Quest Line · Original Adventure · Daggerheart
One-shot
A dying ember-sprite named Cinder has been imprisoned in an ornate glass lantern by the merchant-tyrant Velus Kray, who parades the fading creature from town to town as proof of his dominance over nature. The seventh town, Ashford Crossing, plans to shatter the lantern during tonight's market festival—but doing so will kill Cinder instantly. The players must navigate competing factions, uncover Kray's true motives, and find a way to free Cinder before the sprite's light goes out forever.
Players should create characters who would care about justice, freedom, or the balance between civilization and nature. This adventure works best with a mix of social and combat-oriented characters.
Content warnings: imprisonment, potential death of an innocent creature, mob violence, morally gray choices about means versus ends.
Key information: Ember-sprites are rare elemental beings that embody living flame. When healthy, they can live for centuries and bring warmth and growth to the land. Cinder is approximately two weeks away from dying if not freed properly.
Choose one or combine elements:
The Desperate Whisper: As the players arrive in Ashford Crossing, they hear a voice like crackling embers in their minds. Cinder reaches out psychically to anyone nearby with a compassionate heart, showing them flashes of imprisonment, dimming light, and a plea: "Free me, but not through breaking. Breaking means ending."
The Hired Hand: Mira Thornquist, a traveling naturalist, approaches the party with a contract. She needs people who can infiltrate tonight's festival and steal the lantern before the townsfolk destroy it. She offers 200 silver marks and explains that Cinder's death would cause the local forest to wither.
Personal Connection: One player character experiences vivid dreams of fire turning to ash. They recognize Cinder from visions, prophecies, or a childhood encounter. Something pulls them toward Ashford Crossing with supernatural certainty.
The players arrive at Ashford Crossing's central market square as evening falls. Colorful festival stalls sell spiced cider, roasted nuts, and autumn goods. A raised platform dominates the square's center, where Velus Kray—a corpulent man in expensive velvet robes—stands beside an ornate glass lantern the size of a large birdcage.
Inside, Cinder flickers weakly. The ember-sprite appears as a vaguely humanoid form of living flame, no larger than a child's hand, with dimming orange light pulsing irregularly. The sprite's face (when visible) shows exhaustion and despair.
Kray addresses the crowd: "Six towns have witnessed my power! Six towns have paid to see nature tamed! Tonight, Ashford Crossing decides whether to purchase the lantern for your town square... or destroy it and send a message that you bow to no merchant-lord!"
Things the players notice:
Possible actions:
After initial investigation, three factions approach the players with different proposals:
Petra Blackwood wants the party to step aside or help smash the lantern at midnight. "Kray has bled us dry. This creature is his symbol of power. We break it, we break his hold on us." She doesn't know it will kill Cinder—she assumes sprites can survive anything fiery.
Velus Kray offers 300 silver marks if the party protects the lantern until dawn, when he leaves for the eighth town. He's smug and dismissive: "The sprite signed a contract. Metaphysically speaking." (This is a lie, but a Reason check difficulty 14 is needed to catch his tell.)
Mira Thornquist pulls the party aside and explains the binding ritual. She has researched the runes: "We need either Kray's voluntary release—which he'll never give—or we need powdered moonsilver to disrupt the binding circle. There's moonsilver in the old shrine outside town, but it's a thirty-minute round trip. We don't have time for both negotiation AND retrieval."
The choice: The players must decide their approach:
If they retrieve moonsilver: The old shrine is overgrown and protected by two thorn elementals (HP 20 each, Thorned Hide gives enemies -1 to melee attacks, Entangling Vines ranged attack). The moonsilver is in a stone bowl at the shrine's heart. This requires combat or a successful Instinct check (difficulty 15) to carefully navigate past the elementals without waking them.
If they negotiate with Kray: He refuses any deal unless they bring him something of equal value—suggest a personal magical item or a future favor that's clearly dangerous. A Presence check difficulty 16 can reveal his secret fear: he's broke and desperate, having spent everything on this tour.
If they try to turn the crowd: Petra can be convinced with a Presence check difficulty 14 if they prove the sprite is innocent and will die. She'll feel guilty but stand down. However, others in the mob are too angry to listen.
The church bells toll midnight. The crowd surges forward. The players must act now.
If the players have moonsilver: They can reach the platform and apply the powder to the binding circle (requires getting past the guards with combat, deception, or acrobatics). Once applied, the circle glows and shatters. Cinder expands to full size—a brilliant, humanoid flame shape—and thanks them. The sprite offers a blessing (see Rewards) and departs into the sky, leaving Kray humiliated but unharmed.
If the players convinced both Kray and Petra: Kray grudgingly speaks the dismissal word ("Ashenfall") while insisting he maintains his dignity. Cinder is freed, but Kray attempts to flee town before the crowd turns on him. Players can choose whether to help or hinder his escape.
If the lantern is smashed: Cinder bursts outward in a desperate flare, then collapses into dying embers. With a Reason or Instinct check (difficulty 17), a player might gather the embers into a safe container and rush them to a natural flame source (a fireplace, bonfire, or Mira's alchemical brazier). Success means Cinder survives but is severely weakened, needing weeks to recover. Failure means the sprite dies, and the forest begins withering immediately.
Possible endings:
1. Liberation: Cinder goes free, blesses the party, and the town confronts Kray about his business practices. Petra leads a town council vote to revoke his contracts.
2. Tragedy Averted: The lantern breaks but Cinder survives through quick thinking. The sprite is weak and must remain with Mira for rehabilitation. Kray escapes in the chaos.
3. Bitter Victory: Cinder dies, but the party's efforts expose Kray's cruelty. The town exiles him, and Mira plants a memorial tree where Cinder fell, promising that nature will reclaim what was lost.
Cinder: Ember-sprite imprisoned for twelve days. Appears as a small humanoid flame. Gentle and weary, desperate for freedom but unwilling to hurt innocents. Wants only to return to the Kindling Glades, its home.
Velus Kray: Merchant-tyrant in his fifties, corpulent and overdressed. Pretends to be wealthy but is actually desperate and broke. Wants to maintain his illusion of power and wealth through exploitation.
Petra Blackwood: Ashford Crossing's de facto resistance leader, a tanner in her forties with scarred hands and fierce eyes. Wants justice for her town but doesn't realize she's about to murder an innocent being.
Mira Thornquist: Traveling naturalist and scholar in her thirties, wears practical traveling clothes and carries journals. Wants to preserve natural beings and has spent weeks researching how to free Cinder.
Rowan (optional): One of Kray's guards, young and conflicted. Wants to quit but needs the pay. Can be convinced to look the other way with a Presence check (difficulty 12) if approached sympathetically.
If Cinder survives and is properly freed:
If Cinder dies but the party tried their best:
Experience milestone: Completing this adventure represents a significant story milestone—characters have navigated moral complexity, multiple factions, and a time-sensitive crisis.
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