The Bell Beneath Brackenford

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Investigation, shrine exploration, and supernatural crisis

The Bell Beneath Brackenford

Lvl 13 to 6 characters1 to 2 sessions· easy

“A poisoned spring, a forgotten crime, and a bell that remembers.”

— Hook · Investigation, shrine exploration, and supernatural crisis

QuestgiverMara Venn

Investigation, shrine exploration, and supernatural crisis

1e AD&D

Easy

Lvl 1

3 to 6 characters

1 to 2 sessions

4 NPCs

3 encounters

The Opening

“Saint Veyra's Spring has turned black, and Brackenford's animals are dying beside it. The reeve offers coin to anyone who can find the cause before the settlement's last clean water runs out. Beneath the spring, something has begun ringing a bell.”
— Hook · Investigation, shrine exploration, and supernatural crisis

Set the Scene

The party arrives at Brackenford under a gray sky. The village green is crowded around a dry fountain, while two farmers argue over a dead goat and a child points toward the wooded hill above town. Mara Venn meets the adventurers at the edge of the crowd and leads them to Saint Veyra's Spring, where black water seeps between the stones and a faint metallic ringing can be heard underground.

Patron

Questgiver

Mara Venn

Mara Venn approaches the party in public, offering a modest purse and free lodging. She asks them to inspect the spring, locate the missing caravan guards, and return with proof of what is causing the corruption. She does not mention the old bell-keepers unless directly questioned about the ruins.

On the Streets · In the Books

Rumours

d6 · table

01
The spring has never run dry, not even during the worst summer drought.
02
People hear a bell under the hill whenever someone lies near the fountain.
03
A merchant caravan disappeared on the old road, but one wagon wheel was found beside the spring.
04
The ruins were once a monastery, though no one in Brackenford can agree which saint it served.
05
Sister Halwen was seen carrying a lantern toward the hill after midnight.
06
The reeve's family has ruled Brackenford since the first houses were built.

Stakes

If the party fails, Brackenford loses its water source, the underground shrine floods the valley, and the Drowned Bell becomes a roaming supernatural threat. If they succeed without addressing the old injustice, the immediate crisis ends but the spirit's anger may return.

Ticking Clock·The spring has enough clean water for roughly two days. Each major delay increases sickness in Brackenford and raises the underground water level. On the second night, the Drowned Bell begins its final awakening.

Background Lore

For generations, the hamlet of Brackenford has drawn clean water from Saint Veyra's Spring, a stone basin built over older ruins. Three nights ago, the spring turned black and foul-smelling. Livestock have sickened, children report hearing bells beneath the earth, and a merchant caravan vanished on the old road. The ruined shrine beneath the spring was once guarded by a small order of bell-keepers who sealed away a hungry spirit called the Drowned Bell.

What the World Knows

Brackenford's only reliable spring has been poisoned, and the village is close to running out of clean water. The settlement's reeve, Mara Venn, believes the source lies in an abandoned shrine beneath the spring. The party must investigate the tunnels, find the cause of the corruption, and restore the water before disease and panic drive the villagers away.