The Bell Beneath Brackenford
The Bell Beneath Brackenford
Read aloud
A bell rings beneath the river at midnight, and by dawn the water has flowed upstream. Dregn Salki offers you good coin to retrieve a ledger from the drowned tollhouse before the next ringing. As you take his contract, a soaked child appears in the doorway and whispers, "Please don't let him ring it again."
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find a safe way into the tollhouse before the next midnight ringing.
- 2Locate the ledger and investigate the bell.
- 3Stop the bell from drawing people into the river.
- 4Expose Dregn's role in the tollkeeper's tragedy.Optional
The clock
At midnight, the bell rings three times. Each ringing pulls the river current toward the tollhouse and makes the blue lanterns brighter. After three nights, the nearest riverside homes are at risk of being swept away or lured into the water.
Scenes
- 0:00A Contract Before Midnight
- 0:30The River's Witnesses
- 1:05Under the Blue Lanterns
- 1:45The Tollhouse Below
- 2:45What the River Keeps
Cast
- Dregn SalkiQuestgiver and salvage broker
- Mara VennWitness and keeper of Brackenford's riverside…
- Orris ReedWildcard and former tollhouse attendant
- The Bell-KeeperAntagonist and bound spirit
The hook
Set the scene
Dregn receives the party in a shuttered riverside warehouse. He offers an advance and a map marked with the old tollhouse's entrance, but carefully describes the iron case as worthless junk. During the meeting, a soaked child appears at the door, says the bell is calling again, and vanishes before anyone can stop them. The scene establishes Dregn's contract, the immediate danger, and the question of whether he is telling the whole truth.
How Dregn Salki asks
Dregn approaches the party through a local innkeeper or sends a discreet messenger.
He offers half the fee up front and insists on a private conversation, framing the job as a time-sensitive recovery rather than a supernatural investigation.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
30 min
SocialThe table is here
1. A Contract Before Midnight
Dregn's shuttered warehouse on Brackenford's riverfront.
Dregn offers the contract, conceals the case's importance, and is interrupted by a soaked child's warning. The party can question him, accept the job, or seek local testimony first.
NextThe party can speak with Mara at the riverside shrine before following Dregn's map to the flooded approach.
0:30
35 min
Exploration
2. The River's Witnesses
Brackenford's riverside shrine and the abandoned record office nearby.
Mara describes the bell's timing and the missing people who followed its sound. She points out that the bell tolls three times, then pauses as if waiting for an answer. The party can gather information, secure gear, and learn the tollhouse attendant's name from old records.
NextAt dusk, the party follows the blue lanterns to a choice of entrance: a broken footbridge or a submerged culvert.
1:05
40 min
Skill
3. Under the Blue Lanterns
The flooded approach to the old tollhouse.
The party crosses an unstable bridge or navigates the culvert. Sentries try to drive intruders away, but extinguishing the lanterns or using the tollkeeper's name may avert a fight. Signs suggest the bell's power is concentrated deeper inside.
The Lantern BridgeNextBeyond the approach, a narrow passage leads to the chamber where the bell rings below the waterline.
1:45
60 min
Combat
4. The Tollhouse Below
The tollhouse's flooded bell chamber.
The party finds the ledger beside a sealed iron case and confronts the Bell-Keeper. The party can fight, bargain, promise to fulfill his old duty, or try to free the spirit by interrupting the bell's connection to the river.
The Tollhouse BelowNextWith the ringing stopped or temporarily quiet, the party must decide who receives the ledger and what to do with the case.
2:45
35 min
Social
5. What the River Keeps
The riverside warehouse or the shrine at first light.
The party can return the ledger to Dregn, give it to Mara, or reveal its contents publicly. Dregn reacts according to their choice, and the Bell-Keeper's fate determines whether Brackenford's riverfront is safe.
NextResolve payment and local reactions, then use an open-ended hook to continue the story if desired.
Behind it
What people believe
The old river bell at Brackenford has begun ringing beneath the water, and each night the river briefly runs upstream.
Salvage broker Dregn Salki hires the party to recover a brass ledger from the drowned tollhouse and stop the phenomenon before someone is lost. Locals disagree about whether the bell is a warning, a haunting, or a sign that the river itself is changing.
Background
Dregn Salki is a salvage broker known for recovering useful things from places other people consider cursed, condemned, or simply too dangerous to enter.
Three nights ago, the old river bell at Brackenford rang beneath the waterline. Since then, the river has run backward for a few minutes each night, and a string of blue lanterns has appeared along its submerged course.
The stakes
If the party delays or mishandles the bell, Brackenford's residents may follow its call into the river.
If they recover the ledger but surrender the case to Dregn, his role in the original tragedy may remain hidden and the Bell-Keeper's promise may go unfulfilled.
Encounters
2The Tollhouse Below
Combat or negotiation
A flooded stone chamber with narrow walkways, waist-deep water, a waist-high sluice wheel, and a cracked bell suspended over a dark shaft.
Foes
River-warped tollhouse sentries
The Bell-Keeper, if negotiations fail
ComplicationThe chamber fills slowly with rising water. After a few rounds or a comparable stretch of tense action, the lowest route becomes difficult to cross. The party can slow the water by wedging the sluice or opening a pressure vent.
ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, use one sentry and have the Bell-Keeper focus on warnings and environmental hazards. For a larger or more capable party, add two sentries and let the Bell-Keeper manipulate the bell's echoes to separate characters. The Bell-Keeper can be calmed or released without defeating him.
The Lantern Bridge
Combat or skill challenge
A narrow, partially submerged footbridge between the tollhouse entrance and the bell chamber, lit by blue lanterns that burn underwater.
Foes
River-warped tollhouse sentries
ComplicationThe bridge shifts under pressure. A character who rushes risks being separated from the group, while a careful crossing gives the Bell-Keeper time to ring the bell again.
ScalingFor an easier passage, the sentries retreat if the party extinguishes the blue lanterns or speaks the tollkeeper's name. For a harder passage, add a second unstable section and let the sentries attempt to shove characters into the shallow current.
Cast
4Dregn Salki
QuestgiverQuestgiver and salvage broker
WantsDregn wants the ledger and the sealed iron case stored with it, both for their value and because he believes the case contains evidence that could ruin him.
“Bring me the brass ledger from the drowned tollhouse, and I will pay for the trouble. Do not mistake my caution for fear.”
Mara Venn
Witness and keeper of Brackenford's riverside shrine
WantsMara wants the party to learn what happened to the tollkeeper's family and prevent another person from being drawn into the river.
“The bell is not calling the dead. It is calling someone who was promised a way home.”
Orris Reed
Wildcard and former tollhouse attendant
WantsOrris wants to protect the drowned tollhouse and the river spirit trapped within, but will bargain if the party offers a sincere way to free it.
“I have spent years keeping that door shut. If Dregn sent you, you have already opened it.”
The Bell-Keeper
Antagonist and bound spirit
WantsThe drowned tollkeeper wants to keep his promise to guide his missing daughter home, even though his bell is now drawing the living into danger.
“I only need one more night. Then the river can take me, and the rest of you can forget my name.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A brass river-compass that points toward the nearest flowing water
The recovered ledger, valuable as evidence or to interested collectors
A blue lantern that continues to burn underwater, if the party can safely remove it
On a win
The bell no longer calls people toward the river, and the party chooses what becomes of the ledger and iron case.
Brackenford can return to the waterfront, though the community's view of Dregn depends on whether his part in the tragedy is revealed.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party leaves without resolving the bell's call.
- The Bell-Keeper remains bound and the nightly bell continues to draw people toward the river. Brackenford's residents begin avoiding the waterfront, disrupting trade and travel.
- The party recovers the requested salvage but fails to protect the evidence or win Mara's trust.
- If the party gives Dregn the iron case unopened, he destroys or hides its contents. Mara loses the evidence she needs to publicly challenge him, though the party can still pursue him later.
- The party triggers the case's pressure seal before securing the chamber.
- If the party opens the case carelessly, the tollhouse floods and the ledger is ruined. The trapped spirit may escape, but Brackenford suffers immediate damage and Dregn refuses payment.
Complications (d6)
- 1A plank gives way under one character, dropping them into waist-deep water. They lose a small unsecured item unless someone retrieves it before the current carries it away.
- 2The submerged bell rings once. Each character hears a familiar voice from a different direction, briefly making it hard to tell where companions are.
- 3A school of pale river eels floods the passage, forcing the party to choose between waiting, driving them off, or taking a narrow side route.
- 4A fresh flood surge blocks the route back for several minutes and sweeps away visible footprints or other tracking clues.
- 5A lantern bearing Dregn's personal mark is found beside a sealed grate, suggesting someone from his crew reached the site before the party.
- 6The Bell-Keeper offers one character a private bargain: return the iron case unopened, and he will guide the rest of the party safely out.
Media
0 imagesNo images yet.
Turn The Bell Beneath Brackenford into a sheet
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
