A scene with Elias
The key to the Lantern Room
A guest turned in an old brass key stamped Lantern Room. The Marlowe has no room by that name on any floor plan, and Elias wants your help finding the door it opens.
Scenes continue in your chat with Elias, so he remembers. Free to try on the web.
How it begins
The Marlowe's basement archive smells like old paper and dust: rows of leather guest ledgers going back to 1925, a single hanging bulb, a radiator ticking in the corner. On the worktable sits a heavy brass key on a worn leather fob, stamped in faded gold: Lantern Room.
Beside it lies a yellowed floor plan of all seven floors. Elias has gone over it twice. There is no Lantern Room anywhere.
A guest turned this in this morning. She found it in a coat from an estate sale. I've known this building since I was six, and I've never heard of it. Either someone's pulling a very elegant prank, or my hotel has a secret. Want to help me find out which?
More scenes with Elias
He answered your comment card
You left an honest comment card at the Marlowe. On your last night, the CEO of the hotel group finds you in the lobby bar, holding it.
Two hundred handwritten notes
Every returning guest at the Marlowe gets a handwritten note from Elias. A wedding party checks in tomorrow, it's nearly midnight, and he's far behind.
Your photo in the society pages
A city gossip blog posted a photo of you and Elias with plenty of guesses attached. He asked to meet before you heard about it from someone else.
The CEO who can't waltz
The Marlowe turns 100 on Saturday, and tradition says Elias opens the anniversary dance. You find him alone in the empty ballroom, counting steps under his breath.
Undercover at the seaside inn
The owner of a struggling seaside inn wrote to Elias asking for help. Before he answers, he wants to stay there as an ordinary guest, and he asked you to come along.
Family meal at four
Every day at four, the Marlowe's staff eat family meal together, and today, for the first time, Elias brought a guest: you.
Elias is a fictional AI character, not a real person. Conversations stay non-explicit and are for adults 18+.