1. 0:00

   75 min

   socialThe table is here

   1. The Basin Council Hearing

   The Stewards' Hall at First Rain Market, crowded under a roof drumming with rain.

   Establish the wet, crowded valley and the competing claims. Haddon speaks for the Stewards, while Compact representatives challenge the posted reservoir count. If the party presents a Proof, it can demonstrate the Unaltered Ledger publicly. Afterward, Sefra offers Proof 4 if the party has shown it will not weaponize the record against the Stewards. A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that Haddon is afraid rather than simply dishonest. Rennick Marrowgate watches from the gallery and later offers a polite inquiry, keeping his distance from the casket.

   NextAs the hearing breaks into murmurs and damp cloaks brush past, Sefra leads the party beneath the hall's eaves and puts the sluice log into their hands, then points them toward a grower waiting under the market awning.

2. 1:15

   35 min

   investigation

   2. The Measure in the Margin

   A market awning among baskets of damp greens and the smell of channel moss.

   Optional scene. Wenna, a rainforest grower, shows the party water-allotment and crop-weight records that do not agree. A DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that market weights were capped over several years in a pattern that tracks the reservoir fracture. If the party shares this finding openly at the hearing, it earns +1 Standing with the Valley Stewards, a week of provisions, and a letter of introduction to the terrace growers of the Bastions. The records offer an alternate way to establish the pattern behind Proof 4, though they do not replace the need to measure the fracture.

   NextWenna folds the mismatched records carefully and watches the rain run off the awning; the party follows the channels away from the market toward the dark opening of the Root-Choked Sinks.

3. 1:50

   75 min

   exploration

   3. The Root-Choked Sinks

   A three-hundred-foot sinkhole of wet stone and black roots, with warm, green-smelling air rising from below.

   Run the sinkhole descent as a skill challenge, requiring 5 successes before 3 failures at DC 14. On each failure, a Miller's Mule stirs in the depths. At the bottom, the party can measure the fracture with a cord and rod, earning Proof 6 on a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check or mason's tools check. The result matches the sluice log and contradicts the posted count. Show the Titan-Root Gate on the lowest ledge without explaining its purpose; the Ledger gives no color beside it.

   The Root-Choked Sinks

   NextThe cord pulls taut over the measured crack, and the party records the true figure; as they climb back into the rain, a quarry runner arrives breathless with news that Jargun's crew is trapped below.

4. 3:05

   75 min

   combat

   4. The Quarry's Answer

   The stepped Sound-Stone Quarry, where the ringing walls shiver and loose gravel skates toward a lower pit.

   Jargun Kesh asks for immediate help. Use the quarry encounter. The Bellback's song shifts unbraced creatures across the loose tiers while a Miller's Mule threatens the miners' route. The party must defeat or drive off the threats and use actions to pull the eleven trapped miners clear. Jargun gives the party Proof 5, the fracture survey withheld by Thrain, if the crew is saved.

   Rescue at Sound-Stone Quarry

   NextWith the last miner hauled onto stable ground, the quarry's ringing falls away; Jargun presses the folded fracture survey into the party's hands and asks them to take it back to the councils.

5. 4:20

   60 min

   social

   5. The Two Councils

   The Stewards' Hall, with the two council delegations facing each other beneath the sound of rain on the roof.

   Bring Haddon and Thrain into the same room and present the evidence. With two or more of Proofs 4, 5, and 6, both councils sign the true figures and agree to post them. If the party has fewer than two Proofs, or chooses not to publish its evidence, offer the Three Readings: a skill challenge requiring 3 successes before 2 failures at DC 14. Appropriate checks include Wisdom (Insight), Charisma (Persuasion), Intelligence (Investigation), and Wisdom (Survival). On success, both councils sign; on failure, the dispute hardens and both groups become enemies. Haddon and Thrain each ask the party not to tell the Registry what was hidden.

   NextWhen the signatures are set beside the true figures, the rain eases to a soft patter, and the party carries the records toward the road, with the choice of disclosure still moving beside them.

• The Root-Choked Sinks

  Exploration and skill challenge

  A sinkhole drops roughly three hundred feet in slick ledges tangled with black roots. Warm, spore-heavy air rises from below. A sealed adamantine tunnel, the Titan-Root Gate, is visible on the lowest ledge; the Ledger gives no sign beside it.

  Foes

  • Miller's Mule, awakened by a failed descent check

  ComplicationThe descent is a skill challenge requiring 5 successes before 3 failures at DC 14. Suitable approaches include Strength (Athletics) to climb roots, Wisdom (Survival) to choose ledges, Intelligence (Investigation) to read the strata, and Constitution saving throws to resist spores. Each failure wakes one Miller's Mule, a custom fungal bull-toad described in the campaign notes. Resolve any resulting confrontation using the creature's established statistics if available. At the bottom, a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check or mason's tools check measures the fracture and earns Proof 6.

  ScalingThe main challenge is the descent, not a required fight. For a party that is struggling, have an awakened Miller's Mule threaten a ledge or block a route instead of forcing a combat. For a party that is handling the challenge easily, a second failure may awaken another, which remains avoidable through careful play.

• Rescue at Sound-Stone Quarry

  Combat and rescue

  A stepped stone quarry descends toward a lower pit. Loose rubble shifts underfoot, sound rings between the walls, and the trapped miners are stranded on the lowest tier.

  Foes

  • Bellback

  • Miller's Mule

  ComplicationThe stepped pit has a three-ledge fall and loose stone on every tier. At the end of each round, each creature not braced makes a DC 13 Strength saving throw or is pushed 10 feet by the Bellback's resonant song. This push is a custom encounter feature for this adventure, not a general monster rule. Eleven miners are trapped on the lowest tier. A character can use an action to pull one miner clear. Each miner not rescued costs the party 1 Standing with the Third Survey Compact.

  ScalingFor four 5th-level characters, use the supplied Moderate encounter benchmark of 3,400 XP. If the party has fewer than four characters or has spent significant resources, remove the Miller's Mule or have the miners provide a useful distraction. For a larger or well-rested party, make reaching the trapped crew more demanding by placing loose stone across the safest tier. The rescue objective remains primary.

• Haddon Spore-Gazer

  First Steward and social obstacle

  WantsHaddon fears that public disclosure will fracture cooperation between the growers and the Stewards. He has limited market weights in response to the reservoir damage, concealing the reason while trying to preserve food and water supplies.

  “The count says the reservoir is sound. The water does not care what the count says.”

• Thrain Sound-Seeker

  Overseer of the Third Survey Compact and reluctant ally

  WantsThrain wants the Compact’s evidence recognized and the cost of reservoir maintenance assigned fairly. He has withheld the quarry fracture survey, fearing it would expose his own long silence.

  “A levy is not a repair. Show me a measurement that both sides can stand beside.”

• Jargun Kesh

  Quarry captain and witness

  WantsJargun wants his trapped miners rescued and the quarry kept open. He will hand over the fracture survey once the party saves his crew.

  “My crew is still down there. Whatever you think of my survey, get them out first.”

• Sefra

  QuestgiverSenior Sluice-Warden and ally

  WantsSefra wants the sluice records handled in a way that protects the people who depend on the system. She will give the party the log if they demonstrate care rather than a desire to publicly shame the Stewards.

  “A true number can still be used like a weapon. Tell me what you plan to do with it.”

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