the tavern's copper mirrors.
If the characters fail, the Ember Gate district may become an overheated labyrinth of ruptured vents and hostile fire spirits. If Ordan succeeds, he gains control of the phoenix-heart and can blackmail or dominate Monkhurst. If the characters destroy the heart's conduits without understanding the old pact, the immediate crisis ends but the city loses its primary source of underground warmth.
Background Lore
Monkhurst was founded around the buried heart of an ancient phoenix, whose ember still burns beneath the Crimson City. The Ember Gate district was built to regulate access to the old furnace roads and the magical vents that warm the underground realm. Recently, someone has been stealing sealed ember-coins from the district's warding engines. The thefts have destabilized the gates, caused hallucinations among residents, and driven normally peaceful fire spirits into violent fits.
The Ember Gate district of Monkhurst is suffering a dangerous magical failure. Someone has stolen several ember-coins from the warding engines, causing heat vents to rupture and fire spirits to become hostile. Chancey, barkeep of the Crimson Cup, hires the characters to investigate the theft, recover the missing components, and prevent a larger disaster beneath the district. The Ashen Covenant, a radical group seeking control of Monkhurst's ancient fire, appears to be responsible.
