L2-09. Flame Transept — Under-Ash Service

Role & feel

Ancient Pyremian service run that once moved draft and ash beneath the temple. The Mortarch probed it, then left it mostly intact to keep the mortuary above temperate. This hall is hot, quiet, and breathes on a six-count—the same grammar as the rest of the crypts, but expressed as heat and draft.

What careful players learn at a glance (no rolls)

• Six-beat draft: a soft hoo… every 6 seconds draws ash toward the flues; on the next beat, warm air exhaled across the hall.
• Wheel glyphs: tiny Old Suloise sigils around each wheel read, in order: Draw, Hush, Bind, Vent, Bank, Quench.
• Grate instructions (tiny plaque under the yoke): “Quench the draft; release on measure.”
• Mortarch sign: chalk marks circle Flues 2, 4, 6; a ruby sigil is stamped near the grate latch—proof he’s used this route.

L2-09a. Lift Well

(bottom station, in Flame Transept)

Interaction (from below)

L2-09. Flame Transept-Lift by 3orcs

• After Quench (close flues 2/4/6, bank 5):
• Rock the yoke through six clicks in silence → platform unlocks; a light ruby line traces the chain housings; the lift will answer the top station’s lever immediately.
• Without Quench: The draft tugs the chains; trying to board or move the platform triggers Hot Back-blast from the nearest open flue (as in L2-09).
• Manual haul: Two creatures can hand-winch the platform 10 ft/round by pumping the side windlass on a six-count; speaking or breaking rhythm causes a steam lash (as above).

Occupancy & stats

• Capacity: 2 Medium (or 1 Large) plus a bier plank (400 lb).
• Travel: ~40 ft vertical. One smooth rise/fall takes six beats × three cycles (about 18–20 seconds) if quenched; double if hand-winched.

Ash-Run Slope

(natural tunnel, west end of L2-09)

Where the basalt tiles break into rough stone, a low tunnel slopes up and west. Ash drifts cling to the floor like dune ripples, and warm air pulls and releases on a steady six-beat breath.

• Dimensions: 6–8 ft wide, 5–7 ft tall, 180 ft of gradual climb broken by two short squeezes (Medium can wriggle prone; armor disadvantage on Stealth).
• Hazards: ash skid (DC 12 DEX when Dashing), occasional heat exhale (2 fire on fail; DC 12 CON).
• Sound: the six-count breath grows irregular as you leave the Pyremian ducts—good cue you’re entering natural air.

Environmental hazards & rhythm

Heat Pulse (ambient)

On each exhale (every 6 beats), creatures adjacent to an open flue feel a wave of heat: DC 12 CON save or 2 (1d4) fire and disadvantage on Perception vs. sound until the end of their next turn (ears thrum). Closing enough dampers (see below) suppresses this.

Ash Draw (inhale)

When the hall inhales, any rushed movement (Dash) across ash drifts triggers a skid: DC 12 DEX save or fall prone and cough (no damage, just a loud whuff that might wake things).

Ember Skins (if you want a fight)

Two Ash Mephits re-skinned as Ember Skins cling in the upper arches. They ignore the party unless the group speaks loudly, forces the grate, or spins wheels out of order—then they drop to harry, trying to blind with ash breath and kite the party into heat pulses. (Use mephit stats; change cold to fire, and “ash breath” instead of “blinding breath.”)

Using the damper wheels

(lore-first, no roll)

The wheels respond best to measured, quiet handling:

• Quench Sequence (safe setting): on a soft six-count, close wheels 2, 4, 6 (those marked by Mortarch chalk), then bank the flow by turning 5 one quarter turn (just a touch), and leave 1 and 3 partially open (finger-width).
• Result: the draft hushes, heat pulses calm, ash settles, and the grate yoke becomes cool enough to handle.
• Wrong order / yanking: reversing the even-wheel order or spinning any wheel hard triggers a Hot Back-blast from that arch: DC 13 DEX save or 7 (2d6) fire, pushed 5 ft.

Clueing the order: the glyphs under the even flues (2/4/6) have faint ruby smears—Mortarch chalk; the plaque by the grate literally says “Quench the draft,” which in Suel practice means even flues first.

Accessing the Mortuary grate from below

(the point of the room)

The grate can be reached only from here or from L2-03 above.

What it looks like from below: a square iron lattice set 10 ft up with a forked yoke underneath (a bar with six shallow notches) and a small release panel to the right, secured with a simple pin latch.

The clean, lore-first way (no rolls)

1. Quench the draft (as above): close 2, 4, 6 on a six-count; bank 5; leave 1 & 3 cracked.
2. Release on measure: one character kneels under the grate, places both hands on the yoke, and rocks it through six clicks in rhythm (click … click … click …).
3. Another character holds silence between beats (literally don’t talk for the six count).
4. On the sixth click, the pin latch inside thunks back and the grate drops two inches on a safety chain—enough to swing it open. Anyone can climb up into L2-03 Mortuary through the drain alcove (you decide the exact wall—south is clean).

Other ways (with consequences)

• Tools: Pry the release panel with thieves’ tools (DC 15) while someone withstands the heat pulses (CON saves each round). On a failed tools attempt, you get a Hot Back-blast from the nearest open flue.
• Brute force: DC 18 Athletics to wrench the grate; each attempt triggers both a heat pulse and a back-blast (choose the nearest flue).
• Magic: Dispel magic on the grate counts as “release on measure” for 1 minute—but the draft still needs quenching or the ash will choke the climber (DC 12 CON or start suffocating next round).

Boxed outcomes (quick drops)

Quench succeeds

The breath of the hall settles. Heat drops from a furnace’s sigh to a hearth’s murmur; ash stops creeping and lies still.

Yoke rocked in measure

Click… click… click… click… click… clack. The iron pin retreats, and the grate sags onto a short chain.

Back-blast

The arch coughs fire; hot wind slaps your face and drives sparks along the floor like red rain.

Mortarch sign & hooks

• Ruby sigil chalked by the grate; faint soot footprints up the wall (ghouls climbing).
• A short bronze wrench stamped with the Mortarch mark lies behind Flue 4—works as a damper key (lets a PC set one wheel as a bonus action once per round).
• Note scratched in Suel near the pitward end: “Heat falls when the dead keep still.” (A grim nod to the Quench routine.)

Treasure & tools

• Damper key (see above).
• Ember bead (single-use bead of force reskinned as bead of ember: explodes for 2d6 fire in a 5-ft burst; ignites ash drifts briefly).
• 2 vials of ash-preservative (mix with water to make one smoke bomb: 10-ft cloud of lightly obscured, non-poisonous ash for 1 minute if the draft is quenched).

Exits

• Back up the pit throat to L2-08 Beltar Pit (with rope/chain or climbing checks).
• Up through the maintenance grate into L2-03 Mortuary of Ruby Law (via the Quench & Measure routine above).
• (No access to the Processional from here—this is a service run.)