The Hunger Between Borders
The Hunger Between Borders
Read aloud
Three bodies have been found on the road from Valenwood, each bearing signs of a frantic attack and strange, serpentine damage. Split Ash's watch-captain needs someone who can investigate without starting a panic. The trail points north, but whatever made it is still moving.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Determine how the victims died and trace the attacker from Split Ash.
- 2Follow the trail north and find proof of the creature's destination.
- 3Decide what to do about Serev before he reaches Skingrad.
- 4Protect the witnesses and prevent panic or scapegoating in Split Ash.Optional
The clock
Serev is moving north and attempts to travel onward after each nightfall. Use a three-step clock: after each substantial delay, he leaves the current refuge, a fresh victim or near-miss appears farther along the route, and finally he reaches Skingrad. The clock advances for long rests, prolonged detours, or public delays, but not for brief investigative scenes.
Scenes
- 0:00The Watch-Captain's Briefing
- 0:45A Trail That Stops Too Soon
- 1:45The Witness Under the Hay
- 2:35The Shrine in the Ravine
- 4:05The One Who Is Still Hungry
- 5:45What the Border Will Remember
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver
- Talia RenWitness
- Serev IlyanAntagonist
- Doctor Pell ArvaneWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Rain taps on the shutters of Split Ash's watch office. Mara Venn lays out three rough sketches of corpses: one drained-looking, one with long, torn wounds, and one whose lower half appears to have been crushed and partly swallowed. A patrol bell rings outside as a soaked caravan pulls into town. Mara says the latest witness is somewhere in that caravan, and asks the party to find them before the crowd does.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party at the watch office or a caravanserai, after hearing they are capable outsiders.
She offers a modest advance, access to the crime scenes, and the watch's cooperation, but asks them to keep accusations private until evidence is secure.
Rumours
Scenes
about 6.5 hours0:00
45 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Watch-Captain's Briefing
Split Ash watch office during a rainy evening, with patrols moving through the square outside.
Mara lays out the evidence and hires the party. They can inspect the sketches and available clothing, then choose whether to begin with the latest scene or interview the caravan.
NextA new witness has arrived with the caravan. Mara can introduce the party, or they can approach the witness before the crowd notices.
0:45
60 min
exploration
2. A Trail That Stops Too Soon
A muddy roadside drainage ditch beyond Split Ash, marked by thorn hedges and wagon tracks.
The party examines a body and the surrounding ditch. They can learn that the attacker was interrupted mid-feed, find serpentine drag marks, and recover a token pointing toward the north road. Serev returns briefly if the party is taking time or making noise.
The Ditchside ReturnNextThe physical trail leads to Talia, whose account helps the party distinguish the attacker's route from ordinary caravan traffic.
1:45
50 min
social
3. The Witness Under the Hay
A busy caravanserai stable, where Talia is hiding behind stacked feed sacks while travelers argue over room and road closures.
Talia gives her account and asks the party to protect her brother. She saw the attacker shift shape but is uncertain whether it was one creature or two. A gentle interview yields a direction and a description of the travel token.
NextTalia's description points to an abandoned shrine. The party can reach it by the main road or follow a muddy shortcut through the low ground.
2:35
90 min
combat
4. The Shrine in the Ravine
A collapsed roadside shrine in a low ravine, where an old drainage channel is filling with rainwater.
The party reaches the old shrine and must cross the flooded chamber, deal with its guardian, and recover the travel token or another sign of Serev's route. They can also uncover traces showing that the attacker fled north after being interrupted.
The Flooded ShrineNextThe token and tracks lead to an abandoned orchard house on the edge of the northern road, where Serev has hidden until nightfall.
4:05
100 min
social
5. The One Who Is Still Hungry
A deserted orchard house with a dry cellar, torn travel papers, and a northern road visible through the trees.
At the orchard house, the party finds Serev exhausted, frightened, and preparing to travel. The signs of his transformation are undeniable, but his fear and injuries make conversation possible. The party chooses whether to negotiate, restrain, or fight.
The Orchard HouseNextIf Serev is captured or persuaded, the party can bring him to Split Ash or arrange a discreet meeting with Pell. If he escapes, his trail now enters Skingrad.
5:45
45 min
social
6. What the Border Will Remember
The watch office at dawn, with Talia, Mara, and possibly Pell present.
The party reports to Mara and decides whether to disclose the evidence, protect Serev's identity, or take him to Pell. Resolve the town's response and establish who will be responsible for any survivor or captive.
NextMara's response determines the party's standing in Split Ash; Pell's offer, if accepted, opens the next trail into Skingrad.
Behind it
What people believe
A series of grisly attacks has left travelers dead along the road from Valenwood toward Split Ash.
Some victims show signs of being mauled by a large serpent, while others appear to have suffered a desperate, interrupted feeding. The town watch wants the trail investigated before fear turns against innocent travelers. Tracks and testimony suggest the threat is heading north toward Skingrad.
Background
A newly turned yakef vampire is fleeing north from Valenwood, leaving victims whose wounds suggest both desperate feeding and a monstrous serpentine transformation.
The trail crosses Split Ash, a border town where refugees, merchants, and patrols compete to control the roads, then leads toward Skingrad. The vampire has repeatedly been interrupted before completing a feeding, and now believes he can learn control in the city's crowded streets.
The stakes
If the party fails to find Serev, he reaches Skingrad hungry and without control, where his next victims may be harder to identify before rumors turn into a public hunt.
If they misread the evidence, Split Ash may punish innocent travelers or conceal the real danger behind an easy scapegoat.
Encounters
3The Ditchside Return
Combat or chase
A narrow drainage ditch beside a muddy road, with thorn hedges, a low stone culvert, and unstable banks. The ditch provides concealment but makes movement awkward.
Foes
Serev Ilyan, fleeing in partially transformed form
ComplicationThe victim's body is lodged in a drainage ditch. Moving it without care destroys some evidence; during the examination, a lingering blood-scent may draw Serev back to retrieve a torn travel token.
ScalingFor a party of 3 or lower, Serev flees after one clear hit or after the party blocks his escape, rather than fighting to the death. For a party of 5, add two frightened carrion scavengers as environmental nuisances, not combatants, or give Serev a second escape route. This is a brief, dangerous glimpse, not a required kill.
The Flooded Shrine
Combat
A collapsed roadside shrine with a submerged floor, a waist-high altar, slick steps, and a half-blocked sluice. The rising water makes crossing the chamber increasingly difficult.
Foes
Ashen Coil, a custom vampire-blooded serpent guardian
Two graveyard snakes
ComplicationA flash flood fills the lower chamber while the party confronts the guardian. Each round or combat turn, water rises in a marked section of the room; a creature can use an action to open a jammed sluice or help someone to higher ground.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use Ashen Coil alone and make the rising water slower. For a larger party, retain both snakes and have Ashen Coil use the chamber's cover. Ashen Coil is a custom creature, not a standard D&D 5E monster; use a suitable low-level serpent stat block as a base and describe its vampiric traits as setting-specific.
The Orchard House
Combat or social
An abandoned orchard house with a cramped cellar, hanging beams, a dry well, and rows of thorny trees outside. The cellar has only one obvious exit, while a roof hatch offers a hazardous escape route.
Foes
Serev Ilyan, in full custom yakef vampire form
ComplicationSerev refuses to surrender while he believes the party intends to destroy him. A character who offers a credible safe alternative, or reveals evidence of the hunter who turned him, can create an opening for parley. If talks fail, he tries to escape through the roof rather than fight to the death.
ScalingFor a party of 3, Serev has already been injured by a fall and prioritizes escape over attacking downed characters. For a party of 5, add two animated root tangles using an appropriate low-level plant stat block, or let Serev use the narrow rafters to control positioning. Serev's yakef traits are custom; adapt a low-level vampire-themed creature rather than assuming full vampire statistics.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver, Split Ash watch-captain
WantsIdentify the killer and keep Split Ash from descending into panic or scapegoating travelers.
“The wounds tell us something is hunting, but not what. Find the pattern before the patrols decide the answer is every stranger.”
Talia Ren
Witness, caravan scribe
WantsProtect her younger brother, who witnessed the creature near the north road, while avoiding blame for helping a smuggler.
“I saw the shape move under the cart. It was too long to be a man, and it looked back at me.”
Serev Ilyan
Antagonist, newly turned yakef vampire
WantsReach Skingrad alive and find someone who can teach him to control his newly acquired form.
“I have not chosen what I am. I only know what happens when I stay hungry.”
Doctor Pell Arvane
Wildcard, discreet Skingrad physician and occult researcher
WantsAcquire rare notes on vampiric transformations and decide whether Serev is a research subject, a threat, or both.
“A city is full of doors. Some open for coin, some for blood, and some only after you stop asking politely.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A watch-issued lantern with a shuttered hood and a stamped pass for the Split Ash road posts.
A sealed vial of antiseptic from Doctor Pell, if the party deals with him; it is a custom narrative item with no assumed mechanical effect.
On a win
The party identifies the threat, reaches Serev, and chooses how to resolve the immediate danger.
They return enough credible evidence to Mara that Split Ash can protect witnesses without blaming unrelated travelers. Success need not mean killing Serev: capture, a negotiated surrender, or a controlled escape into an agreed safe custody all count if the party addresses the risk to future victims.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party cannot persuade Mara that they can handle the investigation, or they are caught concealing evidence.
- The watch detains the party and takes control of the investigation. They can continue only under supervision, losing time and access to private witnesses.
- The party fails to protect Talia from the frightened crowd or reveals her identity carelessly.
- Talia is moved to a guarded safehouse and stops cooperating. The trail to the north road remains discoverable, but the party loses her firsthand account of the creature's route.
- The party spends too long at Split Ash or fails to follow the trail beyond the shrine.
- Serev reaches Skingrad before the party and begins hunting in secret. The adventure can continue there, but the first victims and public trust are lost.
- The party ends the immediate threat but fails to establish what happened or communicate the outcome.
- If Serev is killed without preserving evidence or reporting the result, the watch treats the case as an unsolved series of murders and may blame the party or local outsiders.
Complications (d6)
- 1A frightened mule bolts through the scene, scattering evidence and threatening to trample anyone blocking the road. Calm or restrain it before continuing the investigation.
- 2A Split Ash patrol arrives and orders the party to surrender their weapons while it inspects the latest corpse. Refusal risks arrest and delays the trail.
- 3A sudden rainstorm washes away shallow tracks. The party can preserve one clue with prompt action, but must choose between the prints, a blood smear, and a dropped scrap of cloth.
- 4A frightened refugee recognizes Talia and accuses her of bringing the killer to town. The crowd begins to gather; de-escalation is needed to keep the witness safe.
- 5A dead victim's satchel contains a sealed letter naming a local smuggler. The letter is genuine, but the smuggler has no connection to the killings and may be driven into hiding if exposed.
- 6Serev's serpentine form has left a shed strip of dark, bloodless skin near the trail. Touching it causes a brief chill and a vivid flash of his flight, but also alerts him that someone is close.
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