Beneath the Broken Bell
Beneath the Broken Bell
“Find the rebels. Protect the evidence. Decide who deserves the truth.”
— Hook · Escape and investigation
“You emerge from the sewers into the rain with city watch whistles screaming behind you and a bloodstained ledger clutched in your hands. The rebels are the only people who can explain what you found, but no one in Bellhollow will admit where they are hiding. A wounded stranger points toward the old bell foundry and whispers, “Find the people beneath the bell before sunset.””
— Hook · Escape and investigation
The adventure begins as the party climbs from a sewer outlet into an alley behind a shuttered bathhouse. Rain washes grime from their clothing, but the distant bells and watch whistles announce that the city is searching for them. Mira Vey, wounded and disguised as a dockworker, approaches from the shadows and explains that the Ashen Banner can help, but only if the party reaches their hidden safehouse before sunset.
Mira Vey
Mira Vey approaches the party after they emerge from the sewers. She is visibly injured, keeps one hand near a concealed dagger, and offers help only after confirming that the party possesses the coded ledger.
Rumours
d4 · table- 01The old bell foundry has been abandoned since a fire killed its last workers.
- 02The city watch searches fugitives more carefully near Ironbridge than anywhere else.
- 03A merchant called Nella Quill can obtain almost any document, but never for free.
- 04The Ashen Banner leaves a strip of red cloth tied beneath bridges when a safe route is open.
If the party fails, the magistrate's false narrative becomes accepted fact, the Ashen Banner is weakened, and Bellhollow enters a harsher state of martial law. If they succeed, the rebels gain proof of the conspiracy, but revealing it may trigger open conflict in the city.
Background Lore
The city of Bellhollow has survived three weeks of martial law after a series of coordinated bombings blamed on the Ashen Banner rebels. Beneath the eastern districts, an abandoned sewer line connects to old smugglers' tunnels that were once used by the rebels. The party has just escaped the sewers with evidence that the official story is false, but the city watch is closing in and the rebels remain hidden.
Bellhollow is under martial law after a string of bombings blamed on the Ashen Banner rebels. The party has escaped the sewers with a coded ledger that may prove the rebels were framed. To survive, they must find the hidden rebel organization before the city watch captures them, while navigating flooded tunnels, a guarded bridge, and a suspicious safehouse.
