The Names in the Lantern
The Names in the Lantern
Read aloud
The brass lantern on Mara Venn's desk is dented, cold, and sealed with a strip of black wax. She looks directly at Kael Yosef and says, "This was carried out of the Veyrun fire, and the names inside it are about to disappear for good." Outside, a bell rings once from the council hall, though no meeting was scheduled.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Secure the lantern and learn why it matters to Kael.
- 2Locate the surviving witness.
- 3Recover the missing record.
- 4Decide who controls the story.Optional
The clock
At sundown, Prefect Saye will seal the archive and order the old evacuation records moved to a furnace used for spoiled documents. Use this deadline to keep the investigation moving, but allow the party to slow or alter it through negotiation, exposure, or diversion.
Scenes
- 0:00The Bell After Closing
- 0:25The Sealed Records Room
- 1:05A Witness Among the Cinders
- 1:45The Record Beneath the Ruins
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and archivist
- Kael YosefCentral character
- Prefect Orlan SayeAntagonist and civic authority
- Ilyra FenWitness and wildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Mara meets the party in a cramped records office after closing time. She has set the lantern on the table but refuses to open it until Kael is present. A council bell sounds outside, and a clerk rushes in to report that Prefect Saye has ordered the archives sealed. Give Kael's player a moment to establish what, if anything, they remember about the evacuation before Mara asks for help.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara contacts the party discreetly through a trusted local, then meets them after the archive closes.
She asks them to keep the matter quiet until they understand what the lantern contains.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Bell After Closing
Mara Venn's locked records office, above the town archive
Mara reveals the lantern and the threat to seal the archive. Kael establishes any memory or connection they wish to share. The party decides whether to open the lantern now or first secure it.
NextA clerk reports that the council has sent wardens to the archive, forcing the party to choose a route out or prepare to hold their ground.
0:25
40 min
combat
2. The Sealed Records Room
The town archive, where narrow aisles and rolling ladders make the records room difficult to cross quickly
The party attempts to protect the lantern and examine the archive's evacuation records while the wardens search the rooms. They can fight, evade, bargain, or use the archive's layout to slip away.
The Sealed Records RoomNextA name visible on the lantern plate points toward the Ash Market, where Mara believes a survivor may be hiding.
1:05
40 min
social
3. A Witness Among the Cinders
A covered market among charcoal stalls and smoke-darkened canvas
The party finds Ilyra and decides what to tell her about Kael and the lantern. If they gain her trust, she describes the watchhouse basement and admits that the official story of the evacuation is false.
The Witness in the Ash MarketNextIlyra leads the party to the old watchhouse, but warns that the basement may be partly flooded and that the lantern's light could attract attention.
1:45
60 min
exploration
4. The Record Beneath the Ruins
The collapsed basement of the old watchhouse, below the site of the evacuation fire
The party searches the buried basement, overcomes the shutter and any danger posed by the custodian, and retrieves the ledger. They then decide whether to give it to Mara, confront Saye, or bring the evidence directly to the families named in it.
The Watchhouse BelowNextWith the ledger recovered, move into the resolution: the party must decide how and when the truth becomes public.
Behind it
What people believe
Years ago, Kael Yosef carried a sealed brass lantern out of the burning watchhouse during Veyrun's winter evacuation.
Archivist Mara Venn has discovered that the lantern contains a hidden plate bearing names omitted from the town's official records. With the council preparing to seal the archive, the party must protect the lantern, find a witness, and recover the original evacuation ledger.
Background
Years ago, during a winter evacuation from the border village of Veyrun, Kael Yosef carried a sealed brass lantern out of a burning watchhouse.
The lantern was believed to be an ordinary heirloom, but its inner plate bears the names of people secretly removed from the official record. The adventure works whether Kael is a player character or an important NPC: if Kael is a PC, let the player decide what they remember about the evacuation; if not, the GM can use the provided version.
The stakes
If the party fails, the original ledger may be destroyed and the families omitted from the records may never learn what happened.
If the truth emerges without care, the town may turn on one another or punish people who were uninvolved. The party's choices determine whether the evidence becomes a tool for repair, revenge, or political control.
Encounters
3The Sealed Records Room
Combat or evasion
Narrow archive aisles, rolling ladders, waist-high document cabinets, and a skylight that can be opened as an alternate exit.
Foes
Prefect's Lantern Wardens
Archive Hound
ComplicationThe wardens are instructed to seize the lantern, not kill anyone. If the party makes the lantern visible or reveals the names on its plate, some wardens hesitate and may stand down.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use two wardens and remove the hound. For a larger or tougher party, add a second hound or have a warden block the exit while another retrieves the lantern.
The Witness in the Ash Market
Social
A covered market of charcoal stalls, hanging canvas, and narrow lanes with several routes out.
ComplicationIlyra will not reveal the location of the old watchhouse unless the party demonstrates that they will preserve testimony rather than use it as leverage.
ScalingIf the group needs more pressure, have a council observer arrive during the conversation. If they need a gentler scene, let Ilyra share her evidence after the party listens to her account.
The Watchhouse Below
Exploration with optional combat
A half-collapsed basement, a cracked iron shutter, ankle-deep water, and a narrow stairwell choked with fallen stone.
Foes
Ashbound Custodian
ComplicationThe buried ledger is behind a jammed iron shutter. Forcing it risks damaging the pages; careful work takes time while the lantern's light draws attention from outside.
ScalingFor a noncombat approach, the custodian can be calmed by speaking a name from the lantern plate. For a more dangerous version, give it an additional defense or have the flooded floor make movement difficult.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and archivist
WantsRecover the missing evacuation ledger before the town council destroys the last evidence of its deception.
“I am not asking you to trust the archives. I am asking you to help me find the page they tore out.”
Kael Yosef
Central character; use as a player character or ally
WantsProtect Kael from being blamed for a crime committed by the adults who controlled the evacuation.
“I remember the smoke. I remember your hand on the lantern. I do not remember who gave it to you.”
Prefect Orlan Saye
Antagonist and civic authority
WantsKeep the settlement stable and prevent the revelation from triggering reprisals, even if that means suppressing the truth.
“A town can survive a lie. It cannot survive everyone deciding the lie makes them guilty.”
Ilyra Fen
Witness and wildcard; a survivor who has been living under an assumed name
WantsExpose the people who diverted evacuees into danger and make the survivors' names public.
“The lantern did not choose you, Kael. Someone put it in your arms and hoped you would outlive the story.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The brass lantern, once opened, can be kept as a personal keepsake or returned to the surviving families.
A weatherproof copy of the recovered names, prepared by Mara.
On a win
The party recovers the ledger and chooses how to reveal it.
Kael learns that carrying the lantern was an act of trust placed on a child, not evidence of complicity. The settlement must confront what happened, but the party can influence whether the truth leads to hearings, restitution, political upheaval, or a quieter effort to reunite the named families.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to prevent the lantern from being seized.
- The council gains control of the lantern and uses its public authority to discredit the party.
- The party mishandles the flooded records or forces the watchhouse shutter carelessly.
- The names in the ledger are damaged or scattered. The truth can still be uncovered, but the survivors have less proof and may disagree about what to reveal.
- The party threatens, exposes, or abandons Ilyra without securing her trust.
- Ilyra disappears before giving testimony, leaving the party with evidence but no living witness to explain it.
- The party delays too long or gives the prefect enough time to control the story.
- Prefect Saye releases a carefully edited account first, making the party's eventual revelation seem like a political attack.
Complications (d6)
- 1A council runner arrives with a warrant for the lantern and orders it surrendered before sundown.
- 2A frightened witness gives the party a false meeting time, then admits the mistake only after the archive closes.
- 3A sudden downpour floods the lower records room, forcing the party to choose which bundles of documents to save.
- 4Someone cuts the lantern's carrying strap and steals its inner plate during a crowded public gathering.
- 5Prefect Saye offers Kael a private pardon in exchange for publicly claiming the lantern was stolen years ago.
- 6Ilyra recognizes one of the party as a descendant of a person named in the ledger and refuses to continue until they decide whether to stay.
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