The Missing Seed-Cask
The Missing Seed-Cask
Read aloud
The Moonwell is sinking, and Barleycross's seed-cask has vanished just before the spring planting. Reeve Mara Thistlebrook needs someone to find it before the fields go dry. She offers a fair reward, but asks you to bring the cask back intact.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the trail of the missing seed-cask.
- 2Retrieve the seed-cask from the marsh hideaway.
- 3Resolve the dispute over the Moonwell's water.Optional
The clock
The planting window closes at the final bell on the third day. Each full day spent away causes more fields to miss their first watering.
Scenes
- 0:00The Empty Cradle
- 0:35Water Through the Gate
- 1:25A Watcher in the Reeds
- 2:10The Promise in the Seed-Stone
Cast
- Mara ThistlebrookQuestgiver
- Tovin ReedAlly
- Sella VennAntagonist
- Old RootWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At Barleycross's Moonwell, the village reeve shows the party the empty stone cradle where the seed-cask belongs. The water sits several inches below its usual mark, and farmers wait with seed sacks beside the dry furrows. Mara explains the deadline and offers payment for the cask's safe return. Tovin Reed, who knows the marsh paths, volunteers to guide the party as far as the broken irrigation gate.
How Mara Thistlebrook asks
Mara approaches the party in the village square beside the empty seed-cask cradle.
She offers an advance for travel supplies and promises the remainder upon the cask's return.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
35 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Empty Cradle
Barleycross's village square, beside the Moonwell and the empty stone cradle.
Mara explains the deadline and reward. The party sees the falling waterline and can gather local accounts before setting out.
NextTovin leads the party along the irrigation ditch toward the broken gate.
0:35
50 min
exploration
2. Water Through the Gate
A damaged irrigation gate at the edge of the marsh, surrounded by wet banks and overgrown channels.
The party investigates the broken gate, deals with the boars and crows if necessary, and chooses how to cross the flooding channels. Tracks and a scrap of reedweave point deeper into the marsh.
The Broken Irrigation GateNextThe trail leads to a concealed dry patch where Sella's lookout is keeping watch.
1:25
45 min
social
3. A Watcher in the Reeds
A dry rise surrounded by reeds, with a lean-to and a fenced pen.
The party encounters Sella's lookout and can question, bargain with, sneak past, or confront them. Sella's concern about the expanding fields becomes apparent, and the cask's hiding place is revealed.
The Reed-Hide ApproachNextSella directs the party, or is pursued by them, to the Moonwell's oldest basin.
2:10
60 min
social
4. The Promise in the Seed-Stone
An old spring ringed by willow roots and half-submerged stones.
Sella and the party reach the Moonwell's inner basin. Old Root demands an answer about how the village will use the water. The group can negotiate a shared plan, take the cask by force, or leave with it and accept the consequences.
The Moonwell's BargainNextThe party returns to Barleycross with the cask and whatever agreement, grievance, or warning they have won.
Behind it
What people believe
On the eve of spring planting, Barleycross's traditional seed-cask has disappeared and the village's Moonwell is running low.
Reeve Mara Thistlebrook asks the party to follow its trail into the nearby marsh and recover the cask before the planting window closes. The search may bring them into conflict with the marsh's hazards and with people who believe the village is taking too much from the land.
Background
The village of Barleycross depends on the Moonwell, a spring-fed stone basin whose water keeps the communal fields fertile through dry spells.
Each spring, the villagers carry a carved seed-cask from the well to the first planting. This year, the cask vanished on the eve of sowing, and the Moonwell has begun to run low.
The stakes
If the seed-cask is not returned before the planting window closes, Barleycross loses a substantial portion of its spring crop.
If the party returns it without addressing the water shortage, the village may plant on time but risk exhausting the Moonwell and worsening relations with the marsh.
Encounters
3The Broken Irrigation Gate
Combat or hazard
A narrow earthen dam divides shallow irrigation channels. Muddy banks are slippery, waist-high reeds obscure movement, and a hand-cranked wooden gate can redirect the flow.
Foes
Reedbank Boars
Marsh Crows
ComplicationA sudden surge floods the lowest stepping stones. Characters who linger may be separated from one another or lose unsecured supplies downstream.
ScalingFor a smaller or less combat-ready party, use one boar and let the crows scatter after the first loud attack. For a larger or stronger party, add a second boar or have the crows harry anyone trying to operate the gate.
The Reed-Hide Approach
Social or combat
A raised patch of dry ground sits among reed beds, with a low fence, a lean-to, and several narrow paths that can conceal movement.
Foes
Sella Venn's Lookout
Marsh Ram
ComplicationSella's lookout mistakes the party for village enforcers and releases a penned ram toward them. The party can calm, redirect, or evade it rather than fight.
ScalingFor a smaller party, the lookout flees if offered a way out and the ram is only a moving hazard. For a larger party, the lookout has two helpers who try to pin characters in the reeds rather than fight to the death.
The Moonwell's Bargain
Social or combat
A moonlit spring lies within a ring of old willow roots. The stone basin is slick, the surrounding ground is soft, and several roots form natural bridges over the water.
Foes
Thorn-Vines
ComplicationOld Root will not release the cask until the party demonstrates that they understand the cost of taking water from the marsh. A careless answer causes roots to close the paths and summons protective thorn-vines.
ScalingFor a smaller party, the thorn-vines are an obstacle that can be soothed, cut, or bypassed. For a larger party, they restrain one character at a time while Old Root continues to negotiate, giving the group a chance to de-escalate.
Cast
4Mara Thistlebrook
QuestgiverQuestgiver, Barleycross's practical reeve
WantsGet the seed-cask back quickly so the village can plant on time and avoid hunger.
“Bring the seed-cask home before the last planting bell. We can argue about old customs after the fields are safe.”
Tovin Reed
Ally, local marsh-farmer and guide
WantsProtect the wetland and its unusual wildlife while helping the party navigate safely.
“The track bends where the reeds whisper. If you hear water running uphill, do not follow it alone.”
Sella Venn
Antagonist, former village water-keeper who hid the cask
WantsForce Barleycross to acknowledge that its expanding fields are draining the marsh, while keeping the cask from being damaged.
“I took the cask to save what the village refuses to see. You can take it back, but the dry ground will still be waiting.”
Old Root
Wildcard, an ancient spirit bound to the Moonwell
WantsKeep the village and marsh in balance, and prevent either side from claiming the spring as private property.
“A seed is not a promise of plenty. It is a promise that somebody will have to tend what grows.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Reedweave charm: a locally made, water-resistant charm that can be traded or used as a token of trust with marsh-folk.
A basket of preserved spring vegetables and a small pouch of useful planting seeds.
On a win
The party returns the seed-cask in usable condition and helps Barleycross make its planting decision.
If they broker a water-sharing agreement, Old Root restores the Moonwell's flow, the village preserves a strip of wetland, and Sella is treated as a difficult ally rather than a thief. If they recover the cask without an agreement, the planting can proceed, but the spring remains at risk.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot recover the seed-cask before the final planting bell.
- Barleycross misses the planting window for several fields. The village faces a lean harvest, and Mara must ration seed and food.
- The party returns the cask without negotiating any limits on irrigation or repairing the damaged channels.
- The marsh dries further, and Old Root withdraws from the Moonwell. Barleycross keeps the cask but loses the spring's dependable flow.
- The party exposes Sella's hiding place but makes no effort to hear her concerns or keep the confrontation peaceful.
- Sella is arrested or driven away, and the villagers treat her warning as a threat rather than a reason to change their water use.
Complications (d6)
- 1A loose plank gives way on the marsh boardwalk. The party must rescue a trapped pack animal or leave behind one bulky item.
- 2A sudden irrigation surge cuts off the safest path. The group must spend time finding a crossing or risk crossing a fast, waist-deep channel.
- 3A swarm of hungry crows scatters the party's food and seed samples. The birds flee with one small, visible item.
- 4A Barleycross farmer recognizes Sella's trail and demands that the party promise to bring her back for judgment.
- 5The Moonwell's water briefly runs uphill, revealing a safe route through the reeds but awakening a watchful marsh guardian.
- 6A wheelbarrow of newly harvested turnips blocks the lane. The owner offers a useful rumor if the party helps move the load.
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