The Bell Beneath Blackwater
The Bell Beneath Blackwater
“A stolen bell, a rising river, and a drowned secret beneath the old tollhouse.”
— Hook · Recovery and investigation
“The bell of Saint Orra was stolen three nights ago, and since then the river has flowed backward after sunset. Sister Maelin asks you to retrieve it from the smugglers hiding in the old tollhouse before the next flood tide reaches Bellwater. She warns that the bell must not be rung again.”
— Hook · Recovery and investigation
Rain lashes Bellwater as the party is led into Saint Orra's chapel. The bell tower stands empty, its support beam split and blackened as if struck by lightning. Sister Maelin shows the characters wet bootprints leading from the tower toward the river, then points to the water, where the current briefly reverses and carries a dead lantern upstream.
Sister Maelin Voss
Sister Maelin approaches the party after a tense chapel service, offering local guides, basic supplies, and a modest reward. She is honest about the strange river behavior but withholds the oldest parts of the bell's history because she fears causing panic.
Rumours
d5 · table- 01The bell was stolen by smugglers, but they carried it away wrapped in chains and funeral cloth.
- 02The old tollhouse has been abandoned for twenty years, yet lanterns are seen moving inside during heavy rain.
- 03A ferryman who heard the stolen bell ring woke with river mud in his lungs.
- 04Captain Rusk is not interested in gold anymore. He has been asking questions about drowned saints and forgotten locks.
- 05The river has been flowing backward near the chapel since the night the bell disappeared.
If the bell is not recovered before the next flood tide, Blackwater River will overflow into Bellwater. Hundreds may lose their homes, and the force beneath the tollhouse will become strong enough to spread downstream.
Background Lore
For generations, the bell of Saint Orra has hung in the riverside chapel of Bellwater, rung at dawn, dusk, and whenever floodwaters threaten the town. The bell is more than a relic. Its bronze was forged around a sliver of a fallen star, and its tone disrupts the strange currents beneath the river. Recently, smugglers stole it and carried it to an abandoned tollhouse hidden among the marsh channels. Since then, boats have vanished, drowned corpses have appeared upstream, and the river has begun flowing against the tide at night.
The bell of Saint Orra was stolen from Bellwater's chapel by river smugglers. Since the theft, the river has behaved strangely, flowing backward at night and threatening to flood the town. The characters must track the thieves to an abandoned tollhouse, recover the bell, and return it before the next flood tide.
