The Bell Beneath Bellwether
The Bell Beneath Bellwether
Read aloud
At midnight, Bellwether's watchtower bell rings once, though its rope hangs untouched and its door is locked. By dawn, the river has risen a foot, and another resident has vanished from a room barred from the inside. Reeve Mara Venn offers a reward to anyone who can explain the bell and bring the missing home.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 11. Determine how the bell rang and identify what links the disappearances.
- 22. Reach the chamber beneath the tower and discover the fate of the missing townsfolk.
- 33. Prevent the old channel from flooding Bellwether and decide what becomes of Tavian.
- 44. Optional: Restore Sella's stolen charts so the town can maintain its waterways.Optional
The clock
The next high tide arrives after the party has had time for several investigations and one journey beneath the tower. Mark a tide stage after each major scene; at the final stage, the lowest district begins to flood. Complications may advance the clock by one stage.
Scenes
- 0:00The Reeve's Offer
- 1:00A Bell With No Ringer
- 2:15The River's Old Map
- 3:45The Watchtower Below
- 5:15The Surveyor's Ledger
- 6:15The Channel Opens
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and town reeve
- Orren PikeWitness and elderly bellkeeper
- Sella ReedAlly and marshwise mapmaker
- Tavian HoltAntagonist and former surveyor
The hook
Set the scene
The party arrives in Bellwether as residents stack sandbags along the lowest street. Mara Venn meets them in the reeve's office, where a town map is weighted down with a brass bell clapper. She explains the midnight ringing and disappearances, then asks the party to investigate before the next high tide. Orren Pike waits outside, insisting he can prove the tower was locked.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party directly at the town's sandbag line, offers a modest advance, and asks them to speak with the bellkeeper before rumors turn into accusations.
Rumours
Scenes
about 8.5 hours0:00
60 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Reeve's Offer
Reeve's office and the sandbagged main street
Mara lays out the known facts and introduces the town's competing explanations. The party can question her, inspect the clapper, and learn which residents disappeared.
NextMara directs the party to the watchtower and offers to arrange interviews with the bellkeeper and Sella.
1:00
75 min
exploration
2. A Bell With No Ringer
The locked watchtower and its upper bell chamber
The party examines the tower, tests the bell mechanism, and questions Orren. They can find a fresh scratch on the inner lock, a smear of river clay, and evidence that the clapper was recently detached and returned.
NextThe river clay and a faint rhythmic vibration lead toward the old ferry landing and Sella's map room.
2:15
90 min
skill
3. The River's Old Map
Sella's workshop, followed by the abandoned ferry landing
Sella explains that the clay comes from a buried channel and reveals that her charts were stolen. The party can compare her remaining notes with the tower's construction records. A successful investigation reveals a concealed stair beneath the tower's foundation; failure still points to the ferry landing as the next useful site.
NextA recovered slate fragment or Sella's notes identify a submerged entrance beneath the tower.
3:45
90 min
combat
4. The Watchtower Below
The flooded stairwell and chamber below the watchtower
The party explores the submerged stair and discovers the missing residents' dry holding chamber. The bell's vibration animates river-mud husks and a drowned hound, which guard the route to the captives.
The Watchtower BelowNextThe rescued residents point to a pumping station where Tavian has taken the stolen charts.
5:15
60 min
exploration
5. The Surveyor's Ledger
A disused survey office between the tower and riverbank
The party finds Tavian's notes and learns that the disappearances were staged to gather people whose voices would activate the old mechanism. The notes reveal his personal connection to the flood and explain how to shut down the channel safely.
NextFootprints and fresh water stains lead directly to the pumping station before the next tide.
6:15
120 min
combat
6. The Channel Opens
The old pumping station below the riverbank
Tavian attempts to complete the mechanism while the hired sluice hands hold off the party. Characters can fight, negotiate, use the recovered notes, or combine these approaches to stop the rising water and determine Tavian's fate.
The Old Pumping StationNextWith the mechanism stopped, return to Bellwether for the rescue's aftermath and the town's decision about Tavian.
Behind it
What people believe
Bellwether's watchtower bell rang at midnight despite being locked and unattended.
Since then, the river has risen without rain, and residents have disappeared from rooms secured from within. Reeve Mara Venn has hired investigators to discover the cause, find the missing, and protect the town before the next high tide.
Background
The riverside town of Bellwether keeps a brass bell in its old watchtower.
It is rung only when the river floods or the town faces immediate danger. Three nights ago, the bell sounded at midnight, but no one in town admits to ringing it. Since then, the river has risen despite clear weather, and several residents have vanished from locked rooms.
The stakes
If the party does nothing, Tavian's attempt to reopen the old channel floods Bellwether's lowest district, destroys homes and stores, and leaves the missing residents trapped underground.
If the party acts in time, the residents can be rescued and the channel can be sealed or safely controlled.
Encounters
2The Watchtower Below
Combat
A partly submerged stone stairwell below the watchtower, with waist-deep water, slick steps, and a narrow dry landing.
Foes
2 river-mud husks, custom minor undead
1 drowned hound, custom beast
ComplicationThe bell's vibration loosens old stonework. At the end of each round, a section of the narrow walkway becomes unstable; characters can move to safe ground or risk a fall into shallow but fast-moving water.
ScalingFor a smaller or lower-level party, use one river-mud husk and no drowned hound. For a larger or higher-level party, add one river-mud husk and make the walkway hazard trigger twice during the fight. These are custom creatures; use low-threat undead or beast statistics appropriate to the table.
The Old Pumping Station
Combat
A brick chamber cut into the riverbank, with a waist-high control platform, a locked sluice gate, and narrow catwalks above a rising pool.
Foes
Tavian Holt, using the statistics of a low-threat humanoid spellcaster or bandit leader suitable for the party
2 hired sluice hands, using low-threat humanoid statistics
ComplicationThe pumping station begins filling as the mechanism is disturbed. Each round, the water rises and reduces safe movement space; characters can spend an action to turn a manual drain wheel or jam the sluice.
ScalingFor a party of three or level 3 characters, use Tavian and one hired hand. For a larger or level 5 party, use Tavian and three hired hands. Tavian's ritual effects are custom scene hazards, not a claim about an official spell or creature feature.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and town reeve
WantsShe wants the disappearances solved before panic drives residents to abandon Bellwether.
“I heard the bell, then saw the river flowing uphill. Tell me what you find, but please do not accuse the whole town.”
Orren Pike
Witness and elderly bellkeeper
WantsHe wants to protect his reputation and conceal that he secretly gave a tower key to a stranger.
“I have kept that tower safe for twenty years. Someone is trying to make me look like a fool, or worse.”
Sella Reed
Ally and marshwise mapmaker
WantsShe wants to recover her stolen river charts and prevent the old flood channel from reopening.
“The water remembers every path it ever took. Some paths should have stayed buried.”
Tavian Holt
Antagonist and former surveyor
WantsHe wants to complete a ritual that will restore his drowned family home, even if the town is inundated.
“You think the missing are victims? Ask them what they heard beneath the water.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A brass river compass, a custom nonmagical tool that points toward the nearest major watercourse
Sella's recovered field charts, useful for travel through the nearby marsh
Optional: a charm made from river glass, a custom keepsake with no assumed mechanical effect
On a win
The party finds the missing residents and prevents the channel from flooding Bellwether.
If Tavian survives, the town must decide whether to imprison him, seek restitution, or help him grieve without excusing his actions. If the mechanism is repaired rather than destroyed, the town gains a safer way to regulate the river.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party does not connect the river slate, tower bell, and missing residents in time.
- If the party fails to identify the old flood channel before Tavian acts, water floods the lowest district. Residents lose homes and supplies, but the investigation can continue from the pumping station.
- The party fails to follow or question the lookout and misses the route to the station.
- If the party loses Tavian's trail, he completes part of the ritual and opens the sluice. The party must reach the pumping station through flooded streets, and the town suffers damage before the final confrontation.
- The party chooses force before discovering the release controls or rescuing the captives.
- If the party destroys the mechanism without learning how to release the captives, the missing residents are found alive but injured in a sealed lower chamber, and Bellwether's water supply remains unsafe until repaired.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden surge floods the lowest street, forcing anyone there to reach higher ground before the next scene can proceed.
- 2A frightened resident publicly accuses Orren of ringing the bell, drawing a crowd that demands an immediate answer.
- 3A clue is soaked when a leaking sluice washes through the investigators' workspace; one detail remains legible, but the rest must be reconstructed from another source.
- 4A missing resident returns briefly, dazed and carrying a wet piece of river slate, then flees toward the old channel.
- 5Tavian's hired lookout spots the party and sends a warning to the old pumping station.
- 6The bell rings once without anyone touching it, and every open flame in the immediate area goes out.
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