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The Bell Beneath the Split Seam

Quests
5 scenes · about 4.5 hours · 2 encounters

The Bell Beneath the Split Seam

A bell rings beneath the earth, and the stones remember who is listening.

Read aloud

At dusk, a bell tolls from beneath the earth, though the old mine has been sealed for generations. Every well in the settlement ripples in answer, and the water tastes faintly of stone. Mara Venn offers a map, a lantern, and a reward to anyone who can find the source before the next toll.

Run the session

Scene
1/5
The Water Answers
Objectives
0/4
Objectives
A complication

Cheat sheet

Objectives

  1. 11. Find the source of the underground bell.
  2. 22. Learn what has changed inside the dungeon and secure a reliable route to the lower vault.
  3. 33. Prevent the bell's next pulse without making the seal catastrophically unstable.
  4. 44. Decide what to do with Nim, the echo-being encountered in the dungeon.Optional

The clock

The bell tolls again at dawn. Each toll worsens the pressure in the lower vault and spreads the disturbance through connected wells and cisterns.

Scenes

  1. 0:00The Water Answers
  2. 0:35Two Kinds of Stone
  3. 1:30The Bell Gallery
  4. 2:30The Warden's Terms
  5. 3:45Hold the Seam

Cast

  • Mara VennQuestgiver
  • Ilyan RuskAlly
  • The Warden in SlateAntagonist
  • NimWildcard

The hook

Set the scene

The party meets Mara Venn beside the settlement's largest cistern as its surface ripples in time with a distant toll. A thin line of pale grit has appeared at the base of the sealed mine entrance. Mara gives the party an old survey map and explains that the bell sounded twice last night, each time followed by a drop in the cistern level. Ilyan Rusk, who entered the Split Seam to investigate, has not returned.

How Mara Venn asks

Mara approaches the party at the cistern after the second bell toll, offering a practical contract: investigate the dungeon, bring Ilyan home if possible, and prevent the next pulse from disturbing the settlement's water.

Rumours

Roll a rumour

1“The bell only rings when someone underground lies.”
2“The Split Seam was built by two rival kingdoms who tried to bury a shared crime.”
3“A surveyor once returned from the dungeon with a map showing a room that did not exist the day before.”
4“The cistern water is oldest on the nights the bell rings.”
5“The masked guardians are not alive, but they remember everyone who has passed them.”

Scenes

about 4.5 hours

  1. 0:00

    35 min

    socialThe table is here

    1. The Water Answers

    The settlement's stone cistern at dusk, with villagers gathered around rippling water.

    Mara hires the party, explains the missing surveyor's route, and asks them to keep the cistern-keepers calm. A successful conversation can earn a second map showing maintenance tunnels.

    NextMara leads the party to the sealed mine entrance and gives them the survey map.

  2. 0:35

    55 min

    exploration

    2. Two Kinds of Stone

    The upper passages, where black basalt and pale limestone meet in shifting, sharply angled corridors.

    The party enters the Split Seam and navigates corridors that do not align with the map. They find Ilyan's abandoned marker stones and may encounter Nim, who offers directions in exchange for a promise.

    NextA distant toll draws the party toward the Bell Gallery, while Ilyan's trail descends past it.

  3. 1:30

    60 min

    combat

    3. The Bell Gallery

    A fissure-cut gallery hung with bronze bells and lined with narrow stone ledges.

    The party must cross the gallery while responding to the bell's vibration. They can fight the guardians, evade them, or use the bells and unstable floor to create a safe crossing.

    The Bell Gallery

    NextA fallen panel or the guardian's retreat exposes a service stair into the lower vault.

  4. 2:30

    75 min

    social

    4. The Warden's Terms

    The lower vault, where a stone mechanism straddles the boundary between the two kinds of masonry.

    The party finds Ilyan and confronts the Warden, who explains that the mechanism is both a seal and a pressure regulator. The group must choose whether to bargain, repair the system, force it open, or seek another solution.

    The Lower Seal

    NextThe party's decision determines whether the bell falls silent, changes its pattern, or opens a passage below.

  5. 3:45

    45 min

    skill

    5. Hold the Seam

    The lower seal chamber as its stone plates begin to shift and the pressure in the fissures rises.

    The party carries out its chosen solution under time pressure as the next toll approaches. Nim's true nature becomes clear if it is present, and the party must decide whether it is a threat, a prisoner, or a possible ally.

    NextResolve the party's success or failure, then show the consequences in the settlement and the dungeon.

Behind it

What people believe

A buried complex called the Split Seam has begun ringing a bell beneath the earth.

Background

The Split Seam is a buried complex where two ancient stoneworks meet at an impossible angle.

The stakes

If the party does nothing, the next bell pulse will disturb the underground water network, threaten the settlement's cisterns, and further weaken a seal whose true purpose is unknown to the locals.

Encounters

2

  • The Bell Gallery

    Combat or evasion

    A long gallery divided by a deep floor fissure, with hanging bronze bells, narrow ledges, and loose stone panels.

    Foes

    • Seam-Hounds, pale stone-bodied predators that track vibration

    • A Bell-Sentinel, a jointed guardian made from basalt plates

    ComplicationWhen the bell tolls, a section of floor tilts toward a narrow fissure. The party must move, secure themselves, or risk being separated.

    ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused group, use one Seam-Hound and make the Bell-Sentinel withdraw after one clear show of force. For a larger or more capable group, add two Seam-Hounds and have the Sentinel use the shifting floor tactically.

  • The Lower Seal

    Social or combat

    A circular vault where black basalt and pale limestone meet around a waist-high stone mechanism. Thin fissures cross the floor, and a narrow stair leads to the outer side of the seal.

    Foes

    • The Warden in Slate

    • Two Slatebound Keepers, masked attendants who follow the Warden's commands

    ComplicationThe chamber's pressure changes whenever the party raises its voice or strikes the walls. Each loud outburst causes a brief stone shift that can separate speakers or block an exit.

    ScalingThe Warden can be persuaded to stand down if the party demonstrates care for the seal or offers a credible plan to stabilize it. For a gentler challenge, one Keeper is absent. For a tougher challenge, the Warden activates a moving stone barrier that divides the chamber.

Cast

4

  • Mara Venn

    QuestgiverQuestgiver, keeper of the settlement's cisterns

    WantsWants the dungeon's strange signals stopped before panic empties the nearby settlement.

    “The bell rang from below, and every well in town answered. Find the thing making that sound before it calls again.”

  • Ilyan Rusk

    Ally, surviving architectural surveyor

    WantsWants to retrieve her missing survey partner and preserve the dungeon's original seals, even if that means keeping its purpose secret.

    “The seam is not a wound. It is a stitch. You should be more worried about what is pulling the thread.”

  • The Warden in Slate

    Antagonist, masked guardian of the lower vault

    WantsBelieves the dungeon's inhabitants must keep the seal intact and will use force against anyone threatening it.

    “You call this a prison because you came from the outside. I call it the last wall between us and hunger.”

  • Nim

    Wildcard, a small echo-being that imitates voices it has heard

    WantsWants to escape the dungeon and hide the fact that it has been taking memories from intruders.

    “I can show you where the floor lies, if you promise not to make it remember me.”

How it ends

Rewards

Experience: Award experience appropriate to the system for completing the investigation, overcoming or avoiding the encounters, and making a consequential choice about the seal.
Gold: A modest purse from Mara, enough to represent a meaningful local contract. Increase it if the party returns Ilyan and the survey notes intact.
In the story: The party earns a reputation as people willing to face the Split Seam. Mara and Ilyan can become recurring contacts, while the Warden may become either a wary ally or a persistent foe.
Standing: The settlement's cistern-keepers offer lasting trust and practical aid if the water supply is protected. If the party deals honorably with the Warden, the Slatebound Keepers may grant access to a safe passage through the upper dungeon.

Items

  • A brass surveyor's compass that points toward the nearest stable stone corridor while inside the Split Seam.

  • A sealed flask of mineral-rich water from the cistern, valued as a local curiosity and useful proof of the party's service.

  • Ilyan's annotated field map, if recovered, showing safe routes through the upper galleries.

On a win

The party stops or redirects the bell's next pulse and returns with Ilyan, the survey notes, or convincing evidence of what lies below.

What it leaves open

If the seal remains intact, the Warden asks the party to investigate another failing section of the dungeon before it becomes too late.
If Nim leaves with the party, it begins repeating voices from places the party has not yet visited, suggesting the colony has other routes into the world.
If the seal is opened, the newly exposed passage bears construction marks matching no known civilization, and a bell answers from far below.
The settlement's leaders may dispute whether the party should share the truth about the dungeon or conceal it to prevent a rush of treasure seekers.

If it fails

The party fails to stop the recurring bell before the next pulse.
If the party cannot stabilize the mechanism, the bell's pulse spreads through underground water. The nearby settlement's cisterns become unreliable, and the dungeon grows easier for its inhabitants to reach.
The party fails to protect or recover Ilyan.
If the party attacks or abandons Ilyan, the surveyor's notes are lost in the shifting corridors. Future expeditions lack a trustworthy map, and Ilyan may be taken by the Warden.
The party resolves the crisis through destructive force without finding a stable way to secure the mechanism.
If the seal is broken deliberately or by careless force, a pressure wave opens a passage into a deeper, uncharted section. The immediate threat subsides, but something on the far side begins to answer the bell.

Complications (d6)

  1. 1A seam in the wall exhales a cloud of bitter white dust. Anyone who breathes it hears a loved one's voice calling from the wrong direction.
  2. 2The route behind the party shifts by one corridor. Their marks remain visible, but now appear on the wrong side of each turn.
  3. 3A water channel reverses flow and begins draining a nearby cistern chamber, exposing unstable stone and something caught beneath the silt.
  4. 4Nim repeats a private sentence spoken by one party member, then claims to have heard it from someone deeper in the dungeon.
  5. 5A distant bell rings once. Until the party finds cover or leaves the chamber, every loose stone trembles toward the nearest seam.
  6. 6The Warden's patrol arrives early, carrying a fresh strip of pale stone that bears the name of someone in the party.

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