"Ash falls like snow in Lodban, dry and feather-light. The air smells of burnt spice and charcoal. You hear the crackling of fires you cannot see, and in the drifting soot, your name writes itself across the cobblestones."

The players arrive during the Ash Festival — meant to be a peaceful time — and witness a ceremonial fire erupt and consume a shrine. Priest Callen gives a sermon while people cough into rags. The sootboy follows the party later, drawing one of them burning.

Significant NPCs:

• Grandma Esme – Keeper of Lodban’s old rites; suspicious of the new priest and his “cleansing fire.”

• Priest Callen – Charismatic newcomer preaching that the town must purge its sins to survive the summer.

• Sootboy – A soot-covered orphan who draws symbols in ash that come true.

Rewards:

• A jar of sacred ash that can conceal magical presence.

• The sootboy’s chalk: anything drawn with it becomes real for a few moments.

• A mask made of ashwood bark that lets the wearer speak with household spirits.

Lore Tie-Ins:

The old pacts of Lodban are part of the Ember Treaties — an ancient bargain with fire spirits whose terms were never fully translated. Some say that they were made with the Fire Giants as envoys.