E7 — The Ember Study
S2-E7 · Upper Level · Moderate investigation · Quest payoff
The Ember Study
The study is untouched by soot. A single desk faces the sealed stair, and a coal-bright key rests beneath a glass bell. The room’s fire burns without fuel.
The study contains the Ember Key and the owner’s final security record. The party can take the key quietly, decode the record, or break the bell and accept the mansion’s attention.
Success: The party claims the Ember Key and learns that the sealed stair leads to the mansion’s ash-heart.
Complication: The glass bell cracks, the study fills with ash, and a moderate guardian or hazard appears. The key remains recoverable.
Delay clock: Every two rounds, the glass bell gains another fracture. At three fractures, it rings; this increases later combat or traps but never removes the quest item.
Quest item: Ember Key. A palm-sized iron key with an ember trapped in its bow. It opens S2-E5 and points the party toward the mansion’s final level.
Final lockbox
The Ember Fox and the Key
Near the Ember Key’s final lockbox, an Ember Fox ×1 has made a nest in the warm stone. It is a guardian of the last stable Ash rift, not a mandatory fight: the party can calm, distract, or protect it while claiming the key.
PF2e Challenge
The Ember Study Challenge
Primary CheckPerception, Thievery, Arcana, or Society DC 16
ProgressAchieve 3 successes before 2 failures. Every 2 rounds of delay adds one escalation, but never removes the route forward.
Critical SuccessThe party claims the Ember Key quietly and gains a 1-round head start.
SuccessThe party claims the Ember Key and learns that the sealed stair leads to the ash-heart.
FailureThe glass bell cracks and the study fills with ash; the key remains recoverable.
Critical FailureThe bell rings and a moderate guardian or hazard appears; the quest item remains available.