THE TRAIL OF THE 24 LANTERNS
North Plains, Oregon • Pass the four trials of Kit Sterling, Seraphina Thorne, and Lord Julian Vance to claim your Brass Fox Token, seal your Writ in oxblood wax, and enter Gareth Blackwood’s Root-Hall.
Master Kit Sterling Guards the Timber Arch
Rain patters against the cedar boughs above the Gatehouse arch. Master Kit Sterling steps into the amber lantern light, fastening a heavy wool cloak around your shoulders before resting his hand on the iron latch.
“You found the trailhead, wayfarer—now prove you have eyes for the greenwood. Four elder guardians stand uncut within our sanctuary: three rise through the timber floorboards inside the hall, and one stands watch through the courtyard porch eaves. Tell me—what living trees hold up our roof?”
Roll the Bones on the Oak Barrel-Table
Kit smirks, leaning his bare forearm against the thick round oak tabletop of the Gatehouse barrel-table. He slides a leather dice cup and a gleaming stamped Brass Fox Token beside his storm lantern.
“My roll to beat is a 7. Roll the carved bones across the oak. Win or lose, a wayfarer with nerve earns passage down the twenty-four lanterns—but beat my roll, and Seraphina’s first Still-Room pour by the creek is on the Baron’s ledger.”
Seraphina Thorne Commands the Bough Pavilion
You follow the twenty-four iron lanterns down the mossy switchbacks to the rushing waters of the Northern Creek. Inside the open-air timber Bough Pavilion, Seraphina Thorne—Mistress of the Still-Room—leans over an oak wargaming table lined with wax-dipped glass flasks and battle-maps.
“Kit let you past the gate, love, and I see his Brass Fox glinting in your palm. Nobody crosses my timber bridge into the Root-Hall with a dry throat or dull wits. Choose the botanical draught from my Still-Room reserve that will fortify your company tonight:”
Lord Julian Vance Seals Your Writ in the Scriptorium
Stepping across the bridge and through the timber vestibule, the scent of beeswax and woodsmoke wraps around you. At the candlelit Scriptorium table beside the hearth, Lord Julian Vance lifts his warm amber eyes from a parchment scroll, gold signet rings catching the firelight as he heats a puddle of oxblood sealing wax.
“Gareth tends your fire, darling, and Kit tests your luck... but every Writ of Passage passes beneath my stolen signet before a single seat is claimed. Tell me, handsome: when the heavy oak doors are barred and the gold hits the oak, what fellowship do you bring to my ledger?”
Gareth Blackwood Opens the Hearth
The heavy oak doors swing shut against the Oregon mist and the forged iron bar drops into place. Gareth Blackwood slides a stoneware tankard across the 20-foot live-edge fir bar and gestures toward the 100 forged-iron pegs on the West Timber Wall.
SWORN WAYFARER OF THE GREENWOOD
Present or whisper this code to Master Kit Sterling at the Gatehouse (or include it on your Sworn Warden Charter or Tavern Night booking) to claim your physical Brass Fox Token, Julian’s Wax-Sealed Faction Envelope & Seraphina’s complimentary Still-Room Pour.