The Meridian Key
The Meridian Key
Read aloud
Heddren Vask offers you a handsome fee to recover a brass instrument from a drowned survey post before the tide swallows it. He insists it is only a navigation tool, but the villagers nearby lock their doors when he says its name. By dusk, the water will cover the path in and out.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Recover the Meridian Key.
- 2Uncover the purpose of the survey marks.
- 3Keep the reservoir from being opened recklessly.
- 4Recover the missing field journal.Optional
The clock
The flood reaches the survey post at dusk. After that, the direct route is submerged and the reservoir's water level begins to rise, making exploration and retreat more dangerous.
Scenes
- 0:00A Contract Before the Tide
- 0:30The Claim at the Causeway
- 1:15The Camp That Was Left Behind
- 2:05The Threshold Beneath the Water
- 3:05What the Water Gives Back
Cast
- Heddren VaskQuestgiver and salvage broker
- Mara QuillWitness and marsh guide
- Tovan RuskAlly and former expedition hand
- The Reed-WardenAntagonist and guardian of the drowned hamlet
The hook
Set the scene
Heddren Vask receives the party in a cramped counting room above a salvage warehouse. Rain rattles the shutters while he lays out a rough map, a sealed payment purse, and a sketch of a brass instrument. He says the flood will cover the approach by dusk and warns them not to trust anyone claiming the survey post belongs to them. As they leave, Mara Quill waits in the alley and quietly asks whether Heddren told them what lies beneath the post.
How Heddren Vask asks
Heddren offers a direct contract in private, but his urgency and his refusal to explain the Meridian Key's purpose make the job feel incomplete.
He will add a bonus for an intact instrument and quietly asks the party to avoid discussing it with Mara Quill.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
30 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Contract Before the Tide
Heddren's counting room and the alley outside his salvage warehouse.
Heddren makes his offer and gives the party a map. Mara's warning introduces suspicion without revealing the hidden truth.
NextThe party follows Heddren's map to the floodplain, where the only dry route crosses a broken causeway.
0:30
45 min
combat
2. The Claim at the Causeway
The broken causeway at the edge of the flooded survey district.
The party crosses unstable ground and encounters a rival salvage crew claiming the same site. They can fight, bargain, expose the crew's weak claim, or find another route.
Claim at the Broken CausewayNextA surviving rival, a captured map, or the party's own exploration points them toward an abandoned survey camp.
1:15
50 min
exploration
3. The Camp That Was Left Behind
A collapsed field camp on a stone rise surrounded by reeds and shallow water.
The party explores the camp for the Meridian Key and evidence of the previous expedition. Tovan's journal can clarify the route and cast doubt on Heddren's account.
NextThe Meridian Key's markings lead down through a flooded stairway to the reservoir threshold.
2:05
60 min
combat
4. The Threshold Beneath the Water
A flooded stone chamber beneath the survey post.
The Reed-Warden confronts the party and demands that they leave the Key and the reservoir sealed. The party can fight, negotiate, or demonstrate that they understand what the chamber contains.
The Reservoir ThresholdNextOnce the immediate danger is resolved, the party must decide who receives the Key and whether the reservoir records should be revealed.
3:05
35 min
social
5. What the Water Gives Back
A dry platform beside the hamlet's landing, as the tide begins to recede.
The party presents what they learned to Heddren, Mara, or the hamlet. Their choice sets the terms of payment, trust, and future access to the records.
NextEnd with the immediate bargain settled, while the buyer, the records, and other marked sites provide future directions.
Behind it
What people believe
Heddren Vask has hired the party to recover a brass survey instrument called the Meridian Key from a drowned post in the floodplain.
A rising tide, rival salvage crews, and the guarded people of a nearby hamlet complicate the expedition. The party must learn what the instrument points to and decide what should happen to it before the water closes the route.
Background
Heddren Vask is a respected salvage broker who has spent years buying wreckage recovered from the drowned roads beneath the old floodplain.
Lately, he has been paying unusually high prices for pieces of a brass survey instrument known as the Meridian Key. The villages along the floodplain believe the instrument can locate safe routes through the marsh, but its original purpose was far more dangerous.
The stakes
If the party fails, the reservoir may be opened without safeguards, the hamlet may be flooded, and the records that could restore its people's claims may be destroyed or seized by a private buyer.
If they succeed, they still must choose whether to protect Heddren, expose him, or put the records and Key in the hamlet's hands.
Encounters
2Claim at the Broken Causeway
Combat or negotiation
A half-submerged causeway, slick stone posts, waist-deep water, and a small skiff tied to a leaning marker.
Foes
Floodplain scavengers
One salvage foreman
ComplicationEach round or exchange, the flood shifts the safe ground. Anyone who ignores the changing terrain risks being separated or swept into a channel.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use two scavengers and have the foreman withdraw when challenged. For a larger or more capable party, add two scavengers and let the foreman use the narrow causeway to split the party.
The Reservoir Threshold
Combat, social, or skill challenge
A flooded stone chamber with waist-high platforms, rusted sluice wheels, loose chains, and a sealed central door.
Foes
The Reed-Warden
Two drowned sentries
ComplicationThe Reed-Warden can trigger a surge that divides the room with fast-moving water. The party can reduce its advantage by opening sluice gates or convincing it to listen.
ScalingFor a gentler challenge, use one drowned sentry and let the Warden focus on driving intruders away. For a harder challenge, add a third sentry and make the rising water threaten to submerge the whole chamber.
Cast
4Heddren Vask
QuestgiverQuestgiver and salvage broker
WantsRecover the Meridian Key and keep his past dealings with the floodplain's hidden community from becoming public.
“Bring me the Meridian Key before the next tide, and I will pay what I promised. Bring me the truth, and I may pay more.”
Mara Quill
Witness and marsh guide
WantsProtect the people living in the drowned hamlet and prevent outsiders from opening its sealed reservoir.
“Those markers do not point toward dry ground. They point toward the place we buried our names.”
Tovan Rusk
Ally and former expedition hand
WantsExpose Heddren's role in a past expedition and recover her missing brother's field journal.
“Vask sold the first piece to them. I only want to know why he came back for the rest.”
The Reed-Warden
Antagonist and guardian of the drowned hamlet
WantsKeep the reservoir sealed, even if that means driving the party away or destroying the Meridian Key.
“The water remembers every door we made it close. Do not ask it to open one.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Meridian Key, if the party keeps or is entrusted with it
A waterproof survey chart marking several drowned sites
A salvage token that grants access to Heddren's warehouses, if the party completes his contract
On a win
The party recovers the Meridian Key and prevents an uncontrolled opening of the reservoir.
They choose who receives the instrument, what happens to the records, and whether Heddren's part in the earlier expedition becomes public. Success is measured by the consequences of that choice, not by preserving Heddren's contract unchanged.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot recover the key from the drowned survey post before the tide carries it away.
- The Meridian Key is lost in the flood. Heddren withholds payment, while the party must negotiate with the hamlet for another way to learn what the instrument revealed.
- The party fails to stop the sluices from opening during the final confrontation.
- The reservoir is opened without control. A surge floods the lower hamlet and destroys some of its records and homes, turning its survivors against Heddren and the party.
- The party is driven from the reservoir chamber or accepts a bargain that leaves the Warden in possession of the instrument.
- The Reed-Warden escapes with the key or a vital component. It becomes a recurring threat, and Heddren's involvement remains unproven.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden tide cuts off the party's return route. They must find higher ground or spend time securing a boat before the water rises further.
- 2A brass marker begins chiming in the fog, drawing nearby scavengers toward the party's position.
- 3A plank bridge gives way under weight. One traveler or carried object is left hanging over a deep channel until someone acts.
- 4Mara recognizes a survey mark and refuses to proceed until the party agrees not to open the reservoir.
- 5A salvage crew arrives with a copy of Heddren's contract and claims the party is trespassing on their claim.
- 6The Meridian Key's needle spins toward the nearest living person, revealing that the instrument responds to blood from the old hamlet's families.
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