The mechanics are simple: You are guided to tell a story, by creating a world, the people that live there, and what happens there. Those familiar with tabletop role-playing games will feel right at home in this experience – but those who’ve never played one will have little to no trouble diving in. Guests are seated for the entirety of this experience, but the mind of each participant is transported to a world, a place, a land that they create. This experience is billed as a scented, role-playing experience – and that’s an important distinction from your typical immersive venture. This story and the scents you select are ultimately captured in a candle that you receive after the completion of your narrative. In this experience, one audience member embarks on a journey to tell a collaborative story which you and a guide craft together – with a little help from different scents.

This is the start to Tales by Candlelight, a new role-playing experience by immersive company Walk the Night, in collaboration with Cantrip Candles. Coffee is a popular choice for cleansing the olfactory palate, a man behind a desk proclaims. I lift an ornate silver container – its contents filled with the lovely aroma of fresh coffee beans. I remove my jacket (and my shoes) and settle into a comfortable couch, surrounded by too many pillows. A large map of a land I don’t recognize is illuminated in an orange glow.

Trinkets and treasures from other worlds, other times, litter the walls. I am in the interior of a small candle shoppe tucked away in the recesses of Hollywood. Let your instinct take hold and tell a story that you may not know you had inside of you. Rather than go on a journey, let the journey take you. I invite you to let your imagination take you – and create something.

By candlelight and conjure