The Bell Beneath the River
The Bell Beneath the River
Read aloud
The warning bell of Bellwether rings from the old floodgate, though the river is calm. Before dawn, water begins rising through the town's drains. Reeve Mara Venn offers a reward to anyone who can reach the Graylock and stop the next surge.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Discover why Bellwether's warning bell rang.
- 2Find the keystone that destabilized the gate.
- 3Stop the rising water and settle the Warden.
- 4Resolve Sella's involvement without leaving her free to endanger the town again.Optional
The clock
After each major delay or failed attempt to cross the tunnels, advance the water by one stage: damp floors, knee-high water, then a surge through the lower streets. At the final stage, the town floods unless the party stabilizes the seal. Use the pace that best fits the session.
Scenes
- 0:00The Bell and the Reeve
- 0:40The Old Works
- 1:25The Broken Sluice
- 2:25The Chamber Below
- 3:25A Town Above Water
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Orris PellAlly
- Sella RuskAntagonist
- Tavi ReedWitness
The hook
Set the scene
The characters arrive at Bellwether as residents carry furniture uphill from the lower streets. Reeve Mara Venn meets them beneath the silent warning bell, gives a brief account of the rising water, and offers access to the Graylock. Orris Pell recognizes fresh chisel marks near a service hatch and can explain how to reach the maintenance gallery.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn approaches the party in the market square, where residents are moving supplies out of the lower streets.
She offers the town's purse and a public thank-you, then privately asks them to avoid spreading panic until they know whether the gate can be repaired.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4 hours0:00
40 min
SocialThe table is here
1. The Bell and the Reeve
Bellwether market square and the old floodgate entrance
The party sees the rising water's effects, meets Mara, and chooses what to ask before entering the Graylock. An inspection of the service hatch reveals fresh tool marks.
NextOrris offers to guide the party to the maintenance gallery, while Tavi can point out a second entrance used by ferrymen.
0:40
45 min
Exploration
2. The Old Works
A wet, narrow service tunnel beneath the Graylock
The characters navigate the maintenance gallery, inspect the altered sluice, and decide whether to cross the flooded channel or redirect the water. Signs point toward Sella's crew.
NextA surge drives the party toward a gallery where Sella and her scavengers are searching for a route out.
1:25
60 min
Combat
3. The Broken Sluice
The sluice gallery, where water surges through a central channel
The party confronts Sella and her scavengers. They can fight, bargain, or use the water controls to separate the crew. The scene should reveal that Sella has the missing keystone or knows where she left it.
The Broken SluiceNextSella's belongings or testimony lead the party to the sealed chamber below the gate.
2:25
60 min
Skill
4. The Chamber Below
The circular chamber beneath the Graylock, with the spring rising around its central dais
The party identifies the chamber's three sockets, finds the Warden, and learns that it is reacting defensively rather than attacking out of malice. The group can fight, negotiate, or restore the seal.
The Warden's ChamberNextOnce the seal is stable, the water recedes and the party can return to Bellwether with the outcome.
3:25
30 min
Social
5. A Town Above Water
Bellwether's market square at first light
Mara and the residents learn what happened. The party decides what to report about Sella and the town council's neglected warnings, then receives its reward.
NextUse an open-ended hook if the group wants to continue into another adventure.
Behind it
What people believe
Bellwether's warning bell has rung without a flood, and water is rising through the town's drains.
Reeve Mara Venn asks the party to investigate the old Graylock floodgate, where signs of a recent break-in suggest someone may have disturbed its mechanisms. The party must find the source of the surges and make the gate safe before the next rise of the river.
Background
The riverside town of Bellwether depends on an old floodgate called the Graylock to keep spring waters from swallowing its lower streets.
The gate was built around a sealed stone chamber whose purpose has been forgotten. Three nights ago, its warning bell rang despite the absence of a flood, and the water level began rising against the current.
The stakes
If the Graylock remains unstable, the next surge will flood Bellwether's lower streets, threaten lives, and potentially release an unpredictable force from beneath the river.
Encounters
2The Broken Sluice
Combat
A narrow stone maintenance gallery with ankle-deep water, waist-high railings, and a central sluice channel. A handwheel can redirect the surge if a character reaches it.
Foes
2-4 Graylock scavengers, using suitable low-threat humanoid stat blocks
1 Sella Rusk, using a suitable low-threat bandit or expert stat block
ComplicationDuring the fight, a surge washes across the floor. Each round, a character standing in the marked channel must avoid being knocked prone or swept toward a lower culvert. Use an appropriate ability check or saving throw for your table.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use two scavengers and have Sella flee when badly hurt. For a larger or more capable party, add two scavengers and give Sella a position behind partial cover.
The Warden's Chamber
Combat or Social
A circular chamber beneath the gate, with a raised central dais, waist-deep water around its edge, and three stone sockets set into the wall. The missing keystone lies near the entrance.
Foes
The Drowned Warden, a custom water-bound guardian. Use a suitable moderate-threat monster stat block, describing its attacks as forceful sprays and stone-shaking blows.
ComplicationThe guardian reacts to forceful attempts to damage the seal by lashing out at the nearest creature. It becomes calm if the party restores the missing keystone or communicates its intention to protect the town.
ScalingFor a smaller or lower-level party, the Warden begins weakened and stops fighting once the seal is restored. For a larger or stronger party, add two minor water hazards that push or hinder movement without dealing significant damage.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, Bellwether's reeve
WantsKeep Bellwether's residents safe and avoid revealing that the town council ignored recent maintenance warnings.
“The bell rang once, then the river climbed. Find out why before my people lose their homes.”
Orris Pell
Ally, retired stonemason and local historian
WantsProve that the Graylock's old inscriptions describe a living ward, not a simple floodgate.
“The gate isn't failing. Someone has changed what it was built to hold back.”
Sella Rusk
Antagonist, salvage broker
WantsObtain the power beneath the gate to protect her family from creditors and leave Bellwether for good.
“A sealed door is still a door. Open it, and we can bargain with whatever is inside.”
Tavi Reed
Witness, young ferryman
WantsMake amends for helping Sella enter the Graylock tunnels, while keeping their younger sibling out of trouble.
“I heard Sella say the bell would call the river's guardian. I thought she meant a person.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Graylock Keystone, a heavy engraved stone that can serve as proof of the party's role in the repair. It has no assumed magical properties.
Orris's waterproof map of the Graylock tunnels.
On a win
The characters restore the keystone and align the seal, stopping the surges.
The Warden calms and withdraws into the chamber, while Bellwether's residents return to their homes. The town rewards the party; its attitude toward Sella depends on how they handled her.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to stabilize the Graylock before the next surge.
- The lower streets flood, displacing residents and damaging shops. The party can still recover the keystone, but Bellwether will need outside aid and the reeve's trust is strained.
- The party does not stop Sella from leaving the tunnels with the rubbing.
- Sella escapes with a rubbing of the chamber's inscriptions. She may sell it to a dangerous buyer, creating a future threat.
- The party destroys or drives off the Warden without repairing the seal.
- The Warden withdraws beneath the chamber, leaving the seal unstable. The town is safe for the moment, but the warning bell will ring again when the next high water comes.
Complications (d6)
- 1A surge floods the lower passage to knee height, making movement difficult and threatening to extinguish exposed lanterns.
- 2A loose iron counterweight drops into the passage. It blocks the direct route until the characters shift it or find another way around.
- 3A frightened town worker mistakes the party for Sella's accomplices and raises an alarm, drawing a small crowd that demands answers.
- 4The warning bell rings again. Anyone in the Graylock hears a low answering sound from beneath the stone floor.
- 5Sella's abandoned satchel spills a map fragment into the current. Recovering it costs time and risks losing other supplies.
- 6A brace slips from its socket. Someone must hold it in place while another character secures it, or the next water surge reaches the chamber.
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