E4 — The Ash Lift
S1-E4 · Basement Area 4 · Map Key
The Ash Lift
A square stone shaft rises through the ceiling. An iron platform waits at its bottom, chained to a mechanism above. The lift is dry, but the walls are marked with the same twelve ash-signs, and fresh soot circles the platform’s handrail.
The lift is the basement’s vertical spine. It is both the reward for understanding the machine and the party’s reliable route into the upper Mansion of Ash. Two more levels remain above the basement.
Map key
| Feature | Contents and use |
|---|---|
| Iron platform | The platform can carry the whole party and their gear. Its floor is scored by old crate marks, showing that the mansion once moved supplies between levels. |
| Counterweight housing | The housing opens when the Twelvefold Alignment is complete. A bypass panel allows a determined character to work the release manually, but the mechanism remains noisy. |
| Wall of ash-signs | The twelve signs repeat the sequence from S1-E1–S1-E3. One sign has been scratched out and replaced with a small ember-shaped mark that matches the clue in the upper mansion. |
| Maintenance locker | Contains 50 feet of hemp rope, four iron pitons, a grease tin, and a soot-stained lift ledger. The ledger records that the upper floors were sealed from below during the fire. |
| Upper landing | The lift opens onto the dry gallery of Scene 2. The first sound from above is a distant portrait bell, followed by the scrape of something moving behind a door. |
Useful gear
The maintenance locker’s rope and pitons are mundane equipment, but they give the party a secure fallback route if the upper-level lift is later sabotaged.
Transition: Once the platform rises, let the party choose whether to continue immediately or return to the basement side rooms. The mansion continues upward; opening the lift is not the adventure’s finale.
Challenge 5: Open the Ash Lift
Primary CheckThievery, Athletics, or Crafting DC 16.
If the Twelvefold Alignment has not already released the counterweight, the party can force the Ash Lift by working the chains, braces, and jammed release. Achieve 3 successes before 2 failures. Each failed check advances the flood and alerts the level above, but the lift remains accessible.
Critical SuccessThe counterweight releases and the iron platform rises to the first upper level.
SuccessThe mechanism shifts and one success is recorded.
FailureThe chain slips, the flood advances, and the mansion above becomes more alert. Count 1 failure.
Critical FailureThe release snaps back with a shower of ash and sparks. Count 1 failure, advance the flood, and leave the lift jammed for 1 round.