The Street That Came Home

The adventure, scene by scene

1. 

   Scene 1

   The Wrong Alley

   Read this aloud

   Something is wrong in Old Town. Every morning, Bram the baker opens his door onto Flour Alley. But this morning, Flour Alley is gone! His door opens onto a different street, called Cinderlane. Tamsin, the city’s map-maker, stands in the doorway with her map. It still shows Flour Alley. "The door did not move," she says. "I measured it. The street did." Behind her, a girl walks through a door in a brick wall. Yesterday, that was just a wall.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Ask Bram what he saw No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Same key, same latch, and Cinderlane where Flour Alley should be. He is not frightened. He is cross. "Forty years that alley was there," he says. "Forty years!"

     Nearly!

     Bram is too cross to talk sense. But he points at his doorstep: the flour he swept out last night is lying on the wrong street.

   • Look at Tamsin’s map Clever: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     The map is clear. Bram’s door opens west onto Flour Alley, and Cinderlane is two streets away. The map and the street do not agree, and this morning Tamsin trusts the street less.

     Nearly!

     The map is a muddle of lines. But Tamsin taps one spot with her pencil. "His door. Flour Alley. Not Cinderlane. Not ever."

   • Follow the girl No roll needed

     No roll needed

     She is only taking a shortcut, and she is not surprised at all. To her, the new door is already ordinary.

     Nearly!

     She is too quick, and the door swings shut behind her. But it opens again with one push. Go through.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Find out what has changed: the door, the street, or the map. Then decide which way to walk.

   Start the map out loud here and keep saying where the pin is: on the baker’s door, on the new door, on the lane. The pin is this adventure’s drum. The heroes must leave with the shape of the problem: a street has moved, a door has appeared, and the map is still yesterday’s. Tamsin is not silly. She is a careful map-maker who has just found that the city she measures has stopped sitting still. Play her cross and very exact. Bram is kind, floury, and wants his alley back before lunch.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the table: If your street moved in the night, what is the first thing you would check?

   Where they are on the map

2. 

   Scene 2

   The Door That Wasn’t There

   Read this aloud

   The brick wall beside Bram’s bakery has grown a door in the night. It is wooden, with an iron latch, just like every other door in Old Town. A girl called Nix holds it open with her heel. She is nine. "It was here when I came down," she says. "It’s a brilliant shortcut. Please don’t put the wall back." Through the door you can see Cinderlane, the street that should not be there.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Look closely at the doorway Clever: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     The bricks have not been cut. The wall just opened, the way a cupboard opens. And the carpenter’s mark matches the doors in Well Court: Old Town’s own mark, not a stranger’s.

     Nearly!

     You cannot tell how it got there. But Tamsin spots the carpenter’s mark on the frame. "That’s Old Town’s own mark," she says. "This door belongs here."

   • Ask Nix about it Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     Four times since breakfast, and she shows you: through, back, through, back. She is not hiding anything. She found it, she likes it, and she wants it to stay.

     Nearly!

     Nix gets shy and slips through the door. Then she pokes her head back. "Four times," she says. "I’ve used it four times. Please let it stay."

   • Walk on through No roll needed

     No roll needed

     The door works. That is all it does. You are on Cinderlane.

     Nearly!

     If the heroes would rather not use the new door, the long way round still gets them to Cinderlane. Nix waves from the doorway.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Work out whether the new door is a mistake, a gift or a clue, and decide whether to use it.

   Nix is a child who found a useful door, never a thief or a troublemaker. If a hero is unkind to her, have Bram change the subject instead of scolding. The carpenter’s mark is the clue: this is Old Town doing something it already knows how to do. Not a ghost, not a curse, not a stranger. If this scene is skipped, the heroes reach Cinderlane the long way round and meet Nix later, sitting on the well. Remember if the heroes were kind to Nix: it helps at the end.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the quietest player: Nix loves her new shortcut. What does your hero say to her?

   Where they are on the map

3. 

   Scene 3

   Cinderlane

   Read this aloud

   Cinderlane is doing something a street should not do. You walk down it. You turn a corner. You turn another, and another. And there is the same blue kettle, hanging outside the same tin shop you passed at the start! A cat sits on a step and watches you go by. She has the face of a cat who has seen this twice already today. Behind you, Tamsin has stopped writing.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Count the turns Clever: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     Three turns, one kettle, twice. A street that repeats itself is going to put you back where you started.

     Nearly!

     You lose count. But Tamsin stops and frowns at her map. "We have passed that kettle before," she says slowly.

   • Ask Pebble the cat Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     Pebble takes the crust and gives you a slow blink. Mrrp. Then she flicks her tail at the kettle: she has watched it go past three times this morning, and she is bored of it.

     Nearly!

     Pebble sniffs the crust and walks off. She goes round the corner, and round again, and comes back past the kettle. Even the cat is going in circles.

   • Keep walking No roll needed

     No roll needed

     It takes you home. That is the next scene, and the whole point.

     Nearly!

     If the heroes turn round and go back through the new door, they still end up at the bakery. The street is doing this, not the heroes.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Notice the loop while you are still inside it, and decide whether to keep walking.

   The wonder scene of the walk, so slow down. Never sum up the loop for the children; let them say "we’ve been here" themselves. If nobody notices the kettle, have Tamsin stop and frown at her map. Pebble is a joke and a second witness, not a puzzle. Nothing here is dangerous. Whatever the heroes do, the pin comes home next, because that is what the street is doing.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the table: Have you ever got lost and ended up back where you started? What happened?

   Where they are on the map

4. 

   Scene 4

   The Street That Came Home

   Read this aloud

   One more corner, and you are back outside Bram’s bakery! The same worn step. The same smell of warm bread. Bram is still in his doorway, with flour up to his elbows. You walked east the whole time, and you came home. Look at the map pin. It is back on the very same spot where it started. Tamsin looks at her map, then at you. "That," she whispers, "is not a mistake on my map."

   What do the heroes try?

   • Look at the pin No roll needed

     No roll needed

     It is sitting on the baker’s door again, the same spot it started on. The story is written right there on the board.

     Nearly!

     If nobody spots it, point at the pin and wait. Somebody will say it.

   • Ask Bram about it Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     He has, twice, fetching salt from a shop that is next door and three streets away at the same time. He would like it to stop, or to make sense, or both.

     Nearly!

     Bram throws up his floury hands. Puff! Flour everywhere. "Don’t ask me! Ask the street!" Then he sighs. "I went round twice myself."

   • Go to the map loft No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Tamsin has already decided the answer is up there. She was only waiting for somebody to go with her.

     Nearly!

     If the heroes would rather go straight to the well, Old Merrin is waiting there, and she knows the answer too.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: See the pin come home, and work out what a looping street is trying to tell you.

   The heart of the adventure: the street is not broken. It has come home. Give the table a moment with the pin on the same spot. Point at it. Let a child say it. THE DEVICE: this scene’s map pin is the first scene’s map pin, the same map and the same spot, on purpose. Never move it. If the heroes skipped Cinderlane, they still reach this scene by walking any Old Town street long enough: the whole quarter is looping, not just one lane.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask each player in turn: The street brought you home. What do you think it is trying to tell you?

   Where they are on the map

5. 

   Scene 5

   Bonus: The Festival Sheet

   Read this aloud

   Tamsin’s loft is a room made of paper. Maps cover the desk. Older maps hang from the beams on wooden pegs. And a fat pigeon called Hodge is asleep on the oldest one. Tamsin slides a map out from under him. Coo! It has a bright red title: the Festival of Turning. The streets on it are not the streets on today’s map. They are the streets you just walked.

   What do the heroes try?

   • Lay one map over the other Clever: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     Every street that "moved" has moved to exactly where the festival map shows it. Old Town is not muddled. It is putting on its party clothes.

     Nearly!

     The maps slide about. But hold them up to the window, and the light shines through both at once. The streets on the old map match the streets outside.

   • Read the note in the corner No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Give the players the handout. The Turning Well is under Well Court. You turn it with a well-cap. And the last person who turned it was Old Merrin.

     Nearly!

     If the writing is too loopy, Tamsin reads it aloud, slowly, with her finger under each word.

   • Move Hodge gently Kind: roll 8 or more

     Made it!

     One calm hand and no hurry. Hodge fluffs up, shuffles over, and shows you the red title he was keeping warm. That is all his help, and it is enough.

     Nearly!

     Flap, flap, FLAP! Feathers everywhere, and a corner of the map tears a little. Tamsin sighs. But the map can still be read.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Learn that the streets are not lost, they are dressed for a festival, and find out who last turned the well.

   Play this scene only at the Epic length. It is the second full route to the answer: it tells the heroes WHY the streets came home, and names the well. A table that skips the walk and comes straight here can still finish. Hodge is not an obstacle. If the heroes are rough with him, the map tears a little and Tamsin is quietly sad, and that is all. Remember if the heroes read the festival map: it helps at the end.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask each player in turn: If your street could change into a party shape once a year, what would it look like?

   Where they are on the map

   Show your players this

   The Last Festival of Turning

   An old map on thick paper, with a bright red title: "FESTIVAL OF TURNING, Old Town." Every street is drawn twice, once in brown for everyday and once in red for the festival. In brown, Baker’s Corner opens onto Flour Alley. In red, it opens onto Cinderlane, and there is a door in the brick wall. In the corner, in careful old writing: "TURNING WELL, under Well Court. Last turned by Merrin. A little turn faces the market toward the river. Turn it back by the second bell, or the bakers will grumble." Underlined: "Show a child, or it stops."

   Print this handout

6. 

   Scene 6

   The Turning Well

   Read this aloud

   Under Well Court is a round stone as wide as a cart wheel. It sits in a ring of shiny brass tracks. On top is a well-cap, like a big handle, and somebody has turned it a little way round. Old Merrin sits on the step beside it. "I showed a child how it worked," she says. "I didn’t think she would try it!" She looks at you. "The streets can stay festival, go back to everyday, or learn to turn again. Somebody has to choose."

   What do the heroes try?

   • Wind it back No roll needed

     No roll needed

     Click, click, click. The streets slide back, and Flour Alley is home. Nix sighs, and does not pretend not to mind. Read "If you turned it back."

     Nearly!

     If the cap is too stiff for the heroes alone, Merrin puts her hands on it beside theirs. "Together," she says. Read "If you turned it back."

   • Leave it festival Brave: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     You let go of the cap. Bram goes red, then pink, then thoughtful. Read "If you left it festival."

     Nearly!

     Bram goes very red. "My alley!" The heroes get one more try to tell him why the new streets are good. A brave try the second time needs no roll.

   • Teach Nix the well Kind: roll 10 or more

     Made it!

     Merrin looks at Nix for a long time. Then she smiles and holds out the well-cap. Read "If Nix learned the well."

     Nearly!

     Merrin shakes her head. "She’s too little." The heroes get one more try: a kind word for Nix, a promise to help her. A kind try the second time needs no roll.

   How it ends

   Read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

   If you turned it back.

   Click, click, click. The streets slide home like drawers closing. Flour Alley is back, and Bram’s door opens the way it has for forty years. He hugs the doorframe, flour and all. Nix sighs about her lost shortcut. Then Bram hands her the first warm roll, and she cheers up quite a lot.

   If you left it festival.

   Old Town keeps its festival streets. Bram grumbles all morning. Then the sun comes in through his new window, gold and warm. His bread rises higher than ever. "Hmph," he says. "Fine." Tamsin gets to draw the whole quarter again. She has secretly wanted to for years.

   If Nix learned the well.

   Merrin puts the well-cap in Nix’s hands and shows her every mark. Now Old Town can turn on purpose, once a year, for the Festival of Turning. Nix stands up very straight. "I’ll remember," she says. And Merrin, for the first time in years, is not the only one who knows.

   Homecoming

   Every ending: home through Old Town.

   Bram bakes all afternoon, whichever street his door opens onto. He gives each of you a baker’s token, warm and a little sticky. "One loaf," he says, "any morning, from this door." Tamsin pins a new map on her wall, with both shapes of Old Town drawn on it. Nobody will get lost here again.

   Notes for the guide

   What the heroes want: Decide what Old Town gets to be, and who gets to turn it.

   Three real endings, and no wrong one: in every one, Old Town sits still again. The choice is about whose streets these are. Winding it back needs no roll. Leaving it festival: roll with +2 if the heroes read the festival map in the loft or were kind to Nix at the new door (+2 once, however many are true). Teaching Nix the well needs no roll if the heroes were kind to Nix at the new door. Run the winding slowly and out loud, one click at a time, and let a child turn the cap. Short on time? Every length gets the twist: Merrin tells the heroes the whole story the moment they arrive. Old Town used to turn once a year so the market faced the river, and it stopped because nobody showed a child how. Whatever happens, Nix is not punished, Merrin does not say sorry, and Bram’s bread still gets baked. When it is over, read the ending that happened, then the homecoming.

   Questions to ask

   • Ask the table: Should Old Town keep its festival streets, go back to everyday, or learn to turn again? Why? No wrong answer. Every choice ends with the streets sitting still.
   • Ask the quietest player: Merrin asks your hero, "What would your street look like on a festival day?" What does your hero say?

   Where they are on the map