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Lanterns on the Barrow Hill

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Lanterns on the Barrow Hill

Lvl 1-23 to 5 characters3 to 5 hours· easy

“A village road goes dark when blue lanterns begin burning on a burial hill after sunset.”

— Hook · kill

R
QuestgiverReeve Elsbeth Marr
Kill
D&D 5E
Easy
Lvl 1-2
3 to 5 characters
3 to 5 hours
4 NPCs
2 encounters
The Opening

“The reeve of Bracken Ford asks for urgent help: livestock have vanished, travelers are not returning, and blue lanterns have been seen burning on the old barrow hill after dark. The villagers fear a ghost, but the tracks say something living or undead is taking what it wants and dragging the rest below ground.”

— Hook · kill

Set the Scene

At dusk in Bracken Ford, the reeve gathers the party in the inn common room while rain ticks against the shutters and a missing farmer's lantern hangs cold by the hearth. She points toward the dark hill beyond the river road and says the village has one night left before panic turns into flight.

Patron
R
Questgiver

Reeve Elsbeth Marr

Direct plea from a worried local authority, with a small reward and the promise of gratitude if the party ends the threat quickly.

On the Streets · In the Books

Rumours

d4 · table
  1. 01
    The blue lights only appear when the river fog is thick.
  2. 02
    Old Brother Halwen says the hill was cursed after a grave was robbed thirty years ago.
  3. 03
    Toma Vell claims she heard singing from underground, not howling.
  4. 04
    A shepherd says the creatures avoid iron bells and prayer marks painted on stone.
Stakes

If the party fails, the road closes, the village panics, and the barrow's dead grow bolder each night until the hill becomes a larger danger beyond the hamlet.

Ticking Clock·By the third night, the disappearances will reach a point where Bracken Ford's farmers abandon the road and the barrow's dead will have free run of the countryside.

Background Lore

The hamlet of Bracken Ford sits beside an old river road and an overgrown barrow hill. For generations, locals have avoided the hill at dusk because the lanterns there sometimes glow blue, and livestock found near the slope are discovered pale, silent, and claw-marked. Recently, the disappearances have become bolder, and the town reeve has quietly posted for help before trade along the road collapses entirely.

What the World Knows

Blue lanterns burn on the old barrow hill, and people who go looking for the source do not return. The reeve wants the party to find what is killing travelers and livestock, then stop it before the village is forced to abandon the road.

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