The Water Under Stone
The Water Under Stone
Read aloud
The bell in Bellweather rings three times, then stops as if its rope has been cut. Reeve Mara Venn meets you in the rain with a cracked survey stake and a muddy map: the Stonewake spillway is failing, the repair crew is missing, and the valley has three days of water left. She offers a substantial payment for anyone who can reach the dam, find the crew, and keep the valley from flooding or drying out.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Reach the Stonewake spillway before Bellweather's water reserve runs out.
- 2Recover the repair crew or confirm their fate, and obtain the tools and knowledge needed to assess the breach.
- 3Resolve the water crisis and decide who bears the cost of the repair.
- 4Preserve the high basin and win Sella's cooperation.Optional
The clock
Bellweather has three days of reserve water. Track time in meaningful travel and recovery intervals, not every minute. After the first day, the mill channel falls low; after the second, the party must choose between an emergency repair and risking a surge; at the end of the third, the lower fields begin to fail. Delays change conditions and options, but never automatically force character death.
Scenes
- 0:00Three Days of Water
- 2:30Routes Above the Wash
- 5:30The High Pasture in the Rain
- 8:30The Crew in the Cleft
- 11:00Tools at the Breach
- 14:30The Water's Choice
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and practical reeve of Bellweather
- Tovin RuskAlly
- Master Edrin ValeWitness and spillway surveyor
- Sella ThornWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Start in Bellweather during a rainstorm. The village bell rings three times before its rope snaps, and a cracked survey stake is carried into the meeting hall. Mara Venn lays out a muddy map and gives the party three clear options: take the fast, exposed switchback; use the longer charcoal-burners' cut; or ask Tovin to guide them through the high pasture. Edrin insists the wall can hold longer than Mara believes, while Tovin argues that every hour matters. The party chooses a route and can immediately secure a mule, rope, food, and local help.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn intercepts the party at Bellweather's rain-soaked meeting hall.
She is direct about the time limit, pays a quarter of the agreed reward in advance, and asks them to choose a route before the storm worsens. She will not dictate how they resolve the water dispute.
Rumours
Scenes
about 17.5 hours0:00
150 min
SocialThe table is here
1. Three Days of Water
Bellweather meeting hall and muddy village lanes
Introduce the water deadline, competing opinions, and immediate route choice. The party can gather basic supplies, question Edrin, bargain with Mara, or ask Tovin to guide them. Their departure route changes what hazards and people they meet first.
NextOnce the party chooses a route, move directly into its first obstacle. Mara sends the promised advance payment and a written token authorizing the party to draw supplies from the village storehouse.
2:30
180 min
Exploration
2. Routes Above the Wash
Rain-slick paths, ravine ledges, and the lower edge of the high pasture
Travel is not a single navigation roll. Let the party choose pace, protect supplies, and use local knowledge. On the switchback they find a damaged cart and can face or evade the wolves; on the charcoal-burners' cut they discover fresh scrape marks and can avoid a dangerous mud shelf; on the pasture path they can negotiate with Sella before crossing. Tovin's knowledge helps, but he may misjudge how quickly the rain has changed a route.
The Wreck on the SwitchbackNextSigns of the missing crew lead toward the high pasture and the dry cleft above the spillway. If the party made a deal with Sella, she points out a route around the most unstable slope.
5:30
180 min
Combat
3. The High Pasture in the Rain
Sella's high pasture, a wet slope above a shallow stream
A storm and frightened herd complicate the approach. Sella needs the party to move the animals away from a fresh slide; the bear and dogs are attracted by a dead goat. The party can fight, drive off the predators, shelter the herd, or bargain for passage. Sella may reveal the spring's importance if the party asks what a diversion would cost.
The High Pasture in the RainNextAfter the immediate danger, Sella offers a safe descent or a measured diversion plan if trust has been earned. A distant shout from the spillway reveals that someone else is there.
8:30
150 min
Social
4. The Crew in the Cleft
A dry cleft overlooking the cracked spillway
The party finds the missing crew sheltering in a dry cleft. They are tired, short on food, and divided: some want to return to Bellweather, while others fear the deserters will follow. Edrin's abandoned tools and a survey sketch can help the party understand the wall. The crew know that a controlled release is possible, but disagree about whether to sacrifice the mill channel or the upper spring.
NextThe crew can guide the party to the spillway's maintenance walk. If the party delays, the deserters move their supplies and post a lookout; if it acts quickly, it can reach the broken wall before they are ready.
11:00
210 min
Combat
5. Tools at the Breach
The broken Stonewake spillway and its narrow maintenance walk
The deserters defend their camp among the broken wall and stolen tools. They can be fought, outflanked, or offered a safe way out. The party must also keep the failing water from worsening the breach: someone can brace the wall, clear the channel, or protect the crew while another negotiates or fights. The foreman knows which support is failing but will not cooperate while threatened.
The Broken SpillwayNextWith the tools and crew secured, the party chooses between a measured repair that shares the spring and a fast emergency release that saves the hamlet at a cost. Resolve the choice during the climax, not as a later administrative task.
14:30
180 min
Skill
6. The Water's Choice
At the spillway during a final surge of rainwater
Run the repair as a coordinated crisis with clear, visible consequences. The party must assign people to brace the wall, guide the water, and keep the channel clear; each round or major action can trade safety, time, and damage to the mill or pasture. Earlier discoveries, the crew's help, Sella's cooperation, and the party's treatment of the deserters each remove a complication or reduce the risk. End with the water settling into its chosen course and give the valley a definite outcome.
NextAfter the water is redirected, return to Bellweather for payment, a public account of what happened, and the consequences of the party's decision.
Behind it
What people believe
The Stonewake spillway is failing after weeks of rain, and the hamlet of Bellweather has only a few days of water left.
The repair crew has disappeared in the upper valley. Reeve Mara Venn hires the party to reach the spillway, recover the crew or their tools, and prevent the valley's water supply from being lost. The party can choose among several routes, seek help from locals, and decide how to balance the needs of the hamlet and the high pasture.
Background
The upland valley of Greywash depends on the Stonewake spillway, a medieval stone dam that feeds its mills and fields.
A month of hard rain loosened the old retaining wall above it. The hamlet of Bellweather sent a repair crew to the spillway, but the crew vanished after reporting that water was draining into a newly opened ravine. The valley has three days of usable reserve water before the mills and lower fields begin to fail. The adventure takes place entirely in this self-contained region.
The stakes
If the party fails to act, Bellweather loses its water reserve, the mill stops, and lower fields may be ruined.
A rushed repair can save the hamlet while flooding the high pasture or mill channel. A deliberate shared diversion can preserve more of the valley, but depends on trust, tools, time, and skill.
Encounters
3The Wreck on the Switchback
Combat with exploration and negotiation alternatives
A narrow switchback above a ravine, with a broken handcart, scattered canvas, loose stones, and a short section of exposed ledge. A character shoved or chased onto the ledge must react quickly or scramble to safety.
Foes
2 Greywash cliff wolves, custom lean pack hunters
1 Greywash lead wolf, custom larger pack hunter
ComplicationThe creatures are hunting among the wreckage rather than guarding it. If badly hurt or denied access to the carcass, they retreat into the scree, but they may circle back if the party leaves food or an injured traveler exposed.
ScalingFor a smaller or depleted party, use two cliff wolves and have them flee after one is seriously wounded. For a stronger party, add one cliff wolf arriving from above after the first round. Let the party use noise, food, or a guarded retreat to avoid a fight.
The High Pasture in the Rain
Combat, potentially avoided through animal handling or cooperation
A sloping pasture broken by wet rock, goat pens, scrub, and a shallow stream. The party can climb to a narrow shelf, drive the animals toward an open gate, or risk crossing the slippery low ground.
Foes
1 Greywash cave bear, custom hungry, wounded bear
2 Greywash feral dogs, custom scavengers
ComplicationThe goats are cornered and defending their young, not seeking a fight. A panicked animal can knock a character off balance or scatter supplies. Sella intervenes if the party harms the herd, but may help if they calm it or protect a kid from the predators.
ScalingFor a depleted party, use the bear alone; it retreats when injured or when the goats reach safety. For a stronger party, the feral dogs try to harry the rear of the group while the bear blocks the safest path. Sella can draw the dogs off if treated as a person rather than an obstacle.
The Broken Spillway
Combat or tense parley during an active engineering crisis
A cracked spillway wall above a fast, shallow channel. Rubble gives cover, a narrow maintenance walk provides a flank, and the channel can be opened or blocked with ordinary tools. Fighting carelessly near the damaged wall worsens the water leak.
Foes
3 Stonewake deserters, custom armed laborers
1 Deserter foreman, custom shield-bearing leader
ComplicationThe raiders are desperate deserters who believe the party has come to take their food and tools. They use cover and try to force a retreat; they are not fanatics and will surrender or bargain if offered food, safe passage, or a credible way out.
ScalingFor a small or exhausted party, only two deserters and the foreman are present; one flees to warn the rest. For a stronger party, use all three deserters and have the foreman reposition to threaten the support crew rather than focus on the party. The deserters withdraw if their leader falls or a route out is offered.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and practical reeve of Bellweather
WantsKeep Bellweather supplied and prevent the valley's millers and farmers from turning on one another. She will risk her own standing to divert water from the mill channel if it saves the lower fields.
“I need the spillway standing, not a prettier story about why it fell.”
Tovin Rusk
Ally, a capable local charcoal-burner who knows the valley
WantsFind her missing brother, a member of the repair crew, and prove that the dangerous upper trail can be crossed. She knows local paths, but her confidence can exceed her judgment.
“The water is taking the hillside with it. If we go up the old road, we may arrive in pieces.”
Master Edrin Vale
Witness and spillway surveyor
WantsRecover the missing crew and prevent panic, while hiding that he ordered the crew to abandon a failing section before sending a clear warning. He is frightened, defensive, and still useful as an engineer.
“I did not open that ravine. I merely refused to waste men holding a wall the mountain had already condemned.”
Sella Thorn
Wildcard, a wary goatherd and keeper of the high basin
WantsKeep people away from a sheltered spring and nesting ground used by her clan. She is willing to negotiate a limited diversion, but will resist any plan that permanently drains the basin.
“Leave the upper basin to the goats and the dead. The spring is mine to guard, not yours to spend.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A well-made climbing kit with 50 feet of hemp rope, iron spikes, and a small hammer, returned to the party if they recover the repair crew's cache.
A sealed tin of salve and clean bandages from Bellweather's healer, sufficient to treat several minor wounds in the system's normal manner.
Optional reward: Sella gives the party a charm of the high spring, a custom one-use token that can purify a waterskin or provide advantage on one check to calm or guide a domesticated animal. It is not an official magic item.
On a win
The adventure ends when the party executes a definite repair or emergency release and sees the water settle into its chosen channel.
The crew is recovered or accounted for, and Bellweather receives a clear explanation of what happened. The valley may lose a mill, fields, trust, or part of the high pasture depending on the party's choices, but the immediate water crisis is resolved and the party is paid.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party does not reach the spillway before the water level drops below the mill intake.
- The party spends too long on the upper route or loses essential gear. Bellweather's reserve dwindles; the mill channel must be sacrificed, and the final repair becomes harder, but the valley is not immediately destroyed.
- The party cannot agree on or execute a repair plan at the broken spillway.
- The party fails to secure a safe diversion. The dam can still be stabilized by a dangerous emergency release, but the lower fields flood and the mill is lost for the season.
- The party is driven away from a major encounter or separated in hazardous terrain.
- A badly injured or captured character can be recovered through negotiation, rescue, or an exchange of supplies. The group loses time and an enemy gains leverage, but character death is never required by the adventure.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden squall turns the trail to slick clay. Each traveler must secure one exposed pack or lose a small, vulnerable supply such as tinder, a ration bundle, or a coil of rope; a failed group crossing costs time and leaves someone bruised.
- 2A loaded mule balks at a narrow ledge. It can be calmed, unloaded, or led around by a longer route; forcing it risks a fall that destroys fragile cargo and alerts nearby creatures.
- 3A bank of fog rolls through the ravine and separates the rear traveler from the group. A clear whistle or lantern signal reunites everyone, but the delay gives a roaming predator time to approach or withdraw.
- 4A loose stone shelf collapses beneath the trail. The group can retreat to the charcoal-burners' cut, spend time making a safe traverse, or risk a short scramble that may cost equipment.
- 5A waterlogged pack animal develops a raw shoulder and refuses the steep ascent. Treating it costs time and supplies; abandoning it preserves the schedule but leaves its cargo to be retrieved later.
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