The Bell Beneath the Tide
The Bell Beneath the Tide
Read aloud
At midnight, Bellwether's harbor bell rings once, though its belfry is locked and its keeper has vanished. The river pulls away from the shore, then rushes back hard enough to flood the market steps. On the bell's inner rim, a fresh name appears in wet black lettering.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Determine how the bell rings and where its influence begins.
- 2Uncover who is directing the strange tolls and why.
- 3Prevent the next surge and end the disappearances.
- 4Rescue the missing bellkeeper.Optional
The clock
The next midnight toll is approximately one day away. If the party takes a full day of rest after discovering the shrine's location, the final ritual begins before they arrive.
Scenes
- 0:00The Impossible Toll
- 0:40Footprints Below the Mill
- 1:40A Witness to the Old Flood
- 2:25The Last Toll
Cast
- Edda SornQuestgiver and village reeve
- Tavin RuskAlly and apprentice bellkeeper
- Sister Caldra VeyAntagonist and keeper of the flood shrine
- Nell OrrowWitness and wildcard
The hook
Set the scene
The party arrives in Bellwether as the harbor bell rings at midnight. The tide withdraws from the mudflats, exposing a line of old stone steps, then crashes back into the river channel. Edda Sorn gathers the characters at the belfry steps while Tavin points out that the door is locked from within and Mara is nowhere to be found.
How Edda Sorn asks
Edda Sorn approaches the party in the crowded square beside the belfry.
She offers a modest advance, access to the town records, and authority to question residents, but asks the party to avoid causing a panic.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3.5 hours0:00
40 min
SocialThe table is here
1. The Impossible Toll
Bellwether's square and the locked belfry at midnight
Introduce the strange bell, establish the stakes, and give the party immediate witnesses and leads. Edda wants discretion; Tavin insists the locked room deserves close examination.
NextClues in the belfry and witness accounts point toward the old mill channel.
0:40
60 min
Exploration
2. Footprints Below the Mill
The old mill channel and its partially flooded lower floor
The party searches the abandoned mill for the source of the wet footprints and finds traces of a hidden passage, a piece of unusual bell metal, and signs that someone moved through the sluice recently. River-wights may attack as the water rises.
The Mill ChannelNextThe hidden passage leads toward a shrine beneath the floodgate; the recovered records can reveal Caldra's motive.
1:40
45 min
Social
3. A Witness to the Old Flood
A small riverside shrine with darkened lamps and a rope descending below the floodgate
Interview Caldra at the edge of the flood shrine or confront her with the ledger. She explains the buried flood disaster and admits that she continued the ritual after people began disappearing. The party can negotiate, deceive, or prepare to enter the shrine.
NextCaldra's words or the party's investigation reveal that the final toll will sound at midnight beneath the floodgate.
2:25
75 min
Combat
4. The Last Toll
The half-submerged flood shrine beneath Bellwether's old floodgate
Reach the submerged shrine, confront Caldra and the drowned sentinel, and decide whether to destroy the bell fragment, seal it, or complete a safer rite. The sluice lever and bell rope provide environmental options.
The Flood ShrineNextResolve the village's immediate danger, then decide what to reveal about the old flood and Caldra's actions.
Behind it
What people believe
The bellkeeper of Bellwether has disappeared from a locked belfry.
Since then, the harbor bell has rung at impossible hours, the river has surged against the tide, and new names have appeared on the bell's inner rim. Reeve Edda Sorn asks the party to investigate before the next midnight toll puts more residents at risk.
Background
For generations, the village of Bellwether has rung its bronze harbor bell whenever the river floods.
Three nights ago, the bell sounded at low tide, and its keeper, Mara Venn, vanished from the locked belfry. Since then, each midnight toll has been followed by a brief, impossible rise in the river and the appearance of a new name scratched into the bell's inner rim.
The stakes
If the party fails, the next toll causes a destructive surge through Bellwether's low streets, and the marked residents may vanish into the river's hidden shrine.
Even if the danger is stopped, the village must decide whether to confront the truth about a historic flood and the people it abandoned.
Encounters
2The Mill Channel
Combat or hazard
A ruined mill channel with slick stone walkways, knee-deep water, a turning waterwheel, and a narrow sluice gate. A character can use an action and an appropriate check to jam the wheel or open a side drain.
Foes
2 river-wights, custom creatures using suitable low-level undead or aquatic creature statistics
ComplicationAt the end of each round, water rises across the lower floor. After three rounds, the lowest ground is difficult terrain; unsecured evidence can be swept toward the sluice.
ScalingFor a smaller or lower-level party, use one river-wight and have it retreat when reduced to half its hit points. For a larger or higher-level party, add one river-wight and let the water rise faster. These are custom reskins; use statistics appropriate to the campaign.
The Flood Shrine
Combat, social, or skill challenge
A half-submerged shrine beneath the old floodgate. Narrow ledges surround a central bell rope, and a stone sluice lever can divert the rising water if characters reach it.
Foes
Sister Caldra Vey, custom cult leader using suitable low-level humanoid statistics
1 drowned sentinel, custom creature using suitable low-level undead statistics
ComplicationCaldra can complete the final bell toll after two rounds unless interrupted. Each toll makes the water surge and gives nearby creatures a disorienting whisper; treat this as a custom narrative effect, not a standard 5E condition.
ScalingFor a smaller or lower-level party, Caldra begins willing to bargain and the sentinel is already damaged. For a larger or higher-level party, add one sentinel or give Caldra a ward that absorbs a limited amount of damage. Adjust statistics to the table; these enemies are custom features, not official 5E creatures.
Cast
4Edda Sorn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and village reeve
WantsWants the disappearances explained before panic empties the village, but fears that her own family will be blamed.
“I heard the bell from my bed, and I swear the tide was pulling away from shore.”
Tavin Rusk
Ally and apprentice bellkeeper
WantsWants to find her missing mentor and preserve the belfry's records, even if they implicate a powerful local.
“Mara never missed a watch. Someone wanted that room to look impossible to enter.”
Sister Caldra Vey
Antagonist and keeper of the flood shrine
WantsSeeks to force the village to acknowledge a buried disaster and believes the bell's strange effects are justified.
“The river keeps what it is owed. I only gave it a voice.”
Nell Orrow
Witness and wildcard
WantsWants to protect her younger brother, whose name appeared on the bell, and will trade information for help getting him out of town.
“I was fishing below the bridge. I saw a lantern moving under the water, where no lantern could be.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A silver tide-compass that points toward the nearest body of moving water, custom wondrous item with no combat benefit
A waterproof packet containing the original flood ledger
On a win
The party prevents the final toll and ends the unnatural surges by breaking, sealing, or re-consecrating the shrine's link to the bell.
Mara can be rescued if the party reaches the cistern in time. Edda publicly credits the party, though the villagers may disagree over whether Caldra was a villain or a witness to an old injustice.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to establish who is causing the bell's tolls.
- If the party accuses the wrong person publicly without evidence, the reeve suspends their access to the belfry and local records. They can still investigate through witnesses and the riverbank.
- The party does not interrupt Caldra's ritual before the midnight toll.
- If Caldra completes the final toll, the river surges through the lowest streets. The village loses homes and supplies, and the marked townsfolk become harder to protect.
- The party cannot safely recover Mara or contain the source beneath the shrine.
- If Mara is not found or the shrine is left unstable, the disappearances stop temporarily but the bell remains dangerous. The reeve evacuates the riverside district, and the party's reward is reduced.
Complications (d6)
- 1The bell rings once during daylight. Everyone nearby hears a different missing person's name, and the crowd gathers around the belfry.
- 2A fast, unnatural surge floods the river steps, cutting off the party's easiest route back to town for an hour.
- 3Nell is caught trying to steal the bellkeeper's ledger and insists she is hiding it from Caldra.
- 4A frightened villager mistakes the party for Caldra's accomplices and alerts the reeve's guards.
- 5A newly scratched name appears on the bell's rim. The named person is alive, nearby, and begins hearing a second voice beneath ordinary sounds.
- 6The flood shrine's warding lamps go dark, releasing two river-wights into the old mill channel before the party arrives.
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