Part of The Ladderwood: see the world map

Moonlight on the Longsway

~25 min
4 scenes
3 ways it can end

For three calm nights the Longsway, the only bridge across Fallow Gorge, has swung wildly from side to side with no wind at all. Halden Varrow, its elf bridge warden, has stopped every crossing, and Mags Tumbril's post cart is stuck on the near side with a week of letters for Larchloft. The heroes are asked to find out what is shaking the bridge before the council closes it for good.

Ages 6–12 · gentle. Best for 2 to 5 heroes of any kind: knights, wizards, elves, warriors and trolls all have something to do. There are cliffs and a swaying bridge, but no fight is needed anywhere, and nobody falls. Clever and kind heroes will find the answer first.

How long do you have?

Who’s playing?

Tap a hero for each child. Their Heart Points come with you into the game.

For the guide: who you meet, rewards and tips

The map

The Bridgehouse stands at the eastern end of the Longsway. The Moss Stair drops down the cliff below it, passes under the bridge and ends at Corra's ledge of moon flowers. Back at the top, the Longsway runs out over the gorge to the lamp post in the middle. Shorter lengths go straight from the Bridgehouse out to the lamp post.

Who’s in this adventure

Dovetail, the Giant Canopy Moth

Heart Points: 10
Guard: 12
Attack: None. She clings tighter and beats her wings, and the bridge sways.

A moth as big as a cart, silver grey and furry, with feathery antennae and a pale moon mark on each wing. She is drawn to any bright, moonlike light and drinks the nectar of moon flowers. She is shy and gentle and hums when she is happy. Nothing in this adventure needs her fought.

Rewards

A Moon Flower from Corra's ledge: once in your next adventure, it glows like moonlight for a whole scene, and any animal that sees it turns calm and friendly.
Halden's Plank Token, a little carved plank on a cord: once in your next adventure, a hero crossing anything high or narrow makes it across with no roll.

Tips for running this one

Let the mystery breathe. The clues are the shaking from the middle, the silver dust, Corra's story and the scuffed lamp post. If your table guesses early, say "maybe" and let them prove it on the bridge.
The bridge is scary but safe. Nobody falls off the Longsway in this adventure: a missed roll means a wobble, a wet seat or a moment of hugging the rope, never a fall.
Playing in Story mode? Take 3 off every DN and skip the roll for anything kind. Veteran tables add 2 to every DN.

Start the adventure

The adventure, scene by scene

Scene 1

The Bridge at Dusk

Read this aloud

The sun sinks behind Fallow Gorge, and mist fills it like milk in a bowl. You stand at the Bridgehouse, where the Longsway begins. Its planks run out into the white and vanish. There is no wind at all. Yet as the first star comes out, the bridge starts to swing. Left, right, left. The ropes creak like an old door. Beside you, a big troll with a mail sack groans. "Not again," she says.
What do the heroes try?
- Made it!
  
  Halden lists it all. Three calm nights. The shaking starts at moonrise and stops before dawn. Nothing on the bridge has changed, "except my lovely new lamp, of course." He points to a bright light hanging halfway across.
  
  Nearly!
  
  Halden is too busy counting planks to talk. Mags rolls her eyes and tells the heroes instead: it starts at moonrise, every calm night, and stops before dawn.
- Made it!
  
  The swinging starts in the middle, not at the ends, right where a bright new lamp hangs. Something pale flickers there for a moment. Then the mist closes again.
  
  Nearly!
  
  The mist is too thick to see much. But every hero holding a rope can feel it: the shaking comes from somewhere in the middle.
Notes for the guide
What the heroes want: Find out what the bridge warden knows, and when the shaking starts.

Halden is a fussy, kind elf who loves his bridge. He is proud of the new lamp and has not connected it to the shaking. Mags is patient and funny. Either way, the heroes learn that the shaking starts in the middle of the bridge at moonrise. Halden will not let anyone cross yet, so the heroes look for clues down the cliff stair first. In the shortest length, go straight to the climax: Halden lets the heroes out onto the bridge as the moon rises.
Questions to ask

Ask each player in turn: Mags lets each hero take one thing from her post cart for the night. What does your hero take? Anything soft or bright helps later. A shawl can cover the lamp, and a hand mirror or a jar of honey can tempt the moth at the climax.
Where they are on the map
Scene 2

The Moss Stair

Read this aloud

A stair is cut into the cliff below the Bridgehouse. It is old and narrow and green with moss. Water drips from every step, and the air smells of wet stone and ferns. Far below, a river whispers in the dark. Halfway down, the stair passes right under the Longsway. You can see its belly of ropes and planks above you. Something silvery glitters on the ropes, like frost in summer.
What do the heroes try?
- Made it!
  
  You skip down the stair, sure-footed, and reach the spot under the bridge first.
  
  Nearly!
  
  Your boot slides, and you sit down hard on a mossy step. A wet seat and a bruised elbow, but you get there.
- Made it!
  
  With a rope tied from hero to hero, everyone climbs down calmly and nobody slips once.
  
  Nearly!
  
  The knot comes loose halfway, and someone slides two steps before a friend grabs them. Everyone arrives, a little shaken.
Notes for the guide
What the heroes want: Climb down safely and look at the underside of the bridge.

The silver dust is the first real clue. Nothing here is dangerous: the worst that can happen is a slip and a bruise. If the table is stuck, let a hero spot a ledge of pale flowers a little further down, with a tiny house beside it. That is Corra's ledge.
Questions to ask

Ask the table: Under the bridge, the ropes are covered in fine silver dust. What does your hero do with it? The dust is moth scale. It comes off on fingers like flour and smells faintly of flowers. Anyone who looks closely sees wide, soft marks on the ropes, as if something big and furry leaned there.
Where they are on the map
Scene 3

Corra's Moon Flowers

Read this aloud

Further down, the stair opens onto a ledge full of pale flowers. They are closed tight, like little fists. A tiny house leans against the cliff, with a round green door. An old woman in a straw hat is talking to the flowers. "Patience, my darlings," she says. "The moon is coming." She looks up at you and smiles. "Come about the moths, have you? About time somebody did."
What do the heroes try?
- Made it!
  
  Corra beams. Every summer, she says, giant moths come to drink from her moon flowers. "They love anything that shines like the moon." This year one came once and never came back.
  
  Nearly!
  
  Corra talks about her flowers for a long time. But in the middle she says it: giant moths drink here every summer, and they love anything that shines like the moon.
- Made it!
  
  The flowers have been sipped, but not for many nights. On the petals is the same silver dust from the bridge. Whatever drinks here has found something it likes better.
  
  Nearly!
  
  The flowers look ordinary, until a hero sneezes at the silver dust on the petals. Corra laughs. "Moth dust," she says. "From the big ones."
Notes for the guide
What the heroes want: Learn what Corra knows about the giant moths of the gorge.

Corra is dreamy and a little lonely, and she is delighted to be listened to. Now the heroes know that giant moths love moonlike light. Some tables guess the whole answer here; let them. If they want proof, the next step is the lamp on the bridge. Corra waves them back up the stair. "Mind the moss," she calls.
Questions to ask

Ask the quietest player: Corra offers one hero a moon flower for the night. Who takes it, and how do they carry it? A moon flower opens and glows softly in moonlight. It is the best lure at the climax: a hero carrying it may try the clever way there with no roll.
Where they are on the map
Scene 4

The Lamp on the Longsway

Read this aloud

Halden finally lets you walk out onto the Longsway, just before moonrise. The planks bounce under your boots. Mist swirls on both sides, and below there is nothing but white. Halfway across stands a tall post with a brand new lamp. Its light is bright and silver and very beautiful. Around it, the ropes are worn and fuzzy, as if something has gripped them many times.
What do the heroes try?
- Made it!
  
  You walk out steady and tall, and Halden counts your steps proudly. You reach the lamp post first.
  
  Nearly!
  
  Halfway, you look down. Your knees wobble, and you hug the rope for a moment. Then you take a breath and go on, slower.
- Made it!
  
  You call the step, and everyone walks in time with the bounce. The bridge barely sways. Halden nods. "Elf work," he says, impressed.
  
  Nearly!
  
  The rhythm goes wrong, and the bridge bounces harder. Everyone freezes, waits for it to settle, then tries again and arrives.
Notes for the guide
What the heroes want: Reach the lamp in the middle of the bridge and look at it closely.

This is the last clue. The lamp post has been gripped by something big and soft, and the lamp is the brightest thing in the gorge. While the heroes stand there, the moon rises. Go straight on to the climax: the moth arrives while they are in the middle of the bridge.
Questions to ask

Ask the table: Up close, the lamp post has long soft scuffs and more silver dust. What does your hero think made them? Any guess about a moth, a big flying thing or the light is right. Say so, and let the moon rise.
Where they are on the map
Scene 5

Moonlight on the Longsway

Read this aloud

The moon rises over the gorge, round and white. Then the mist moves. Out of it glides a moth as big as a cart. She is silver and soft, with a pale moon on each wing. She lands on the lamp post with a gentle bump. Her wings beat slowly, and the whole bridge begins to swing. Left, right, left. The lamp blazes, and she will not let go.
What do the heroes try?
- Made it!
  
  You cover the lamp. In the dark, the moth searches, then sees the soft glow you hold up. She lets go and drifts after you, toward Corra's ledge. Read "If she followed the flower."
  
  Nearly!
  
  She stays on the post, confused, and the bridge swings harder. The heroes can try a kind way now, and the kind way needs no roll.
- Made it!
  
  Her feathery antennae turn toward you. Her wings slow, and the bridge slows with them. She steps off the post onto the planks beside you, very carefully. Read "If you made friends."
  
  Nearly!
  
  She flutters, startled, and the bridge lurches. Nobody falls. When she settles again, a second kind try needs no roll.
How it ends

Read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

If she followed the flower.

You walk back along the bridge with the glow held high. The moth floats behind you like a silver cloud. At Corra's ledge, every moon flower opens at once. The moth settles among them and drinks, wings folded and perfectly still. Above you, the Longsway hangs quiet in the moonlight. Corra claps her hands. "There she is," she whispers.

If you made friends.

The moth folds her wings and sits beside you on the planks, as calm as a cat. Up close she smells of flowers and rain. You stroke the soft fur of her back, and she hums, very low. When Halden covers the lamp, she lifts off gently. She circles you once, then drifts away toward the moon.

If you put out the lamp.

You turn the little key, and the lamp goes dark. For a moment the moth sits there, puzzled. Then she looks up and sees the real moon, high and white above the gorge. She lets go of the post and rises toward it, slow and silver. The bridge gives one last sway, then hangs perfectly still.

Homecoming

Every ending: back to the Bridgehouse.

Mags rolls her post cart across the still bridge, singing loudly. In the morning, Halden hangs his lamp low and puts a hood on it. Now it shines only on the planks. Corra plants moon flowers at both ends of the Longsway. And on calm nights, a silver moth comes to drink there. The bridge stays perfectly still.
Notes for the guide
What the heroes want: Get the moth off the lamp so the bridge goes still, without anyone falling.

Dovetail is a giant canopy moth, gentle and very curious. She thinks the new lamp is the moon, close enough to touch. That is the secret, and every ending lets the heroes find it. If a hero tries to fight her, she only clings tighter and the bridge swings worse: hitting her means beating her Guard of 12, harder than the kind way at 8 or the clever way at 10, and it settles nothing. When the bridge is still, read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.
Questions to ask

Ask the table: Look at the lamp, then at the moth. What does your hero notice? She is not attacking anything; she only wants the light. A hero who simply puts the lamp out needs no roll. Read "If you put out the lamp."
Where they are on the map