A Note Below the Tide
A Note Below the Tide
Read aloud
At dawn, Yoran draws her boat alongside the Quay, water ticking from the oars. “Three mornings running, I’ve heard one bell note from below the cove. The next low tide is tomorrow. Come with me, and help me find what is making it.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the source of the note before the tide cuts off access.
- 2Examine the bell and learn what the hidden chamber contains.
- 3Trace the passage and record evidence of recent use.
- 4Settle who will watch the recess and safeguard the bell.Optional
The clock
Track the tide in 10-minute intervals. The lowest ebb gives a 15-interval window: 9 intervals for the route and search, 5 for the return without stopping, and 1 spare. After the window ends, water rises 1 foot every 10 minutes. A character still in the open on the shelf when the water reaches waist height has Disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws and half Speed. The tide hazard is Minor, counted as 10% of the encounter budget for the supplied encounter math.
Scenes
- 0:00Three Mornings Running
- 0:20The Mooring Sockets
- 0:45The Recess
- 1:30The Passage
- 2:05Reporting Back
Cast
- YoranQuestgiver and ally
- HaldricWatch representative
- IosefaAlly and representative of the Hands
- HamelWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Dawn paints a pale stripe across the cove, but the water below it is dark and glassy. Yoran’s boat rocks against the Quay as she waits with one hand on the gunwale. When she describes the note, she turns her head toward the harbor wall, listening as if the stone might answer. The next useful ebb comes tomorrow morning; the party can wait for it or hire her boat to reach the shelf at the mouth sooner.
How Yoran asks
Yoran approaches the party at the Quay at dawn.
She offers her boat to reach the shelf at the cove’s mouth early, or advises them to wait for the next good ebb tomorrow.
Rumours
Scenes
about 2.5 hours0:00
20 min
socialThe table is here
1. Three Mornings Running
The Quay at dawn, where wet rope creaks against wood and salt wind carries the smell of tar.
Yoran explains the repeated note and lays out the choice: wait for the dawn ebb or use her boat to reach the shelf earlier. Establish that the safe window lasts 15 ten-minute intervals, with 9 intervals to reach and search the route and 5 to walk back, leaving 1 interval of slack. Start tracking time once the party reaches the shelf.
NextOnce the party chooses its approach, Yoran rows toward the shelf, and the cove floor begins to emerge in dark, shining bands.
0:20
25 min
exploration
2. The Mooring Sockets
Black basalt scattered with weed and tide pools, the sockets set in a line across the exposed cove floor.
The route takes 2 intervals to reach the old mooring sockets. A Intelligence (Investigation) check shows they predate the village and line up with the loose face. A Intelligence (History) check identifies the pattern as suitable for holding a chain across a landing. Carpenter’s Tools reveal that the sockets were cut, not worn. Do not explain who cut them.
NextThe line of sockets points toward a cracked wall, where a thin breath of cold air slips through one proud slab.
0:45
45 min
exploration
3. The Recess
A dry chamber above the waterline, with a child-height bell rimmed green, yellow grit on the floor, and small claw marks on the walls.
The approach and inspection take 2 intervals. Moving the slab requires a Strength (Athletics) check or a check with Mason’s or Smith’s Tools. Taking 1 interval to work the crack grants Advantage. On a failure, the slab shifts; a character within 5 feet must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take bludgeoning damage. The chamber beyond takes 3 intervals to search. A Wisdom (Perception) check reveals no clapper. A Intelligence (Investigation) check finds the hanging bar clean of rust and the bell warm. Striking it with a hammer makes a dull thud. If the party remains until the eighth interval, the bell sounds once without being struck; the mephits freeze, then whistle back. Do not explain the sound.
Whistlers in the RecessNextAs the party turns from the bell, a narrow channel behind it leads beneath the cliff; wet silt holds clear boot prints.
1:30
35 min
exploration
4. The Passage
An ankle-deep tidal channel under the cliff, close enough for a person to touch both walls.
The channel takes 2 intervals to traverse. A Wisdom (Survival) check reads prints from at least three people, one carrying a heavy keg, within the last week. A Intelligence (Investigation) check finds a tallow candle stub stamped with a merchant house seal. A feeding bed of three Silt-Strand Crawlers occupies a warm patch halfway through. A Wisdom (Animal Handling) check lets the party lead them around the bed. The channel ends at a grate beneath the chain boom’s lower anchor. The party must preserve enough time for the 5-interval return route; the tide rises 1 foot every 10 minutes after the window ends.
The Warm PatchNextThe party follows the channel back toward daylight, where the waterline has crept higher across the shelf.
2:05
30 min
social
5. Reporting Back
The Quay, where damp boots leave dark marks on the boards as the three claimants gather to hear the account.
Back at the Quay, Haldric asks that the recess be sealed and watched; Iosefa and the Hands want the bell salvaged to settle the register; Hamel wants the metal. A Charisma (Persuasion) check, or a Measure using copied socket details and a witnessed account, persuades them to agree to a joint watch: seal the recess, leave the bell hanging, and have the Hands and watch share responsibility. On a failure, Haldric seals it alone, and the Hands resent the decision.
NextWith the decision made, Yoran turns toward the cove again, listening for what the next ebb might bring.
Behind it
What people believe
Yoran, a cove rower, has heard a single bell note beneath the water at dawn three mornings in a row.
She asks the party to search the cove floor at low tide. Old sockets in the basalt lead to a cracked wall and a hidden recess, while a narrow channel under the cliff bears signs of recent passage. The party must investigate and return before the tide closes the route, then help the Quay decide how to safeguard the discovery.
Background
At a small cove near the Quay, old basalt sockets and a sealed recess predate the village’s current chain boom.
The people who cut them left no explanation. Whatever the bell is, its note has drawn attention from the cove’s small, curious inhabitants and from people who have recently used a hidden tidal channel.
The stakes
The party must find and investigate the source before the tide cuts off the shelf.
Their choices determine whether the cove discovery is protected through shared oversight, controlled by the watch alone, or exposed to a private claim. The note itself remains unexplained.
Encounters
2Whistlers in the Recess
Combat or social
A dry chamber above the waterline, roughly the size of a small chapel. The bell hangs from a basalt beam; yellow grit coats the floor, and claw marks score the walls.
Foes
2 Sulfur-Silt Mephits
ComplicationThe mephits are curious rather than hostile. A character can bargain with a trinket, a harmless release of steam, or a successful DC 11 Charisma check. If a fight breaks out, the enclosed chamber makes movement awkward, and striking the bell produces only a dull thud.
ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, use 1 mephit. For a larger or stronger party, add 1 mephit. Treat these creatures and their encounter values as the adventure’s specified creatures, not as a claim about official stat blocks.
The Warm Patch
Combat or exploration
An ankle-deep channel beneath the cliff, narrow enough for a person to touch both walls. A warm patch in the silt marks the crawlers’ feeding bed.
Foes
3 Silt-Strand Crawlers
ComplicationThe crawlers defend their feeding bed if crowded. A DC 11 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check lets the party lead them around it without a fight. The passage is narrow, so creatures cannot easily pass one another.
ScalingUse 2 crawlers for a smaller or less capable party, or 4 for a larger or stronger party. Treat these creatures and their encounter values as the adventure’s specified creatures, not as a claim about official stat blocks.
Cast
4Yoran
QuestgiverQuestgiver and ally
WantsYoran wants the source of the sound found before it draws someone into danger. She is an experienced rower and listener, but does not claim to understand the note.
“Three dawns running, one note from under the water. I can take you to the shelf, but the tide decides how long we stay.”
Haldric
Watch representative
WantsHaldric wants the recess secured and the passage watched before the next tide or another curious visitor causes an accident.
“If it can be sealed safely, seal it. A rising tide does not care who is still exploring.”
Iosefa
Ally and representative of the Hands
WantsIosefa wants the Hands to document and protect the bell as a matter of public record, rather than let one authority claim it.
“The register has a hole in it, and the bell may be the only thing that fits. Let us see it before anyone carries it away.”
Hamel
Wildcard
WantsHamel wants the bell’s dark metal for its value and rarity. He will bargain, but prefers to keep the discovery quiet.
“A sound like that ought to be made of something worth weighing. Let me see the metal, and I will make an offer.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The party may keep the stamped tallow stub as evidence, provided it is not damaged or surrendered.
Any harmless trinket offered to the mephits may earn their temporary cooperation.
On a win
The party returns with enough evidence to establish that the cove holds an old, deliberately cut landing, a warm bell without a visible clapper, and a passage recently used by several people.
If they win the joint agreement, the recess is sealed, the bell remains where it hangs, and the Hands and watch share responsibility for the passage. If they do not, Haldric seals it under the watch’s authority, while the Hands keep their distance. Yoran stays at the cove, waiting for the next note. At the conclusion, the characters reach level 3.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot move the slab or chooses to turn back before reaching the recess.
- The party returns without learning what lies beyond the loose face. Yoran still believes the sound came from the cove floor, and the next ebb offers another attempt, but the village grows more anxious.
- The party spends too long exploring, fights both encounters, or ignores the tide clock.
- The rising water forces the party to retreat without fully searching the passage. Anyone caught in waist-high water on the open shelf has Disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws and half Speed until clear of it.
- The party cannot persuade Haldric, Iosefa, and Hamel to accept the joint watch proposal.
- Haldric orders the recess sealed without a joint agreement. The Hands resent being excluded, and future cooperation between the watch and the Hands becomes harder.
- The party lets Hamel take the bell or fails to establish who will safeguard it.
- Hamel’s interest becomes public, and competing claims over the bell’s custody strain trust at the Quay. The bell remains in the recess unless the party or someone else moves it.
Complications (d6)
- 1A slick mat of weed covers the next stretch of shelf. Crossing it carefully costs 1 interval; rushing across risks a fall and a dropped carried item.
- 2A pool drains through a narrow crack with a hollow gurgle. It is harmless, but Yoran recognizes the sound as an early sign that the ebb is turning; advance the tide clock by 1 interval.
- 3A loose slab shifts underfoot near the wall. The nearest character must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
- 4One Sulfur-Silt Mephit mistakes a shiny trinket for an invitation and darts off with it. It returns if approached gently or offered another harmless bauble.
- 5A fresh trickle of water carries candle wax toward the passage. A character who follows it can find the tallow stub without spending extra time, but the party loses 1 interval to inspect the trail.
- 6A sudden wash reaches the shelf early. Anyone in the open must move toward the cliff or spend the next interval finding safe footing.
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