The Drowned Bell Foundry

Anywhere in the sky

UncommonAnywhere in the skyAct IAct IIAct IIIAct IV

From a tavern tip

A tip bought in a tavern for 20 silver.

“An old rigger swears a whole bell foundry slid off its cliffside ledge—molds, tools, and all—and nobody has gone down to salvage it.”

Possible rewards: Singing Shuttle Ward Bell

5 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.

The Fallen Foundry

Sail to The Fallen Foundry (2–5 passages away)1

Locate the bell foundry that slid off its cliffside ledge.

The ruined foundry rests on a rock shelf below the cloud line, its roof caved in and its casting pit flooded with rainwater. Something heavy is moving slowly inside the flooded pit.

Land and explore the ruined foundry.
Landfall: The Fallen Foundry
→ The Casting Pit
Leave it for now.
You mark the rock shelf on your chart and fly on.

The Casting Pit

Right away2

Search the drained casting pit.

With the foundry cleared, your crew drains the casting pit. At the bottom sits an unfinished bronze ward bell still locked in its mold, alongside a crate of precision tuning tools.

Winch the heavy ward bell out of the pit.
It takes every crewhand and the cargo winch to haul it free. Just as the heavy bronze bell clears the mold and swings over the pit, the rock shelf beneath the foundry groans and begins to give way.
→ The Shelf Collapses
Leave the heavy bell and take the crate of tuning tools.
The tools are much lighter and worth plenty to the right artisan—plus you find a working ship device packed inside the crate.
Device: a random device
→ The Tinker's Counter
[Stone mage] Raise both the bell and the tuning tools from the pit.
Crew: Stone caster · Mage
crewmate shapes a stone ramp up the pit wall, sliding the heavy bell and the crate of tuning tools safely up to the deck before the shelf can shift.
−20 mana (the crewmate who acted)Device: a random device
→ The Bell Founder

The Shelf Collapses

Right away3

Haul the ward bell aboard before the rock shelf collapses.

The rock shelf tilts violently. Rainwater pours from the pit and the foundry's back wall crumbles over the cliff edge. Your winch cable is the only thing holding the massive bell—and its weight is dragging the your ship down toward the rocks!

Hold the line and haul the bell up by force.
[Rigger] Have crewmate rig a second support line to distribute the weight.
Crew: Rigger
crewmate lashes a second cable to the bell's crown before the rock shelf finishes collapsing. With the load balanced between two lines, the bell comes up smoothly without scratching the hull.
+1 Repair skill XP
→ The Bell Founder
Cut the winch cable and let the bell fall.
The ward bell rings once as it plunges into the abyss. You escape intact with the few bronze ingots your crew had already loaded, which you sell by weight at the next port.
+45 silver
The questline ends here.

The Tinker's Counter

At a port4

Take the foundry's tuning tools to a tinker in port.

A gnome tinker lays the salvaged tools across her workbench in exact order: tuning forks, a striker, and a humming brass resonator. "Master tools for tuning ward bells," she says. "I'll pay you seventy silver for the set. Or let me borrow them to tune a small ward bell of my own, and you can keep the bell for your ship."

Sell her the tuning tools for silver.
She pays seventy silver without haggling—proof of how rare the master tools really are.
+70 silver
The questline ends here.
Let her use the tools in exchange for her tuned hand bell.
The bell she tunes is no bigger than a tankard. Hung beside your Ward Loom, it chimes softly whenever a ward layer breaks, helping the next layer weave faster.
Fitting: Ward Bell
The questline ends here.
[Gnome] Have crewmate help her tune the bell at her workbench.
Crew: Gnome
crewmate and the tinker spend a happy afternoon arguing over acoustics while tuning the bell together. She gives you the finished ward bell and pays crewmate twenty-five silver for the skilled help.
Fitting: Ward Bell+25 silver+1 Repair skill XP
The questline ends here.
Leave it for now.
She carefully wraps the tools back up and says her offer stands whenever you return.

The Bell Founder

At a port5

Find a bell founder in port who can tune the ward bell.

A bell founder with burn-scarred forearms circles the bronze bell twice and raps it with her knuckle. It rings one clear note followed by a harsh buzz. "An old-pattern ward bell, never tuned. Right now it's a two-ton doorstop, but if I tune it to resonate with your Ward Loom, your shields will weave much faster. I can tune it for thirty silver—or buy it off you for the scrap bronze."

Pay her 30 silver to tune the ward bell for your ship.
Costs 30 silver
She files and tests the bronze for a day and a half. Hung beside your Ward Loom, the tuned bell hums in harmony whenever your wards are active.
Relic: Singing Shuttle
The questline ends here.
Give her the foundry's original tuning tools to tune the bell for free.
Her eyes widen when she sees the master tools. She tunes the ward bell by nightfall, mounts it beside your Ward Loom, and pays you forty silver to keep the tools for her shop.
Relic: Singing Shuttle+40 silver
The questline ends here.
Sell her the bell for scrap bronze.
She pays generously by weight and has the massive bell loaded onto a foundry cart before you finish counting the coins.
+80 silver
The questline ends here.
Leave it for now.
You cover the bell with its tarpaulin again. It has waited this long; it can wait a little longer.

Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord