S2-E1 — The Soot Gallery
S2-E1 · Upper Level · Moderate encounter
The Soot Gallery
Portraits of the Ash family line both walls. Their painted eyes track the intruders while a thin gray ash falls upward from the carpet.
Trigger: Crossing the cracked mosaic seals the gallery doors and wakes two sootbound custodians. The party can fight, retreat through the servants’ stair, or expose the portrait anchors.
Tactics: The custodians divide the party, using the gallery’s long sight lines and the sealed stair as cover. Each exposed anchor weakens the room’s hold; three exposed anchors quiet the gallery and open the stair.
Delay clock: At the end of every second round after the first, an unbroken portrait releases a minor ash hazard or calls one additional weak custodian. Never close the route forward.