Prelude Session 6: Audience with the Archmage
Prelude Session 6: Audience with the Archmage
Read aloud
Rain needles your faces as the road climbs onto Dawnvale’s broad stone bridge. Brass pillars hum beneath your boots, and blue-white sparks crawl over the gatehouse while a silver-cloaked captain raises one hand. “No one enters until I know what happened at Ember Pass, and why you brought its trouble to my city.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Gain entry to Dawnvale by proving the party’s account is credible.
- 2Cross the surge-struck city and limit immediate harm.
- 3Establish what the evidence reveals about the Ember Pass attack.
- 4Earn formal Citadel recognition and prepare for the campaign ahead.Optional
The clock
The surge intensifies as the party crosses Dawnvale. After each major delay, roll on the complications table or increase the street hazard’s pressure. The crisis at Ravenbrook begins later that same night, whether or not the party earns the oath.
Scenes
- 0:00The Gate Holds
- 0:35The Street Sings Back
- 1:25Clear the Ward-Line
- 2:00Evidence Before the Archmage
- 2:55The Oath and the Alarm
Cast
- Captain Aven ThorneGate commander and witness
- Archmage Cindreth ValeoreanQuestgiver and examiner
- Mira PellAlly and street medic
- Seln VeyWitness and wildcard
The hook
Set the scene
The road into Dawnvale rises over a broad stone bridge. Rain hisses where it strikes hot rune-plates, and each brass ward-pillar answers the next with a bell-like hum. Blue-white sparks skate across the gatehouse stones. Travelers wait in a tense line beneath the gaze of guards in silver-edged cloaks, while Captain Aven Thorne steps forward to meet the party. He asks for their account of Ember Pass before he will raise the gate.
How Archmage Cindreth Valeorean asks
Captain Aven Thorne stops the party at Dawnvale’s gate and demands a verifiable account of the Ember Pass ambush.
If admitted, the party is directed to the Citadel for an audience with Archmage Cindreth Valeorean.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Gate Holds
Dawnvale’s rain-soaked bridge and warded gatehouse, where humming brass pillars frame a line of worried travelers.
Captain Thorne questions the party about the ambush, compares their account against their evidence, and decides whether to admit them. The party can ask to see the gate’s ward readings or point out details that connect the surge to the relay.
NextOnce Thorne opens the gate, a wave of heat rolls up from the stones ahead, drawing the party into the city as a warning bell starts to ring.
0:35
50 min
combat
2. The Street Sings Back
A crowded avenue of wet stone and overturned stalls. Glowing cracks pulse beneath the paving, and sparks snap from a damaged ward-post.
The party follows a route toward the Citadel while a section of avenue buckles and surge-touched creatures emerge from the exposed ward current. They can fight, ground the flare, escort residents to safety, or divide their efforts.
The Singing StreetNextWith the immediate danger contained or bypassed, Mira points out a service stair that climbs toward the Citadel’s dry upper terraces.
1:25
35 min
skill
3. Clear the Ward-Line
A narrow side street beside a ward-station, where rain steams on the rune-plates and frightened residents gather behind a toppled handcart.
Mira and residents need help getting clear, while signs in the ward-station suggest the damage may be contained rather than random. Characters can rescue people, inspect the conduit, or ask witnesses what they saw. Use a complication roll if the pace needs pressure.
NextThe ward’s hum steadies enough for Mira to guide the party onward, though the vibration follows them up the stone steps.
2:00
55 min
social
4. Evidence Before the Archmage
A high Citadel chamber smelling of wet wool, lamp oil, and old paper. Floating glass lights cast fine shadows across a map table and the collected evidence.
Cindreth lays out the party’s evidence and asks them to reconstruct the attack. He tests their reasoning, challenges one assumption, and listens for whether they admit what remains unknown. If they have made a credible case, he offers the Oath of the Aegis.
The Archmage’s ExaminationNextAs the oath’s final words leave the chamber, a distant boom rolls up through the floor, and every lamp swings toward the west.
2:55
15 min
exploration
5. The Oath and the Alarm
The Citadel’s open gallery, facing the darkening city and the distant roads beyond its walls.
The party receives its decision on the commission, then sees the first signs that the crisis is far larger than Dawnvale: a sudden tremor, a flare along the horizon, and urgent messengers calling for Cindreth. End with the party moving to respond.
NextCindreth turns toward the incoming messenger and starts issuing orders as the party follows him into the night.
Behind it
What people believe
Two days after the Ember Pass ambush, an unprecedented leyline surge strikes Dawnvale.
Captain Aven Thorne will admit the party only after they account for the attack and present their evidence. They must cross streets damaged by magical strain to reach Archmage Cindreth Valeorean, who will examine their findings and decide whether they are fit to serve as field agents of the Citadel.
Background
Dawnvale’s ward network was built to carry predictable flows of leyline energy.
The unprecedented surge is forcing power through old channels faster than the city’s safeguards can vent it. Two days after the Ember Pass ambush, the party arrives carrying evidence gathered across the prelude, just as the capital’s own streets begin to buckle beneath the strain.
The stakes
If the party fails to earn entry or loses the evidence, Cindreth may not connect the Ember Pass ambush to a relay, leaving the hidden coordination uninvestigated.
If they mishandle the city crisis, residents may be injured and the surge may damage Dawnvale’s ward network further. Their honesty and conduct determine whether the Citadel trusts them with official authority.
Encounters
2The Singing Street
Combat and hazard
A rain-slick Dawnvale avenue split by glowing seams, with brass ward-posts, toppled market stalls, and a narrow side stair leading to higher ground.
Foes
2 Surge-Touched Crawlers, custom Small aberrations using the statistics of wolves, but with a 20-foot climb speed and lightning resistance
ComplicationThe ward flare can leap to the nearest metal object when a creature fails a save or check by 5 or more. A creature touching that object takes 1d6 lightning damage. A character can use an action and succeed on a DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check to ground the flare, ending this effect.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use one crawler. For a stronger party, use three crawlers and increase the ground-the-flare DC to 13. The crawlers are drawn to the exposed ward current and retreat if it is grounded.
The Archmage’s Examination
Social
A high chamber in the Citadel, lit by floating glass lamps. A map table holds the party’s evidence while a warded brass instrument ticks softly in the background.
ComplicationThe examiner reveals evidence in a different order and asks the party to distinguish what they witnessed from what they inferred. If the group fabricates or contradicts its account, Cindreth pauses the oath process until the discrepancy is addressed.
ScalingNo combat scaling. For a quicker scene, have Cindreth ask each character one question. For a more probing scene, ask the group to reconstruct the Ember Pass sequence and identify one uncertainty they cannot resolve.
Cast
4Captain Aven Thorne
Gate commander and witness
WantsCaptain Thorne must protect Dawnvale without delaying a credible warning about the ambush. He values clear accounts and verifiable evidence over confident claims.
“You will tell me what happened at Ember Pass, in order, and you will show me what you brought back. If your account holds, I will open the gate.”
Archmage Cindreth Valeorean
QuestgiverQuestgiver and examiner
WantsArchmage Cindreth wants to identify the source of the leyline disruption and determine whether the party can be trusted with dangerous work. He is wary of conclusions that outrun the evidence.
“The city is answering a question no one asked it. Show me what you saw, and do not polish away the parts you cannot explain.”
Mira Pell
Ally and street medic
WantsMira wants to evacuate residents from a buckling street and keep a nearby ward-station from drawing the surge into occupied buildings.
“The paving stones are singing under my boots. If you can keep that seam from opening, I can get the children clear.”
Seln Vey
Witness and wildcard
WantsSeln Vey, a frightened courier caught near a damaged ward conduit, wants to escape punishment. He knows a relay token was planted at Ember Pass but does not know who gave the order.
“I was told to make the relay look like a raider’s trick. I was not told the whole city would start to burn with light.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A Citadel field seal, a custom insignia that identifies its bearer as an authorized agent but grants no magical benefit.
One Potion of Healing per character, supplied from the Citadel’s emergency stores.
On a win
The party reaches the Citadel with the evidence intact and gives Cindreth a candid account.
He concludes that the Ember Pass attackers used a leyline relay and that the party has the judgment to pursue the danger. If they have shown care for the city and honesty under examination, he administers the Oath of the Aegis and commissions them as field agents. The oath ceremony is interrupted by the news that Ravenbrook’s leyline nexus has shattered.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot provide a coherent account of the Ember Pass ambush.
- The party is delayed at the gate while Captain Thorne verifies details with a patrol. They may still enter after surrendering weapons temporarily or accepting an escort, but lose time and reach the street crisis after it worsens.
- The party fails to contain the street hazard or protect the civilians.
- The street’s ward line ruptures further. Mira and nearby residents are endangered, and the party must take the longer route to the Citadel. Cindreth receives a report of the damage before hearing their account.
- The party conceals, alters, or recklessly overstates important evidence during the examination.
- Cindreth withholds the Oath of the Aegis and offers the party provisional status instead. He continues investigating with their cooperation, but their access to Citadel resources remains limited until they earn his trust.
Complications (d6)
- 1A ward-pillar discharges in a sharp blue arc. A creature within 10 feet must move away from it or take 1d6 lightning damage, with a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw for half damage.
- 2A paving seam opens beneath a bystander. The party must spend an action or succeed on a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to pull them clear before the crack widens.
- 3The surge makes nearby voices ring as if spoken through a brass horn. For one minute, all creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on hearing.
- 4A small street shrine begins drawing sparks from the ward network. A character can safely ground it with a DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) or Wisdom (Religion) check; on a failure, the character takes 1d6 lightning damage.
- 5A panicked cart blocks the route. The party must calm the driver with a DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check or clear the obstruction by force, costing 10 minutes.
- 6A flash of light briefly overlays the street with a ghostly image of the Ember Pass relay. A character who studies it can make a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check to recognize a repeated rune pattern in the party’s evidence.
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