C
The Ground Blade
Umbrielle woke to the low hum of a ship that should not have been underwater — and yet was. The Ground Blade hung suspended in the deep, its hull groaning softly against the pressure.
She had left off in the mess with the Mistress, sharing food and a long, involved battle plan. The Mistress, unarmed and unbothered by it, had laid everything out with the calm of someone who had done this a hundred times.
“If Goldie has your equipment in, we can equip you,” the Mistress said.
Umbrielle nodded. “I’m ready to go any time.”
The Mistress rose and walked into the hallway. From behind a closed door came a deep, rattling snore.
She knocked. Once. Twice. Nothing.
“Goldy — Galyanda! We are here for the latest uptake for a new runner.”
Still snoring.
The Mistress sighed, slipped a small playing card under the door — and the door vanished.
Inside was a narrow bunk room leading to another hallway. On a top bunk, wrapped head to toe in black leather straps like a mummy, slept a gold dragonborn.
The Mistress lifted her upright and set her on her feet.
“WHAT WHAT WHAT WAAAAAA!!!!!!” Goldy yelped, fell flat on her face, then pushed herself up. “Come onnnn! I am cold-blooded and I needed to sleep! We are not even close to docking yet!”
Umbrielle bowed her head politely. “Hello. I am Umbrielle. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Goldy squinted. “A tortoise is going to take an underwater quest? Everybody knows tortoises can’t breathe underwater!”
“I’m a Tortle, not a tortoise,” Umbrielle said gently, “and I can swim underwater quite well. I can hold my breath for an hour or so, I assure you.”
That stopped Goldy cold.
The Mistress cut in. “Goldy, we need her equipment.”
Goldy hung her head and trudged down the hallway. Umbrielle had caught the dynamic quickly — Goldy had once led these underwater teams, until a leak, given partly under duress, had compromised their location. She hadn’t been cast out — the Mistress wouldn’t sentence one of her own ravens to death — but she’d been put on probation, on mech duty, and it stung.
“Would you like to accompany me on the mission?” Umbrielle asked. “It’s my first one and I don’t know this place.”
The Mistress nodded. “You are empowered to make that decision, and Goldy is a great choice.”
“The honor is mine,” Goldy said, smiling despite herself. “I will need to take a few things and some extra time to memorize my book, but I got most of your stuff here.”
The Reliquary
In the reliquary, Goldy pulled out Umbrielle’s old gear and laid out the new specialty items on a table: intricate leather straps, warm and tarry to the touch, hard as iron, each marked with a rune.
The Mistress demonstrated.
The knotted belt, wrapped around the waist, granted alter self — three times per day, with two options at once instead of one. Swim speed, claws, change of appearance.
The long handle strap, wrapped around a weapon, turned it momentarily into weightless electric energy — +1, plus 1d4 lightning damage, for ten minutes, three times per day.
And then the piece de resistance: a dark navy suit covered in a black grid. When the Mistress hooked a square buckle to it, it engulfed her.
“It does three things,” she said. “A flash-pack on the back keeps your equipment dry, weightless, and protected. Second, it grants you the message cantrip as a bonus action, purely mental if you wish. Third, the rune-net collects all your runic powers into one source, gives you extra armor, and creates an airlock — like a scuba suit.”
Umbrielle suited up, feeling the suit seal around her.
Then the red lights blared.
Mongo’s voice boomed over the ship: “Mistress, we have another jumper! She appears to be some kind of elf — she is jumping right into the middle of the drowned graveyard!”
The Rescue
The scene shifted to cold, crushing dark.
Elidove, a wispy elven bard who had been singing protest against the Hierophant of Brisbane, remembered only the teleportation rune burning her soul — and then water. Two fathoms down, she looked up to see the massive shadow of a ship above her.
She tried to scream. Water rushed in.
Three dark figures swam down fast.
Umbrielle, her belt already giving her a 30-foot swim speed, closed 60 feet in a double move. Goldy cast expeditious retreat on her, doubling it. Rumble, a Thai-colored tabaxi who hated water but came anyway, sprinted the last distance with a large square buckle outstretched.
Elidove, panicking, thrashed — nearly knocking the buckle from Rumble’s hand.
Umbrielle reached her, slapped her spare dark buckle to Elidove’s arm. In an instant a scuba-like suit enveloped the elf. She could breathe.
Umbrielle gave a thumbs up and pointed up. Together, with Goldy and Rumble escorting, they swam for the glowing square beneath the ship — the entrance hatch.
A gold elf in a dark robe — the Mistress herself — grabbed Elidove’s hand and pulled her into a warm boardroom with fruit on the table and tall dark statues in the corners.
Dred Witches
After pulses were checked and everyone could breathe again, introductions were made.
“I’m Umbrielle,” said the tortle, leaning on her great maul.
“Elidove,” said the elf, wringing out her hair. “Nice digs. Are you a fan? I didn’t think I was four-star-underwater-hotel popular.”
Both noticed it then — a keyhole-shaped rune on the back of the right hand.
“That just means you are a Dred Witch according to the Hierophant,” the Mistress said dryly. “Most women are considered witches by him, but since you can snare and wield the most powerful runes, congratulations.”
Rumble offered to teach them rune-snaring — Reeving.
Step one: touch your dark suit. Step two: picture the rune — a long eel encircled by a shield of electricity. Step three: give it a name. Elidove chose “Lightning Shield!” Umbrielle chose “Gojira!”
Both convulsed as 3 points of electric damage branded them.
Step four: imagine a throwable object embodying that energy, and throw it.
Elidove imagined a small turtle crackling with electricity and threw it at the table. Umbrielle imagined a net. Both were engulfed in dark cloaks — functioning as cloaks of the manta ray, fused with all their new powers.
“You are now monsters, assassins, necromancers, and other spooky characters of the Autumn Festival,” Rumble said, bowing. “Rest up.”
The Offer
Later, in the nautical room — walls covered in battle plans, a wall of force holding back the water — the Mistress laid it bare.
“We are an underground military organization. We covertly ship out magic belts, and some are cursed. One in particular can change the external sex characteristics of the wearer.”
She looked at them kindly. “The women in our order come from many origins. To some, the body is a cage, not a vehicle. We make these belts just for them.”
Umbrielle didn’t hesitate. “I have always wished to change my body in the way you described.”
Elidove nodded. “I would like one that can change just my appearance, for roles. I’m an actress — and a very strong ally.”
The Mistress smiled. “They will be here tomorrow. I shall covertly grandmother you into our order.”
Rumble agreed to join the mission in person — claws out, heavy crossbow ready — along with her mini gun-runner bot.
The mission was set: through the underwater graveyard, into the ancient tower, snare the rune, fight up into the enemy fortress, and exfiltrate to the island where their contact waited.
That night, Elidove tuned her perfectly polished lyre. Umbrielle laid down to rest, her new suit humming faintly against her shell.
Tomorrow, they would dive.
******
******
# The Drowned Reliquary
**A D&D 5e Adventure Module**
* **Recommended Party Level:** 3–4
* **Tone:** Aquatic Infiltration, High Fantasy, Stealth & Recon
* **Setting:** The *Ground Blade* (Submersible Vessel) & The Drowned Graveyard
—
## Dramatis Personae (NPCs)
| NPC Name | Race / Class | Role | Core Motivation |
| :— | :— | :— | :— |
| **The Mistress** | High Elf / High-Level Rogue | Commander of the *Ground Blade* | Protect her operatives; dismantle the Hierophant’s reach. |
| **Goldy (Galyanda)** | Gold Dragonborn / Artificer | Probationary Mech Mechanic | Eager to redeem herself after a past security leak under duress. |
| **Rumble** | Tabaxi / Ranger | Tactical Operative & Instructor | Deeply uncomfortable in water, but fierce and loyal in combat. |
| **Elidove** | Wood Elf / Bard | Rescued Protest Singer | Seeking refuge from the Hierophant of Brisbane after teleporter escape. |
—
## Act I: Briefing & Equipment
The party begins aboard the *Ground Blade*, a magically pressurized submersible ship. The Mistress tasks the party with infiltrating an underwater tower to secure an ancient rune before the Hierophant’s forces retrieve it.
### Unique Magic Items (Reliquary Gear)
#### Runic Navy Suit
*Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement)*
* **Aquatic Seal:** Grants water breathing and a swim speed equal to your walking speed.
* **Tactical Flash-Pack:** Stored equipment remains completely dry and weightless.
* **Mental Link:** You can cast the *Message* cantrip as a Bonus Action without verbal or somatic components.
#### Knotted Belt of Alteration
*Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement)*
* Contains 3 charges (regains $1\text{d}3$ charges at dawn). As an action, spend 1 charge to cast *Alter Self*. Unlike standard usage, you may select **two options simultaneously** (e.g., Aquatic Adaptation and Natural Weapons).
#### Handle Strap of the Volt
*Wondrous Item, Uncommon*
* Can be wrapped around any melee weapon (3 uses/day). As a bonus action, the weapon becomes weightless electrical energy for 10 minutes, gaining a $+1$ bonus to attack/damage rolls and dealing an additional $1\text{d}4$ lightning damage on hit.
—
## Act II: Reeving (Rune-Snaring Rite)
Before deployment, Rumble leads any spellcasters or marked characters through the ritual of **Reeving** to attune their suits to runic magic.
### Ritual Procedure
1. **Touch the Suit:** The character places their hand on their Runic Navy Suit, focusing on the suit’s grid network.
2. **Envision & Name the Rune:** Make a **DC 12 Arcana or Religion check**. The player declares a short name for their runic aspect (e.g., *Lightning Shield* or *Gojira*). On a success, the rune manifests clearly; on a failure, they take an additional $1\text{d}4$ lightning damage during the branding step.
3. **The Voltaic Brand:** The character endures **3 electrical damage** as the rune seals itself into their skin and suit.
4. **Manifest & Discharge:** The character manifests a temporary energy projectile and hurls it at a target. Successfully completing the discharge unlocks the suit’s full potential, transforming it into an active *Cloak of the Manta Ray*.
—
## Act III: Mission Structure & Objectives
**Flow:** Phase 1: Underwater Descent ??> Phase 2: The Ancient Tower ??> Phase 3: Exfiltration
### Encounter Breakdown
* **Phase 1: The Drowned Graveyard (Environment & Stealth)**
* **Challenge:** Navigate through a sunken cemetery filled with cold currents and zero-visibility trench pockets.
* **Hazard:** *Drown-Ghost Currents* (DC 13 Strength saving throw or be swept 30 ft. away from the party).
* **Phase 2: The Ancient Tower (Combat & Puzzle)**
* **Enemies:** 3× **Sahuagin Waveguard**, 1× **Deep Scion** (guarding the central spire).
* **Objective:** Locate and snare the **Eel-Shield Rune** embedded in the tower’s altarpiece before the temple structural integrity drops to zero.
* **Phase 3: Fortress Ascent & Island Surface (Boss & Escape)**
* **Boss Encounter:** **Hierophant’s Inquisitor** (Stat block: *Mage* with water-breathing and lightning resistance spells).
* **Exfiltration:** Reach the surface island where Goldy and Rumble await with the extraction vessel.
