The Bell Beneath Saint Orra
The Bell Beneath Saint Orra
Read aloud
The beacon on Saint Orra's hill has gone dark, and the road below it is filling with fog. Reeve Mara Venn offers payment to anyone willing to find the old pilgrimage route and discover what happened at the monastery. Last night, something beneath the hill rang the beacon's bell three times.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the buried pilgrimage route
- 2Recover the monastery's missing record
- 3Resolve the danger beneath Saint Orra
- 4Restore the forgotten nameOptional
The clock
After each full day spent away from Dunmere, the fog extends farther down the road. At the end of the third day, a supply cart fails to reach town; after the fifth day, Mara's council begins preparing to abandon the outlying farms. These are narrative milestones, not automatic combat penalties.
Scenes
- 0:00A Bell in the Fog
- 1:00Marks That Remember
- 3:00The Empty Monastery
- 5:00The Silent Archive
- 7:30The Name in the Ash
- 10:00What the Road Remembers
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and reeve of Dunmere
- Brother CaldusAlly and elderly monastery archivist
- Sister YsabetAntagonist and surviving keeper of the monastery
The hook
Set the scene
Rain sweeps across Dunmere's market square as Mara Venn unrolls a hand-drawn map weighted with a bronze bell clapper. Beyond the rooftops, Saint Orra's hill is hidden by fog. Mara explains that the beacon has been dark for twelve days and that the old road is now dangerous to use. Brother Caldus watches from the doorway of the chapel, visibly uneasy when Mara mentions the bell ringing from beneath the hill.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party in Dunmere's market square after asking the innkeeper which travelers look capable of handling a dangerous road.
She offers a modest advance for supplies and promises the remainder once the party returns with reliable information. She is direct about the hazards but withholds her fear that the road's closure could leave the town without winter provisions.
Rumours
Scenes
about 11 hours0:00
60 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Bell in the Fog
Dunmere's rain-soaked market square, followed by the chapel archive.
The party meets Mara and Caldus, hears competing accounts of the dark beacon, gathers supplies, and chooses whom to trust.
NextCaldus gives the party a rubbing of a boundary mark and points them toward the marsh track.
1:00
120 min
exploration
2. Marks That Remember
The reed marsh, a collapsed milestone, and the narrow causeway leading to Saint Orra's hill.
The party follows old markers through marsh and woodland, interprets a damaged pilgrim sign, and decides how to cross a flooded causeway.
The Causeway PackNextThe route leads to the monastery's outer wall, where fresh footprints disappear at a sealed drainage arch.
3:00
120 min
skill
3. The Empty Monastery
A roofless cloister, a collapsed scriptorium, and a chapel with a cracked bronze lens.
The party enters the abandoned monastery, searches its rooms for the buried entrance, and can question or confront Ysabet if she is present.
NextA hidden stair beneath the chapel descends to the archive.
5:00
150 min
exploration
4. The Silent Archive
A buried records hall with narrow aisles, damaged shelves, and an old bell mechanism.
The party navigates the archive, deals with its guardians, and recovers the missing record that explains the route and the beacon's function.
The Silent ArchiveNextThe record identifies a lower chamber and a name that has been scraped from every surviving copy.
7:30
150 min
combat
5. The Name in the Ash
The sealed chamber under Saint Orra, above a deep shaft and beneath the broken beacon mechanism.
The party reaches the lower chamber, discovers the Ash-Wisp's connection to the erased pilgrim, and chooses whether to parley, restore the lens, or fight.
The Beacon BelowNextThe party returns to Dunmere with a resolution, a warning, or a new trail to follow.
10:00
60 min
social
6. What the Road Remembers
Dunmere's market square or the chapel, now crowded with residents waiting for news.
The party reports to Mara and decides what to disclose. The townspeople respond to the beacon's status and the truth about the monastery.
NextResolve payment and local consequences, then choose whether to follow one of the open-ended leads.
Behind it
What people believe
The beacon at the ruined monastery of Saint Orra has gone dark, and fog and strange sounds now trouble the road below the hill.
Reeve Mara Venn hires the party to trace an old pilgrimage route, investigate the monastery, and find a way to make the road safe again. The party will need to cross marshland, explore the buried archive, and decide what to do with the danger they uncover.
Background
For generations, the hilltop monastery of Saint Orra kept a bronze beacon lit to guide travelers through the foggy marches.
Its light went dark twelve days ago. Since then, old boundary stones have begun to hum at night, livestock have vanished near the marsh road, and the local river has carried flecks of pale ash. The monastery's records describe a buried pilgrimage route beneath the hills, but its final map was removed from the archive decades ago.
The stakes
If the party fails to investigate, Dunmere may lose its road before winter and the Ash-Wisp may escape the hill.
If they restore the beacon without understanding the seal, they may strengthen an unjust prison or overlook a danger that will return. Their choices determine whether the town gains safety, the monastery's secret becomes public, and the forgotten pilgrim is remembered.
Encounters
3The Causeway Pack
combat
A narrow stone causeway crosses a reed-choked pool. Broken sections leave ankle-deep water, mud, and patches of firm ground. Reeds provide concealment but limit sight.
Foes
2 Marsh Hounds
1 Ash-Touched Hound
ComplicationThe ground is slick with silt. On a failed check to cross the broken causeway, a character falls prone in shallow water and makes enough noise to alert the whole pack.
ScalingFor a party of 3 or fewer, use 2 Marsh Hounds and no Ash-Touched Hound. For a larger or well-rested party, add 1 Marsh Hound. The hounds break off if one is badly hurt and the party makes a clear show of strength.
The Silent Archive
combat
A low underground archive with waist-high shelves, a cracked tiled floor, and a central bell cord. Shelves can be tipped to create cover or block a narrow aisle.
Foes
2 Stonebound Watchers
ComplicationThe vault's bell mechanism rings when a door is forced or a metal object strikes the floor. Each ring stirs one dormant sentinel, up to the encounter's maximum.
ScalingThese are custom low-level constructs, not official 5E monsters. Give each modest defenses and a simple melee attack; they stop pursuing once the party leaves the archive. For a small party, use 1 watcher. For a larger party, add a third only if the group has resources to spare.
The Beacon Below
combat
A circular chamber below the monastery. A cracked bronze lens hangs above a stone plinth; narrow ledges border a deep central shaft. The lens can be turned using a hand crank or careful teamwork.
Foes
Sister Ysabet
1 Ash-Wisp
ComplicationDuring the final confrontation, the sealed chamber exhales bursts of cold ash. At the end of each round, a character standing beside a glowing seam must move away or be briefly blinded by ash.
ScalingYsabet prefers parley and surrender over a fight to the death. The Ash-Wisp is a custom supernatural hazard with a single modest attack and can be dispersed by relighting the beacon mechanism. For a small party, Ysabet withdraws once wounded and the wisp remains dormant unless provoked. For a larger, rested party, add one environmental hazard pulse, not another foe.
Cast
3Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and reeve of Dunmere
WantsShe wants the beacon restored before the road becomes unusable, but fears the town will abandon its farms if the danger is publicized.
“Bring me proof of what lies below, not another story about ghosts.”
Brother Caldus
Ally and elderly monastery archivist
WantsHe wants the party to recover the monastery's old route records and reveal what the order concealed, even if doing so damages the church's standing.
“The stones are not calling for help. They are remembering a command.”
Sister Ysabet
Antagonist and surviving keeper of the monastery
WantsShe intends to prevent anyone from opening the sealed chamber beneath Saint Orra, where her ancestors helped imprison a dangerous presence.
“The hill has swallowed enough names. Turn back while yours is still your own.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A weatherproof route folio copied from the archive
A brass pilgrim's token that grants access to the monastery's outer grounds
One healer's kit supplied by Mara for the expedition
On a win
The party returns with the route record and either restores the beacon, keeps the chamber safely sealed, or finds a negotiated way to contain the Ash-Wisp.
Dunmere can reopen the road with caution. The precise reward and the monastery's future depend on what the party reveals about Ysabet, the erased pilgrim, and the old order.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- If the party cannot locate the buried route or returns without useful information
- The town closes the old road and loses access to its nearest market. Mara remains alive and can offer a later expedition, but Dunmere's trust in the party is damaged.
- If the party opens the sealed chamber but neither disperses the wisp nor restores the beacon
- The Ash-Wisp escapes into the marsh, where it can trouble travelers and livestock. The party can still pursue it, but the danger is no longer contained beneath the monastery.
- If the party abandons the expedition after discovering Ysabet's opposition
- Ysabet destroys or conceals the remaining route records, leaving the chamber sealed but the truth incomplete. Brother Caldus may later ask the party to recover the records from her safehouse.
Complications (d6)
- 1A boundary stone gives off a low pulse that draws nearby scavengers toward the party. Anyone touching the stone hears a familiar voice calling from underground.
- 2The rain-swollen stream rises across the return route. The party must find a ford, secure a rope crossing, or wait while the water climbs.
- 3A frightened pack animal bolts after seeing a pale figure in the fog, scattering one carried item or supply bundle unless someone calms or catches it.
- 4A local pilgrim mistakes the party for tomb robbers and raises an alarm in the next hamlet, making later negotiations suspicious.
- 5The ash-flecked river water stains exposed metal black. A marked weapon or tool becomes conspicuous and draws questions from anyone who recognizes the stain.
- 6A cave-in blocks the shortest route. The party can spend time clearing it, take a longer exposed path, or investigate a narrow passage that leads past an old warning inscription.
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