The Nail Beneath the Reeds
The Nail Beneath the Reeds
Read aloud
A crack has split the eastern road of the Sure Ground, and the stone marker that kept the route stable has vanished. Road warden Mara Venn offers payment to anyone who can find it before the next tremor. From the plateau's edge, a line of fresh footprints descends into the reeds.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 11. Discover where the ground nail was taken and why.
- 22. Reach the shrine with the nail before the next tremor destabilizes the eastern road.
- 33. Resolve the dispute between Steadfast and the marsh community.
- 44. Optional: uncover and restore the original seasonal agreement.Optional
The clock
The next major tremor is expected within one day. Use it to raise urgency: after the first major delay, a crack widens; after the next, the eastern road becomes difficult to cross; after a further delay, a section collapses and blocks the route.
Scenes
- 0:00A Road Without Its Nail
- 0:35Where the Plateau Ends
- 1:30The Record in the Cairn
- 2:10A Promise in the Water
- 3:15The Road's New Terms
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Tovin RuskWitness
- Sella-of-the-ReedAntagonist
- Old IriWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At Steadfast's road house, Mara Venn unrolls a survey map weighted with cups. A fresh crack cuts across the eastern route, and the marker stone that once stood beside it is gone. Tovin Rusk watches the map from the doorway, muddy boots leaving a trail on the floor. Mara asks the party to find the nail and return it before the next tremor.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party at the road house with a map, a modest advance, and an urgent request.
She emphasizes the danger to nearby farms, but avoids discussing the old shrine unless the party asks about the marker's history.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Road Without Its Nail
Steadfast's road house, where road wardens, traders, and farm representatives argue over the damaged route.
Mara assigns the task and explains the immediate danger. Questioning Tovin or inspecting the map reveals that the missing nail was last checked near a section of road that has recently subsided.
NextThe party follows the freshest track and survey marks toward the plateau's eastern edge.
0:35
55 min
skill
2. Where the Plateau Ends
The broken eastern shelf, where the plateau narrows above marshland and the road has fractured into tilted slabs.
The party follows the trail across the damaged road and tests unstable ground. They can use survey notes, local knowledge, careful probing, or a detour to cross safely.
The Broken ShelfNextA line of black-stone dust and reed fibers leads down toward the Sunken Shrine.
1:30
40 min
exploration
3. The Record in the Cairn
A sheltered hollow with a collapsed cairn, old tool marks, and a sealed cavity beneath its largest stone.
The party finds Old Iri at a marker cairn and can earn the history of the nail through respectful questions, an exchange of help, or a search of the cairn's sealed cavity.
NextThe route descends into the wetland, where the shrine's wardens are watching.
2:10
65 min
social
4. A Promise in the Water
The Sunken Shrine, a flooded stone court partly hidden by reeds.
Sella reveals that the nail was moved to restore the shrine's role. She will negotiate if the party acknowledges the dispute and offers a plan; if they threaten her, the wardens defend the plinth.
The Sunken ShrineNextThe party must choose where the nail belongs and carry its decision back to Steadfast.
3:15
45 min
social
5. The Road's New Terms
The road house at Steadfast, now crowded with people from farms affected by the cracking route.
The party presents its findings to Mara and the settlement council, then arranges a return, shared schedule, or other solution. If no agreement was reached, the council may insist on taking the nail by force.
NextResolve the immediate crisis, then use the open hooks to carry the consequences into a later adventure.
Behind it
What people believe
The ground nail that stabilizes the eastern road across the Sure Ground has vanished.
With the road cracking and tremors growing more frequent, road warden Mara Venn hires the party to track the missing marker, find out who took it, and return it before travel between Steadfast and the outlying farms becomes impossible.
Background
The Sure Ground is a broad, unusually stable plateau of dark stone surrounded by marshes, ravines, and shifting scree.
Its old road and scattered settlements rely on buried stone markers called ground nails, which keep paths from slipping into the surrounding unstable earth. For generations, locals have maintained the markers through communal rites and practical repairs. In recent weeks, the eastern road has begun to buckle, and the nearest ground nail has vanished.
The stakes
If the party fails, the eastern road may collapse, isolating farms and inviting conflict between Steadfast and the marsh community.
If they recover the nail without addressing its custodianship, the route may hold briefly while the wetlands continue to sink.
Encounters
2The Broken Shelf
Combat or avoidable hazard
A slanted stone shelf above a narrow ravine, with loose scree, a few stable outcrops, and a rope line left by road crews.
Foes
Sure Ground scavengers
Stoneback crawler
ComplicationThe approach crosses a tilted shelf of slick stone. Loud movement or heavy impacts can trigger a rockslide, separating combatants or blocking the retreat.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused party, use only the scavengers, who can be driven off through intimidation or a convincing offer. For a larger or stronger party, add a second crawler or have the shelf shift mid-encounter.
The Sunken Shrine
Social confrontation, with combat possible
A half-submerged stone court surrounded by reed beds, ankle-deep channels, and a central plinth where the ground nail rests.
Foes
Sella-of-the-Reed
Reedbank wardens
ComplicationThe guardian will not hand over the nail while the settlement's representatives deny the old agreement. If the party attacks, the marsh's unstable footing makes movement risky for everyone.
ScalingFor a lower-intensity scene, the wardens remain distant witnesses and Sella is open to negotiation. If the party escalates, use two wardens; for a stronger party, add another warden and make the water rise slowly during the conflict.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, road warden
WantsKeep the settlement of Steadfast safe and prevent panic while finding a practical solution.
“The road held through three floods and two wars. It should not be sinking now.”
Tovin Rusk
Witness, former marker keeper
WantsProtect her family and make amends for helping move the ground nail under false pretenses.
“I can show you where the stone was taken. I cannot promise you will like why.”
Sella-of-the-Reed
Antagonist, marsh guide and shrine guardian
WantsRestore the ground nail to the buried community shrine and expose the settlement's neglected obligations.
“That stone was never yours to command. It was a promise, and you broke it first.”
Old Iri
Wildcard, keeper of local histories
WantsKeep the old truth from being reduced to a simple tale of theft, while seeking a fair settlement for the shrine's people.
“The earth remembers every weight placed upon it. Ask what was buried before you ask who stole the stone.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A weatherproof surveyor's cloak, useful on wet or windy journeys
A brass road token that grants hospitality at Steadfast's road houses
Optional: a shard of the ground nail, which vibrates faintly near unstable earth
On a win
The road stabilizes when the ground nail is returned to its proper station and both communities agree on a maintenance plan.
The strongest resolution includes public acknowledgment of the old agreement, a shared schedule for the marker, and a promise to repair the damaged road without draining or burying the marsh. The nail can be returned through force, but doing so without an agreement buys only temporary calm.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot locate the shrine or recover the ground nail before the next major tremor.
- Steadfast's eastern road becomes impassable, isolating farms and delaying food shipments. The party can still reopen it later, but under worsening conditions.
- The party takes the nail by force or abandons the shrine without addressing the old agreement.
- The wardens conceal the shrine's records and regard Steadfast as an aggressor. Future negotiations in the marsh begin with distrust.
- The nail is returned, but the party does not secure consent or discover how the marker is meant to be maintained.
- The council installs the nail without renewing the agreement. The road steadies temporarily, but the plateau's edge continues to shift over the coming months.
Complications (d6)
- 1A rain-swollen fissure opens across the path; travelers must detour or secure a crossing before the next surge.
- 2A frightened pack animal bolts toward a soft verge, carrying a satchel of survey notes that could reveal the safest route.
- 3Steadfast's council sends a second party to retrieve the ground nail, creating a tense race and risking a confrontation with Sella.
- 4A tremor topples a marker stone, exposing a sealed cavity containing a record of the shrine's original agreement.
- 5A local patrol mistakes the party for accomplices in the theft and demands they surrender their gear for inspection.
- 6The ground nail briefly hums and points toward the shrine, but following its vibration leads across a patch of deceptively firm mud.
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