The Bell Beneath the Briars
The Bell Beneath the Briars
Read aloud
A silver bell is being kept in a fey manor that rearranges itself after every midnight chime. Mira Thistledown offers you a map, a purse of gold, and one warning: the bell must be stolen before the Briar Masque's procession begins. She asks you to bring it to her, unopened and unrung.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Infiltrate the Thorn Archive.
- 2Steal the silver bell before the procession.
- 3Get the bell out and choose what to do with it.
- 4Uncover the truth behind the missing mortal.Optional
The clock
The Briar Masque's procession begins at midnight. Each major delay, loud alarm, or public breach of etiquette advances the court's preparations. After three such delays, Veyra takes the bell from the vault and begins the sealing rite.
Scenes
- 0:00The Invitation in the Conservatory
- 0:30The Orchard That Forgets
- 1:15The Masquerade of Borrowed Faces
- 2:15The Bell Vault
- 3:15The Escape That Keeps Moving
Cast
- Mira ThistledownQuestgiver and former court artisan
- Pell UnderboughAlly and Archive concierge
- Lady Veyra of the Briar MasqueAntagonist and fey court collector
- Nella ReedWitness and mortal errand-runner
The hook
Set the scene
Mira meets the party in the back room of a closed flower shop, where every blossom faces away from the windows. She lays out a hand-drawn map that changes whenever anyone looks away. She says the Archive will admit guests for the Masque's celebration, but warns that its rules are literal: accept no gift without naming a price, never promise what you cannot deliver, and do not follow a voice calling from a mirror.
How Mira Thistledown asks
Mira approaches the party through a trusted intermediary or leaves an invitation sealed with a pressed white rose.
She offers a partial advance, a rough map that subtly changes, and a promise to explain the bell's significance after it is safely delivered.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4.5 hours0:00
30 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Invitation in the Conservatory
A shuttered flower shop near the city canal, with a hidden door into an abandoned conservatory.
Mira hires the party, explains the limits of her knowledge, and gives them a map, an invitation, and the three rules she believes are safest to follow.
NextThe invitation names the Thorn Archive as the site of the Briar Masque's celebration. The party can gather supplies or seek more information before following it.
0:30
45 min
exploration
2. The Orchard That Forgets
A moonlit orchard surrounding a manor whose windows show different seasons and whose paths curl back on themselves.
The party crosses into the fey realm and reaches the Archive. They can pose as guests, exploit the entry rules, or find a way through the manor's outer grounds.
NextPell Underbough recognizes the party's invitation and offers to guide them, provided they observe the Archive's etiquette.
1:15
60 min
social
3. The Masquerade of Borrowed Faces
A masked ballroom with mirrored walls, living topiary, and a balcony overlooking the manor's impossible interior.
The party must move through the celebration without drawing attention, obtain access to the restricted wing, and decide whether to accept help from guests with their own agendas.
The Masquerade of Borrowed FacesNextPell can provide a route to the vault, but the route passes through a staircase that the Archive rearranges when it senses intruders.
2:15
60 min
skill
4. The Bell Vault
The Archive's restricted wing, ending in a glass-walled vault surrounded by thorned stone alcoves.
The party navigates the vault's protections, removes the bell, and handles the consequences if it rings or if the wardens arrive.
The Bell VaultNextRemoving the bell triggers the Archive's alarm or causes the manor to shift, forcing the party to escape through the living staircase.
3:15
60 min
combat
5. The Escape That Keeps Moving
A twisting stairwell inside a hollow tree, opening onto the fey crossing and the mortal side beyond.
The party fights, bargains, or outmaneuvers pursuit while the staircase changes beneath them, then decides whether to deliver, ring, hide, or bargain with the bell.
The Staircase That Runs AwayNextOnce the party reaches the crossing, resolve the bell's immediate fate and give Mira, Veyra, or the freed captive a chance to make a final offer.
Behind it
What people believe
A silver bell from the Briar Masque's fey court is held in the Thorn Archive, a shifting manor that opens to invited guests during a midnight celebration.
Mira Thistledown wants a capable crew to retrieve it before the procession begins. The Archive is protected by strange customs, living defenses, and guards who prefer to take captives rather than kill intruders. The bell may have significance beyond its value, but Mira insists that the party bring it to her unopened and unrung.
Background
Once each century, the fey court of the Briar Masque permits a mortal city to borrow a silver bell whose peal keeps dangerous fey crossings dormant.
The bell is currently held in the Thorn Archive, a moving manor where rooms rearrange according to the etiquette of its inhabitants. A former court artisan has hired the party to steal it before the Masque's midnight procession.
The stakes
If the party fails, Veyra may close the crossing with people still trapped on the far side, while the original bargain and Mira's involvement remain concealed.
If the party succeeds, they gain control over the bell's fate, but ringing it may alter the crossing and expose a debt that powerful fey would prefer forgotten.
Encounters
3The Masquerade of Borrowed Faces
Social encounter with optional combat
A ballroom of polished blackwood, hanging vines, tall mirrors, and a central dance floor. Mirrors offer cover and confusing sightlines; the vines can be climbed or cut.
Foes
Lady Veyra of the Briar Masque
2 Briar Masque wardens
ComplicationThe masquerade's guests treat a direct accusation as a breach of etiquette. If the party exposes their intentions, Veyra can call for a formal duel or summon her guards.
ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, use one warden and have Veyra withdraw rather than fight to the end. For a stronger party, add one warden and let Veyra use the ballroom's hazards. The wardens and Veyra use suitable published stat blocks selected by the GM; any Archive-specific abilities are custom.
The Bell Vault
Combat or skill challenge
A circular vault with waist-high stone plinths, thorned alcoves, and a suspended silver bell inside a glass cage. The cage is protected by visible tripwires and a floor that tilts when the bell is removed.
Foes
1 Thorn Archive sentinel
2 animated topiary hounds
ComplicationEach round after the alarm, the bell's vibration causes a nearby bell-shaped crystal to ring. The third ring awakens the archive guardian. Characters can stop the sequence by muffling or disabling the crystals.
ScalingUse a suitable construct or plant creature stat block for the sentinel and hounds, adjusted to the party. For an easier version, the sentinel begins dormant and can be bypassed with a successful plan. For a harder version, add a second sentinel. These creatures are encounter suggestions, not official named D&D creatures.
The Staircase That Runs Away
Combat and traversal
A spiraling staircase suspended in a hollow tree, with branches, narrow landings, and open drops into a fog-filled hollow. The party can climb, jump between landings, disable the mechanism, or bargain for a shortcut.
Foes
2 Briar Masque wardens
ComplicationAt the end of each round, the shifting staircase changes orientation. Anyone who fails to brace, grab a rail, or otherwise respond slides toward a lower landing, taking a dangerous detour and losing time.
ScalingThe wardens attempt to capture rather than kill. For a less capable party, use one warden and let Pell reveal a safe route. For a stronger party, add a third warden or make the staircase shift more often. Use a suitable published stat block for each warden; the shifting staircase is a custom hazard.
Cast
4Mira Thistledown
QuestgiverQuestgiver and former court artisan
WantsRecover the bell before the court uses it to seal away evidence of a mortal bargain she helped arrange.
“I need the bell out before the procession. What happens after that is a problem for a different set of people.”
Pell Underbough
Ally and Archive concierge
WantsKeep the Archive's guests alive and its rules intact, while quietly resenting the Masque's cruelty.
“A guest who asks directly for the door has not yet learned which door is listening.”
Lady Veyra of the Briar Masque
Antagonist and fey court collector
WantsUse the bell to close a fey crossing permanently, even if doing so strands people on the wrong side.
“The bell is not stolen. It is returned to the hand that can ring it.”
Nella Reed
Witness and mortal errand-runner
WantsFind her missing brother, who vanished into the Archive while investigating the bell.
“I heard my brother's voice from inside the bell. It knew what I called him when we were children.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A moon-silver mask that grants advantage on one Charisma check made to pass as a guest of the Briar Masque; the mask then loses its magic. This is a custom single-use reward.
A small pouch of fey mint that can be brewed as a potion granting advantage on one check to resist being charmed; this is a custom consumable.
On a win
The party escapes with the bell or reaches a negotiated resolution before the midnight procession.
Their success may free the captive voice, expose the original bargain, or prevent Veyra from closing the crossing. What counts as a clean victory depends on whom they trust and what price they accept.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- Veyra offers a bargain: surrender one treasured memory, in a form chosen by the player, in exchange for a chance to leave. The party can still pursue the bell later, but the court knows their faces.
- The party is caught before reaching the vault.
- The crossing seals unevenly. One person or object of the GM's choice is stranded in the fey realm, creating an urgent rescue adventure.
- The party steals the bell but cannot keep it from ringing.
- Veyra uses the bell during the procession. The crossing closes, and anyone trapped beyond it is presumed lost. Mira's role in the original bargain may become public.
- The party leaves without the bell or fails to escape the Archive.
Complications (d6)
- 1A servant announces that one character's name has been entered in the guest ledger. Until the entry is removed or amended, Archive staff address that character as a debtor and demand a favor before allowing access to restricted rooms.
- 2A corridor turns into a moonlit pond. Crossing without getting wet requires a suitable plan or a group skill check; anyone who falls in emerges from the nearest mirror, separated from the group.
- 3A masked guest recognizes Pell and loudly accuses him of helping mortals. Pell's cover is threatened unless the party distracts the guest, convinces them otherwise, or accepts a public etiquette challenge.
- 4The Archive's clock strikes thirteen. For the next ten minutes, each character who speaks a deliberate lie hears it repeated by a nearby flower, mirror, or portrait.
- 5A pair of animated topiary hounds begin tracking the party's scent. They do not attack immediately, but lead Archive guards to the group's location if not misdirected.
- 6The bell gives a single muted chime from its vault. A character who hears it briefly sees a memory of someone they miss, and must choose whether to follow the vision or stay with the plan.
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