Scratching in the South Cellar
Scratching in the South Cellar
Read aloud
Mara Fenwick, a brewer on Millhaven's south side, offers twenty-eight gold for help with her cellar. Barrels have been knocked over, food stores disturbed, and scratching keeps coming from behind one stone wall. She wants the cellar safe before her next batch is due.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Determine what is disturbing the cellar and where it is entering.
- 2Resolve the immediate danger in the cellar.
- 3Prevent the animal or other vermin from returning through the same opening.
- 4Resolve the trouble without killing the badger.Optional
The clock
Mara needs the cellar ready for her next brew within two days. The rain may further loosen the drain entrance, but there is no minute-by-minute countdown.
Scenes
- 0:00Mara's Offer
- 0:20Tracks in the Cellar
- 0:50The Scratching Wall
- 1:25Seal the Opening
Cast
- Mara FenwickQuestgiver and south-side brewer
- Odo PikeWitness and brewer's cellar hand
- Sella ReedAlly and local hedger
The hook
Set the scene
Mara waits by the cellar door with a lantern in hand. Behind her, Odo has dragged two fallen barrels into the yard. From below comes a slow scrape, then three sharp scratches against stone.
How Mara Fenwick asks
Mara approaches the party directly at her brewhouse, shows them the cellar damage, and offers the full payment for a lasting solution.
Rumours
Scenes
about 2 hours0:00
20 min
socialThe table is here
1. Mara's Offer
The brewery's small south-side yard, beside the cellar entrance.
Mara explains the damage and payment. Odo describes when the sounds began and points out which stores were disturbed. The party can ask questions before entering the cellar.
NextMara unlocks the cellar and hands over a lantern; the party can inspect the damage below.
0:20
30 min
exploration
2. Tracks in the Cellar
The cool stone cellar, among fallen barrels, disturbed food, and a suspicious section of wall.
The party finds claw marks low on the wall, packed earth beneath a shelf, and food dragged toward a narrow breach. These clues point to a burrowing animal and establish its route. The party can also find badger hair caught on a splinter.
NextThe scraping resumes behind the wall, leading the party to uncover or approach the breach.
0:50
35 min
combat
3. The Scratching Wall
The cellar breach and the muddy, cramped section of the old drain immediately beyond it.
The party follows the sound to the breach and encounters the badger. They can fight, create an escape route, or use food to coax it toward the drain. A rushed approach risks a charge in the cramped cellar.
The Cellar BreachNextWith the animal gone or subdued, the party can inspect the drain entrance and decide how to secure it.
1:25
25 min
skill
4. Seal the Opening
The cellar wall and the exposed edge of the old drainage run.
The party or Mara's workers close the gap with stone and timber, then check that the repair is stable. The party can point out the drain's direction and explain the animal's behavior to Mara.
NextMara inspects the repair, pays the party, and offers ale if they helped spare the animal.
Behind it
What people believe
Mara Fenwick's south-side brewery has suffered a cellar disturbance: barrels are down, food is missing, and scratching comes from behind one wall.
She is hiring capable help to find the source, make the cellar safe, and prevent another intrusion. She offers twenty-eight gold for a practical resolution.
Background
Millhaven's south-side brewhouses were built against an older line of fieldstone foundations.
A disused drainage run beneath the lane has gradually filled with soil and roots. Recent rain opened a gap into the brewer's cellar, giving a hungry badger access to spilled grain and stored food.
The stakes
If the party fails to identify and close the entry point, the badger may return, more food will be lost, and Mara's brewing schedule will suffer.
A careless fight in the cramped cellar can injure the party or damage the remaining supplies.
Encounters
1The Cellar Breach
Combat or noncombat animal encounter
A low stone cellar with a narrow stair, toppled barrels, scattered food, and a hand-wide breach at the foot of one wall. The adjoining drain is cramped, muddy, and too tight for a person to crawl through comfortably.
Foes
Giant badger
ComplicationThe cellar is cramped, with unstable stacks and a narrow stair. A startled badger tries to reach the breach and escape; it fights only if trapped or attacked. Use the standard D&D 5e 2014 giant badger statistics. The badger may withdraw once a clear route out is opened.
ScalingFor a more cautious scene, have the badger flee after taking a hit or after the party opens the route. For a harder scene, add one ordinary giant rat attracted by the food, but do not add it if the party has already taken significant damage.
Cast
3Mara Fenwick
QuestgiverQuestgiver and south-side brewer
WantsRecover the use of her cellar and avoid losing more food or brewhouse income.
“I can pay twenty-eight gold. I just need the cellar safe before the next mash goes in.”
Odo Pike
Witness and brewer's cellar hand
WantsHelp Mara while making sure nobody mistakes an animal for a haunting and starts a panic.
“There's a scrape in the stone, not a voice. And I found fresh earth under the shelves.”
Sella Reed
Ally and local hedger
WantsProtect local wildlife and persuade the party to drive the animal out rather than kill it if practical.
“It was only looking for food. Look at the claw marks. We can close the gap without killing it.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A small cask of ordinary ale, offered by Mara in thanks if the party accepts it.
On a win
Once the badger is out and the breach is blocked, Mara pays the agreed twenty-eight gold.
If the party spared the animal, Sella helps guide it toward the fields. Mara can reopen the cellar after the loose stonework is repaired.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party leaves without locating or closing the breach.
- Mara pays no reward until the cellar is safe enough to use. If the party kills the badger but leaves the breach open, other vermin can still enter and the job remains incomplete.
- The party attacks the badger but lets it escape without sealing or monitoring its entry point.
- Mara loses more stores and must delay brewing; Odo is blamed for failing to keep the cellar secure. The animal remains nearby and may return to the food stores.
- The party causes avoidable damage to the remaining barrels or food while exploring or fighting.
- Mara accepts the repair but deducts a modest amount from the agreed payment for damaged supplies, unless the party offers another practical way to make good the loss.
Complications (d6)
- 1A barrel rolls off its wedge and blocks the narrow stair; moving it takes a moment and makes enough noise to startle anything in the cellar.
- 2The cellar lantern goes out when a draft carries cellar dust into its flame; a party member must relight it or work in dim light.
- 3A loosened shelf tips, spilling flour and dried apples across the floor; the mess obscures tracks until someone compares them with the marks in the soil.
- 4Odo admits he stacked broken crockery against the suspicious wall to keep rats away, hiding some of the fresh scratches.
- 5The badger bolts toward the cellar stairs if cornered, risking a collision with anyone standing in the narrow passage.
- 6A steady rain begins, softening the earth at the exposed drain; the party has less time to shore up the opening before it slumps further.
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