The Debt Beneath Starfall Spring
The Debt Beneath Starfall Spring
“A village drinks from a stolen promise, and the forest has come to collect.”
— Hook · Mystery, wilderness investigation, moral choice
“The water in Briar Glen's well has turned black, and something rings the old watchtower bell every midnight. The mayor will pay you to find the cause before the next bell toll, when she believes the village will lose its only source of clean water forever. A shepherd who escaped the Thornwood swears that a woman in white was feeding pages from an old book into the spring.”
— Hook · Mystery, wilderness investigation, moral choice
Mayor Elira Venn receives the party in Briar Glen's council hall, where buckets of black water sit beneath shuttered windows. She explains that the old watchtower bell has rung three times each night and that the fourth ringing is expected at midnight. Tomas Reed interrupts to say that his sister Mara followed pale lights into the Thornwood and has not returned. The mayor offers 150 gold pieces for a solution, plus free lodging and provisions, but grows evasive if asked about the village's founding ledger or the spring's history.
Mayor Elira Venn
The mayor approaches the party after noticing their arrival at the village inn. She asks for a private meeting, offers an immediate advance of 50 gold pieces, and warns that she needs the matter handled quietly to avoid a panic.
Rumours
d5 · table- 01A woman in white has been seen walking across the surface of the spring.
- 02The old tower bell rings whenever someone lies about the village's history.
- 03The spring was already black once before, but the elders ordered every witness to remain silent.
- 04Tomas Reed's missing sister Mara was heard singing beneath the village well.
- 05Sister Maelin used to serve as Briar Glen's healer before she began preaching that the forest was owed a debt.
If the party fails, Starfall Spring becomes a permanent source of hostile supernatural activity, Briar Glen loses its water supply, and Nymara's anger spreads through the Thornwood. If the party succeeds, they must decide whether justice means preserving an old promise, rewriting it, or ending it at great cost.
Background Lore
For generations, the village of Briar Glen has drawn clean water from the Starfall Spring, a moonlit pool deep in the Thornwood. Three nights ago, the spring began flowing black water, and pale lights appeared among the trees. Livestock have vanished, villagers have suffered waking nightmares, and an old stone watchtower has started ringing its rusted bell at midnight despite having no rope or keeper.
Briar Glen depends on Starfall Spring, an ancient source of clean water hidden in the Thornwood. The spring has turned black, livestock are disappearing, and a ruined watchtower rings by itself each night. Sister Maelin, a zealot who believes the village has angered the forest, is gathering followers near the spring and appears to be using an old ledger in a ritual. The characters must reach the tower, stop the rite, and decide what to do with the dangerous spirit beneath the water.
