The Mark Beneath the Flood
The Mark Beneath the Flood
Read aloud
The river has climbed past the warning stones, and Bellwether's floodgate is groaning like something alive. Ferry-master Mara Venn points to the strange mark on Wegta's keepsake and says it matches a sealed door beneath the gate. Before the next surge, someone must reach the mechanism and decide what to do with it.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Reach the floodgate
- 2Discover the mark's purpose
- 3Choose the fate of the floodgate
- 4Preserve the Lantern Wardens' recordOptional
The clock
Use three warning stages: water at the lower steps, water across the service lanes, and water at the regulator's threshold. Advance one stage after major delays, failed attempts, or a loud confrontation. At the final stage, force an immediate choice and apply the relevant failure mode if the party cannot act.
Scenes
- 0:00The Warning Bell
- 0:25Records in Rising Water
- 1:05The Sluice Walk
- 1:55The Heart of the Floodgate
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and Bellwether ferry-master
- Iven SornAlly and apprentice archivist
- Neral QuillAntagonist and engineer
- Sella RookWitness and retired Lantern Warden
The hook
Set the scene
Begin in Bellwether as water slaps against the raised ferry landing. Mara Venn gathers the party beneath a bell tower, shows them a rubbing of the mark on the sealed floodgate door, and asks Wegta to examine it. The town's warning bell sounds before Mara can explain further: the river has risen faster than expected.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party in public at the ferry landing, where the rising water makes the danger immediately visible.
She asks Wegta to inspect the matching mark and offers the group access to the ferry and the town's emergency stores.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
25 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Warning Bell
The crowded ferry landing and bell tower in Bellwether.
Mara reveals the matching mark, the rising water creates immediate urgency, and the party chooses whether to trust her account or gather information first.
NextMara can arrange a boat to the floodgate. Any inquiry into the mark points toward Sella or the town's damaged Warden archive.
0:25
40 min
exploration
2. Records in Rising Water
The drowned service lanes and a half-flooded archive near the river.
The party chooses a route through flooded channels, gathers practical evidence about Neral's work, and may recover the Warden ledger from the archive.
NextA salvaged map leads to the Sluice Walk. If the party speaks with Sella, she admits she recognized Wegta's mark but avoids explaining why.
1:05
50 min
combat
3. The Sluice Walk
The exposed service walkways above the flood channels.
The party confronts Neral's crew on the narrow maintenance route. They can fight, bargain, expose Neral's plan, or bypass the workers while the surge threatens the walkways.
The Sluice WalkNextThe route opens into the regulator chamber. A captured worker or a found diagram can reveal that Neral intends to divert the river, not simply repair the gate.
1:55
65 min
skill
4. The Heart of the Floodgate
The chamber beneath the floodgate, where the river can be heard through the stone.
The regulator reacts to Wegta's mark. Sella's withheld knowledge comes to light, and the party must choose whether to stabilize, redirect, or seal the old channel while Neral argues for their plan.
The Heart of the FloodgateNextResolve the flood's immediate consequences in Bellwether, then present the ledger, key, or surviving NPCs as leads for what Wegta does next.
Behind it
What people believe
Bellwether's floodgate is failing as the river rises.
The mechanism is sealed beneath the old works, and a mark on Wegta's keepsake matches the mark on its door. The party must reach the gate, uncover how to operate it, and choose how to protect the settlement.
Background
The river settlement of Bellwether depends on an old floodgate whose stonework bears the same three-pronged mark found on a keepsake Wegta carries.
The mark is associated locally with the vanished Lantern Wardens, who once maintained the river's hidden channels. This adventure treats Wegta as a player character or important established character; adapt the keepsake and its history to fit their backstory.
The stakes
If the party delays or chooses poorly, the river floods homes and docks.
If they expose or support Neral's plan, the settlement may be saved unevenly, dividing its residents. Wegta's connection to the regulator could become a personal responsibility or a source of dangerous attention.
Encounters
2The Sluice Walk
Combat or negotiation
Narrow stone walkways above a fast channel, waist-high control wheels, slick stairs, and a grated maintenance bridge.
Foes
Neral's hired gate-breakers
A loose counterweight and unstable machinery
ComplicationA rising surge periodically sweeps across the lower platform. Characters can use visible warning marks to reach shelter, but doing so costs position or time.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-focused group, use fewer hired workers and emphasize negotiation or sabotage. For a larger or more capable group, add workers guarding the control wheel and make the surge more frequent.
The Heart of the Floodgate
Social, skill, or combat
A round stone chamber with a central regulator, knee-deep water, three raised platforms, and a narrow exit tunnel.
Foes
Neral Quill
Two hired gate-breakers, if they escaped the first encounter
ComplicationThe chamber's old regulator responds to the three-pronged mark. Each failed attempt to operate it releases a short pulse of water and shifts the safe platforms.
ScalingIf the group is underpowered, Neral can be persuaded to stand down once the cost of their plan is clear. If the group needs a stronger climax, give Neral a guarded position and add a time limit as the chamber fills.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Bellwether ferry-master
WantsWants the floodgate repaired before the next rise and believes Wegta's connection to the mark may open a way into the sealed works.
“That mark is on your keepsake, Wegta. I was hoping it meant you could help us, not that it meant we were already too late.”
Iven Sorn
Ally and apprentice archivist
WantsWants to preserve the Lantern Wardens' legacy and keep the sealed lower channel from being opened carelessly.
“I can show you the old channels. I will not help you destroy the one thing my family was told to protect.”
Neral Quill
Antagonist and engineer
WantsWants to redirect the flood away from their own district, even if another part of Bellwether is sacrificed.
“The river does not care whose name is carved into the stone. It only asks who will pay when the gate opens.”
Sella Rook
Witness and retired Lantern Warden
WantsWants Wegta to learn the truth on their own terms, but fears the danger and responsibility that will follow.
“Wegta, I knew that mark before I knew your name. I am sorry I let you believe it was only a keepsake.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A waterproof lantern with a shutter that can be operated one-handed
The recovered Lantern Warden ledger, if the optional objective is completed
A brass regulator key that bears Wegta's mark
On a win
The party prevents the worst of the flood and determines the regulator's fate.
Bellwether survives, though the outcome depends on the party's choices: some districts may be damaged, Neral may be an ally or enemy, and Wegta may inherit a responsibility tied to the old Warden mark.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot stabilize or redirect the gate before the river reaches its marked danger level.
- The main floodgate remains partly jammed. Bellwether suffers damage to its docks and lower homes, and the party must negotiate emergency aid before returning to the mechanism.
- The party fails to stop Neral or agree on a safer alternative in time.
- Neral opens the diversion sluice, sparing their chosen district while flooding a different stretch of Bellwether. Neral escapes with a regulator component that may matter later.
- The party forces the regulator without understanding its controls or ignores the warnings about the rising chamber.
- The regulator seals the lower channel with the party inside or separates Wegta from the group. The characters can escape, but lose access to evidence and must seek another route to the truth.
Complications (d6)
- 1The river rises early, submerging the safest route to the floodgate. The party must find a higher approach or spend time securing boats and ropes.
- 2A panicked ferry crew mistakes the party for Neral's hired saboteurs and blocks the crossing until the group explains itself or finds another way across.
- 3A loose counterweight drops without warning, threatening anyone beneath it and partially jamming the gate mechanism.
- 4Iven recognizes a family name in the Warden records and refuses to continue until the party promises to protect the archive.
- 5Neral's workers begin opening a diversion sluice. The party must choose between pursuing them and stabilizing the main floodgate.
- 6A trapped river animal bursts from a side channel, scattering tools and threatening nearby characters. It is frightened, not malicious, and can be calmed or driven away.
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