# The Treasure Chest: Briarbridge Starter
A free, original fantasy tabletop resource. System-neutral; no combat statistics.

## Welcome to Briarbridge
A bridge town of 300 people survives on a watermill, orchards, and trade. Three nights ago, the mill wheel stopped. Each evening a brass bell rings beneath the river. Grain is piling up, merchants are leaving, and the reeve has ordered everyone to stay away from the water.

## Mara Fen, the miller
- Appearance: flour on her cuffs, a scar across one palm, boots patched with sailcloth.
- Wants: the wheel turning before the harvest spoils.
- Secret: she promised a river spirit one cherished memory for each year of safe milling. This year she refused to pay.
- Voice: brisk, practical; touches her cuffs when she lies.
- First line: "If you came for work, I have some. If you came for answers, get in line."
- Offer: lodging and provisions in exchange for investigating the bell.
- Pressure: her younger brother has volunteered to dive beneath the wheel at dawn.

## Three adventure hooks
1. A missing delivery: a grain cart arrives with no driver. Wet footprints lead away from the cart although the road is dry.
2. An impossible sound: a deaf orchard keeper can hear the underwater bell. The sound repeats a lullaby she has not thought of in years.
3. A bargain: the spirit will release the wheel if someone willingly gives up a treasured memory. The party can negotiate a different payment, investigate who first made the pact, or move the mill away from the spirit's pool.

## Run the first scene
Start at the mill as dusk falls. Let each character notice one strange detail. Mara asks for help without explaining the bargain. If questioned kindly, she admits that she made a promise. If threatened, she closes the mill and goes to find her brother. The spirit communicates through reflections in the water, never through a direct attack.

## Session planning worksheet
- Party goal:
- What matters to each character:
- Opening scene:
- Three clues (provide more than one way to find each):
- One NPC desire:
- One difficult choice:
- What happens if nobody intervenes:
- Names to use on the fly:
- What changed after the session:

## Use at your table
Rename the town and NPC, change the bargain, or move the scene to your own setting. Choose challenges and rewards using your game's rules. The story can end through negotiation, research, or an inventive plan, without requiring combat.

Personal tabletop use permitted. Do not resell or redistribute this file.