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Dungeons
Crypt · Medium · Medium

Third Survey Bell Tower

Water trembles in the entrance stair with every muffled toll from below.
Rooms
8
Foes
12, CR 1/4 to 4
Traps
3
Treasure
450 gp
12345678Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Third Survey Entry

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The drowned shrine's bound spirit, called the Bell-Warden by the few who know of it, now haunts the flooded base.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    Marsh StalkerCR 1/2

    When: A creature splashes loudly or bleeds into the water in rooms 2 through 6.A slick, reed-colored predator glides through the flooded corridors, its eye ridges barely visible above the water.
  2. 2

    1d3× Roving Patrol DeadCR 1

    When: The party rests in the dungeon or makes repeated loud noises near .A rust-armored patrol corpse drags a broken spear along the stone, following the faint vibration of the bell.
  3. 3

    1 swarm× Ceiling LeechesCR 2

    When: A light source is carried through a flooded corridor for more than ten minutes.A mass of pale leeches clings to the ceiling and drops onto warm bodies, then tries to escape into the nearest water.

Rooms

8
1

Third Survey Entry

treasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A tilted stair descends from a broken watch platform into shin-deep marsh water. Three stone survey marks remain above the surface, while a dark arch leads inward and carries the smell of wet rope.

Features

  • The entrance stair is slick with algae and descends into water that deepens toward the inner arch.
  • A half-submerged relief shows patrol boats passing beneath a bell tower.

What the GM knows

Treasure

Waterproof Patrol LedgerUseful information, worth 20 gp to a local historian

A sealed patrol ledger lists the tower's supply routes and includes a crude sketch of the shrine's altar mechanism.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

This is the safest place to take bearings and secure a rope. The bell's distant toll is audible here but does not yet cause harm.

2 doors: W (locked), N (normal)

The place

What it is

The Third Survey Bell Tower leans over a marsh pool, its upper stories split by roots and its lowest shrine drowned beneath black water.

Atmosphere

Brackish water laps at stone steps, and every few minutes a submerged bell gives a low, felt-through-the-bones note.

The threat

The drowned shrine's bound spirit, called the Bell-Warden by the few who know of it, now haunts the flooded base.

History

Surveyors numbered this tower Third on a marshland military map, then built it on foundations cleared from a drowned settlement.

Rumors

1d5
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A bell rings beneath the marsh even on windless nights, and each toll makes the causeway water rise.
  2. 2The tower's old patrols sealed a spring under the shrine because it spoke in the voices of drowned people.
  3. 3A fisher swears that a drowned guard followed their boat for half a mile without ever breaking the surface.
  4. 4The bronze bell is missing its tongue, and the keeper hid it where the dead were honored.
  5. 5The marsh pool drains away for a few minutes after a precise sequence of bell pulls.

Plot hooks

3
Urgent investigationThe Unwanted TollA causeway settlement's floodgates have begun opening by themselves whenever the distant bell sounds. The party must reach the tower and silence it before the next spring tide.From: Beka, a marsh gatekeeper whose family maintains the floodgatesReward: A reclaimed causeway toll chest and a safe passage through the marsh
RetrievalWater Under the BellA surveyor's map marks the tower's sealed spring as the source of a rare healing water. A local healer wants a sample, but the water is now tainted by the shrine's spirit.From: Otar Veli, a traveling mapmaker with a damaged survey rollReward: Payment for the sample and a map of hidden marsh paths
HauntingNames Beneath the WaterThe voice of a drowned ancestor has appeared in the dreams of a fisher's child, reciting the names on the tower's memorial tablets. The family asks the party to recover the tablets and give the dead a proper burial.From: Mikel, a net-mender from the nearest stilt hamletReward: A family heirloom and the gratitude of the marsh community

Corridors

3

  • Passage between and

    A line of iron rings runs along the wall above the waterline. Several hold scraps of rotted rope, and one ring trembles whenever the drowned bell sounds.

  • Passage between and

    The floor is covered in pale silt marked by narrow, fresh tracks that stop abruptly at the wall. A character who listens hears faint scraping behind the stones.

  • Passage between and

    A cracked stone gutter carries a steady current toward the shrine. Floating candle stubs move against the flow whenever the bell tolls.

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