The Fair That Froze

The adventure, scene by scene

1. 

   Scene 1

   The Frozen Fair

   Read this aloud

   Tonight is the longest night of the year. In Kettlefrost, that means the Long Night Fair. But when you reach the village square at dusk, everything is frozen. Every lamp is locked in blue ice. The fiddler's bow is stuck fast to his fiddle. Snowflakes hang still in the air. The square smells of cold chestnuts. Ottilie Brass, the lamp-maker, taps a frozen lamp. Tink. "Someone has frozen our fair," she says. "And the longest night has only just begun."

   What do the heroes try?

   • Follow the frost trail Brave: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     Huge round footprints of frost lead out of the square, through the market and over the bridge, toward the White Hill. Each one is as big as a cartwheel.

     Nearly!

     The wind blows snow over the prints. But every warm thing along the way is frozen, so you follow the frozen lamps instead, just a little slower.

   • Ask Ottilie Brass No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Ottilie knows three things. This afternoon she lit her new Great Lamp on top of the White Hill, for the very first time. The frost came soon after. And her grandmother always said, "Leave the hill to the snow." "I thought it was just a saying," she sighs.

     Nearly!

     If nobody can think of a question, Ottilie tells them the three things anyway, and gives each hero a bag of frozen chestnuts. "For later," she says, "when things thaw."

   • Look around the square Clever: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     The ice on every lamp is thickest on the side that faces the White Hill. And up on the hilltop, a faint orange glow pulses inside a lump of ice. The cold came from up there.

     Nearly!

     Snow blows into your eyes. But Ottilie points up anyway. "Even my Great Lamp is frozen, up on the White Hill," she says.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Find out what froze the fair, and where the cold came from.

   The Long Night Fair is Kettlefrost's winter fair: lamps in every window, roasted chestnuts, skating, music, and staying up late so the longest night feels short. Nobody is in danger and nobody is hurt: the ice covers only warm and bright things. This afternoon Ottilie lit a brand-new Great Lamp on top of the White Hill, so the whole valley could see the fair. Its heat is melting the ice cave where Old Woolhush sleeps, and Old Woolhush came down and froze every warm thing in the village to cool things down. Ottilie is brisk, proud and a little embarrassed, never scary.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask each player in turn: Every hero brought a lamp to the fair. What does yours look like? Whatever they describe is real and can help later. A lamp shaped like the moon is a lovely hint for the waystone rhyme.

   Where they are on the map

2. 

   Scene 2

   The Market Lane

   Read this aloud

   Behind the square is the market, a lane of little wooden stalls. Every stall glitters with frost. A soup pot is frozen solid, with the ladle still standing up in it. Then you hear a tiny sound. Squeak. Inside a chestnut cart, something glows pale blue. Dozens of tiny eyes blink at you. They are mice, each no bigger than a thumb. Their tails shine like little blue sparks. And they are shaking with fright.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Be gentle and quiet Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     One brave glintmouse climbs onto your palm. Its tail glows, but it feels as cool as snow. "Big," it squeaks. "White. Hairy. Breathed on warm things." It points its glowing tail toward the bridge.

     Nearly!

     A boot crunches on the ice, and the glintmice scatter. But they leave a trail of tiny blue footprints on the frost, all the way to the bridge.

   • Share a chestnut No roll needed

     No roll needed

     The glintmice love chestnuts, even frozen ones. Nibbling, they tell you everything. A huge, shaggy, white beast walked through the market. It breathed frost on every warm thing. Then it went back up the White Hill, looking worried.

     Nearly!

     If nobody has a snack, the glintmice creep out anyway. They are far too curious about your lamps to stay hidden.

   • Study the frozen things Clever: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     Every frozen thing was warm or bright: the soup pot, the chestnut stove, the lamps. The snow and the wooden stalls are fine. Whatever did this does not hate the fair. It hates the heat.

     Nearly!

     You lose count somewhere past forty. But one thing is clear: nothing cold froze. Only warm things did.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Coax the glintmice out and learn what they saw.

   Glintmice are tiny mice whose tails glow pale blue: a cold light that melts nothing. They live in the rafters of Ottilie's lamp shop. They saw Old Woolhush walk through the market, breathe frost on every warm thing, and go back up the White Hill. However this scene goes, the heroes learn that much: big, white and shaggy, freezes only warm things, went back up the hill. If the heroes were gentle or shared food, a few glintmice ride along in a hero's hood. Tick it on the story tracker: it matters at the climax.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the quietest player: The glintmice are tiny and scared. What could your hero do so they feel safe?
   • Ask the table: What kind of creature leaves footprints as big as a cartwheel, and freezes only warm things?

   Where they are on the map

3. 

   Scene 3

   Gundle's Bridge

   Read this aloud

   The road to the White Hill crosses an old stone bridge. On the bridge sits a troll, as big as a haystack. He has a nose like a potato and moss in his ears. He is knitting a mitten the size of a sack. Click, click go his needles. He smiles a mossy smile. "Evening," he rumbles. "I am Gundle. Did you see it too? Old Woolhush came down the hill tonight. Old Woolhush never comes down."

   What do the heroes try?

   • Introduce yourselves No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Gundle shakes every hand very gently, with one huge finger. He tells you Old Woolhush is a great snow-beast. It sleeps all winter in a cave of blue ice at the top of the hill. "Gentle as snowfall," he says. "Only thing it can't stand is heat."

     Nearly!

     If nobody wants to go first, Gundle holds up his half-made mitten. "Too big?" Somebody laughs, and he tells you about Old Woolhush anyway.

   • Help him knit Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     You hold the wool while he knits. "Old Woolhush and me watch the fair together every year," he says. "I sit here. It sits up top, where it's cold. Tonight it looked frightened." He finishes the great mitten and gives it to you.

     Nearly!

     The wool tangles round everyone's boots. Gundle laughs so hard the bridge shakes. He tells you what he knows while he untangles you. "Mitten's not done," he says. "Off you go. Hurry."

   • Slide across the frozen river Brave: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     You slide across in one long whoosh and wave from the far bank. Gundle claps his huge hands. "Old Woolhush made that ice tonight," he calls. "It never makes ice down here. Something's wrong up top."

     Nearly!

     Halfway across, your feet fly out and you spin like a top. Gundle reaches down one long arm and lifts you gently onto the bridge. "Bridge is quicker," he says, and tells you what he knows.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Make friends with Gundle and learn what he knows about Old Woolhush.

   Gundle Woolstitch is a gentle bridge troll who sweeps snow off the bridge all winter and knits mittens for the whole village. He guards nothing and asks nothing for crossing. He is Old Woolhush's oldest friend. What the heroes must learn here: Old Woolhush sleeps in an ice cave at the top of the White Hill, it is gentle, it cannot bear heat, and tonight it looked frightened. If the heroes helped him knit, Gundle gives them his great mitten. Tick it on the story tracker: at the climax it keeps their hands cool enough to carry the Great Lamp.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask each player in turn: Gundle asks every traveller one thing. What is the warmest thing you own? Answer in your hero's voice. Gundle is not charging a toll. He just loves the answers. If someone says mittens, he is delighted.

   Where they are on the map

4. 

   Scene 4

   Bonus: The Frozen Falls

   Read this aloud

   Halfway up the White Hill, the path climbs beside a waterfall. Tonight it is frozen in mid-splash, like a wall of blue glass. But something is strange. Drip. Drip. Water is trickling down the ice from high above. In the middle of winter, the snow at the top is melting. The air smells of pine and wet snow. Steps of ice lead up beside the falls, slippery and steep.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Climb the ice steps Brave: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     Step by careful step, you climb to the top of the falls. From here you can see it. A thin stream of meltwater runs down from the hilltop, where an orange glow pulses inside a block of ice.

     Nearly!

     Your foot slips, and you slide all the way down on your bottom into a soft snowdrift. Everyone laughs. On the second try you find good handholds, and you climb up with no roll.

   • Follow the drips Clever: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     The drips run in one thin line, straight down from the top of the hill. Something up there is warm enough to melt snow in the middle of winter.

     Nearly!

     The drips run every which way. But the water on your glove feels strangely warm. It must come from somewhere hot, at the very top.

   • Tap a tune on the icicles No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Ting, tang, tong. High above, something huge hums back, low and sad, like wind in a chimney. Then it goes quiet and listens. It knows you are coming, and it is not cross.

     Nearly!

     If nobody wants to play, the wind plays the icicles instead. From the top of the hill, a low, sad hum answers.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Climb past the frozen falls and find out why the top of the hill is melting.

   Play this scene only at the Epic length. It is the clue that turns the mystery: the Great Lamp is still burning inside its ice, and its heat is melting the top of the hill. Nothing here can really hurt anyone: a slip ends in a snowdrift and a laugh. However it goes, the heroes reach the top path and the waystone. If they found the warm water, tick it on the story tracker.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the table: Water is running down the hill in the middle of winter. What do you think is up there? If someone says the Great Lamp is too hot, that is exactly right: tell them so.

   Where they are on the map

5. 

   Scene 5

   The Rhyme on the Waystone

   Read this aloud

   Near the top of the hill stands an old grey waystone, taller than a door. Words are carved on it, half hidden under frost. Beyond it, the snow glows orange. There is the Great Lamp, trapped in a block of ice, still burning inside. Around it the snow is wet and slushy. Then a huge shaggy shape breathes on the ice. Hoooo. The ice grows thicker. The shape turns. Two small eyes, blue as ice, look straight at you.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Read the rhyme together Clever: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     The moon! The rhyme says this hill may only be lit by moonlight, because something sleeps up here that cannot bear heat. The first lamp-makers knew it. Everyone else forgot.

     Nearly!

     The rhyme is tricky. But look up: the answer is rising over the hill right now, round and silver. The heroes get one more look, with the hint that it shines at night and is never warm. That look needs no roll.

   • Clear off the frost Brave: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     Your fingers sting, but you uncover every word. Under the rhyme is a carving too: a big shaggy beast, asleep under a round moon.

     Nearly!

     The frost is too thick. Then the shaggy shape on the hill breathes out, and a gust of cold wind blows the stone clean. Every word is easy to read now.

   • Call out to the shape No roll needed

     No roll needed

     The shape stops breathing frost. "Hello," it rumbles, slow as snow sliding off a roof. "Is the warm thing yours? Please. My home is melting."

     Nearly!

     If nobody calls out, the shape rumbles first. "Please," it says. "No more heat."

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Read the old rhyme on the waystone and work out what it means.

   Hand out the Rhyme on the Waystone card here. The answer is "the moon". The first lamp-makers of Kettlefrost left the White Hill dark, lit only by moonlight, because Old Woolhush sleeps in an ice cave at the top. Over the years everyone forgot the rhyme, except as Ottilie's grandmother's old saying. Solving it is not the end: Old Woolhush still needs help. Go to the climax.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the table: Read the rhyme on the waystone out loud together. What do you think the answer is? Hand over the rhyme card now. The answer is the moon. If they also guess that the Great Lamp is the trouble, wonderful.

   Where they are on the map

   Show your players this

   The Rhyme on the Waystone

   Carved deep in an old grey waystone, under the frost: "Light the lane and light the square, light each window, light each stair. But leave this hill to the one who sleeps where the blue ice gleams and the white snow heaps. One lamp alone may shine up here. It is round and silver, cold and clear. It warms no paw, it melts no snow, it climbs the sky and it sinks down low. Name that lamp, and then you'll know the only light this hill should show. The first lamp-makers of Kettlefrost."

   Print this handout

6. 

   Scene 6

   The Cave of Blue Ice

   Read this aloud

   At the very top of the hill is a cave of blue ice. Water drips from its roof. In front of it stands Old Woolhush, as big as a barn. Its long white hair is hung with icicles that tinkle when it moves. It breathes on the Great Lamp, and the ice grows thicker. But the orange glow keeps shining through. "Too warm," it rumbles. "Every winter I sleep here. Now my home is melting." It looks at you with small, kind eyes. "Please. Will you help?"

   What do the heroes try?

   • Carry the Great Lamp down Brave: roll 10 or more Leads to If you carried the light down.

     Made it!

     You lift the Great Lamp in its block of ice and carry it down the hill, step by careful step. Read "If you carried the light down."

     Nearly!

     It is very heavy. Your feet slip, and you ride it down the hill like a sledge. Whoosh! It still reaches the bottom in one piece. Read "If you carried the light down."

   • Light the hill with the moon Clever: roll 8 or more Leads to If you lit the hill with moonlight.

     Made it!

     You polish slabs of ice until they shine like mirrors, and turn them to face the moon. Read "If you lit the hill with moonlight."

     Nearly!

     The first mirror cracks. Old Woolhush breathes on it, and it heals as smooth as glass. Read "If you lit the hill with moonlight."

   • Invite Old Woolhush to the fair Kind: roll 8 or more Leads to If you invited Old Woolhush.

     Made it!

     Old Woolhush blinks. "Me? At the fair?" Its icicles tinkle like laughter. Read "If you invited Old Woolhush."

     Nearly!

     Old Woolhush shakes its great head. "Too warm down there." So you promise it the coldest spot in the fair, the skating pond. It thinks, then nods. Read "If you invited Old Woolhush."

   How it ends

   Read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

   If you carried the light down.

   You set the Great Lamp down in the village square. Up on the hill, the dripping stops. The ice cave is cold and safe again. Old Woolhush lets out a long, happy sigh. Whoosh. Down in Kettlefrost, the frost slides off every lamp at once. They flicker, then glow. The Great Lamp warms everyone's hands, right where it belongs.

   If you lit the hill with moonlight.

   The Great Lamp goes out with a fizz. One by one, your ice mirrors catch the moon. Silver light pours across the White Hill, bright enough for the whole valley to see. Not one snowflake melts. Old Woolhush lies down in the glow. "Cold light," it murmurs. "The best kind." Below, the frost lets go of every lamp.

   If you invited Old Woolhush.

   You put out the Great Lamp together. Old Woolhush walks slowly down the hill beside you. It stops at the skating pond, the coldest place in the fair. It breathes once, and the pond turns to the smoothest ice in the valley. Everyone skates. Old Woolhush hums, happy. As it hums, the frost lets go of every lamp.

   Homecoming

   Every ending: home to Kettlefrost.

   Back in the square, every lamp is glowing. The fiddler's bow is free, and the music starts. Ottilie hands round hot chestnuts. Gundle the troll brings mittens for everyone. The longest night feels like the shortest, because nobody wants it to end. Up on the White Hill, a great white shape watches the fair, cool and happy.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Save Old Woolhush's home, so the frost lets go of the fair.

   Three endings and no wrong one, and nobody fights anybody. Old Woolhush cannot be fought and does not want to be: a raised sword grows a coat of frost, and Old Woolhush only looks sad. Lighting the hill with the moon needs no roll if the heroes solved the waystone rhyme. Carrying the Great Lamp needs no roll if Gundle gave them his great mitten. Inviting Old Woolhush needs no roll if the glintmice came along: they glow a cold blue path down the hill. If the heroes found the warm water at the frozen falls, Old Woolhush trusts them at once: +2 to any roll here. Short on time? Every length gets the twist: Old Woolhush says its home is melting the moment the heroes arrive, and the same rhyme is carved over the cave mouth, so hand over the rhyme card here. When it is over, read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the quietest player: Old Woolhush is huge, but it is scared. What would you say to make it feel safe?
   • Ask the table: How could Kettlefrost have its lights without melting the hill? Any idea that keeps heat off the hill works. Let it lead to the nearest ending.

   Where they are on the map