1. 0:00

   30 min

   socialThe table is here

   1. A Road Gone Dark

   Brackenford's northern gate at dusk, beside the dark silhouette of the King's Lantern.

   Mara hires the party and Tovin shares what he witnessed. The group can ask questions, gather supplies, and decide how openly to discuss the disappearances.

   NextTovin leads the party north along the Crownroad, where the first signs of struggle appear.

2. 0:30

   60 min

   exploration

   2. The Roadside Signs

   A rain-slick stretch of Crownroad bordered by hedges, marsh, and a damaged milestone.

   The party follows muddy tracks, searches the ditch, and decides whether to rescue a stranded traveler or press on. A recovered travel token links the missing people to the tollhouse.

   Lights Along the Ditch

   NextA trail of pale light leads from the ditch toward the abandoned tollhouse.

3. 1:30

   45 min

   skill

   3. The Keeper's Door

   The roofless tollhouse, with a bell over the door and a cellar stair half-buried by fallen stone.

   The party reaches the tollhouse and discovers signs that its guardian has been maintaining the ward. They can search the exterior, approach openly, or find a way into the cellar.

   NextOdran confronts the party at the plinth, or they find him waiting beside the Lantern's crystal heart.

4. 2:15

   75 min

   combat

   4. The Tollhouse Lock

   The tollhouse chamber above the burial vault, centered on the crystal heart and its iron binding ring.

   The party confronts Odran and learns that Sella is bound inside the Lantern. The encounter can become a fight, a negotiation, or a mixture of both as the ward destabilizes.

   The Tollhouse Lock

   NextOnce Odran is stopped or persuaded, Sella speaks through the crystal and asks the party to choose what happens to her.

5. 3:30

   45 min

   social

   5. A Promise Reconsidered

   The burial vault beneath the tollhouse, where old names are carved into the stones around the Lantern's crystal heart.

   The party examines the binding, speaks with Sella, and chooses whether to free her, renew the ward, or attempt a new arrangement. The scene resolves the immediate danger and determines the road's future.

   NextThe party returns to Brackenford to report what happened and claim its reward, or follows a new lead revealed by the fate of the ward.

• Lights Along the Ditch

  Combat

  A narrow Crownroad bordered by a drainage ditch, thorny hedges, and knee-deep marsh. A broken milestone offers cover, while the ditch is difficult terrain.

  Foes

  • 3-5 Crownroad wisps, custom Tiny undead, each with low hit points, a weak draining touch, and a brief ability to shed dim light

  • 1-2 tollhouse husks, custom Medium undead made from the remains of missing travelers

  ComplicationThe wisps extinguish exposed flames and try to herd intruders into the boggy ditch. A character who falls into the ditch must spend movement to climb out, and the unstable ground can be used by either side for cover.

  ScalingFor a party of three or fewer, use 2 wisps and 1 husk. For a party of six or more, add 2 wisps. For a harder fight, give the husks a reaction that lets one move a short distance when a wisp is destroyed. Use suitable low-CR undead statistics as a baseline and adjust to the party.

• The Tollhouse Lock

  Combat or negotiation

  A ruined stone tollhouse with a collapsed roof, a narrow staircase to the cellar, a hanging iron bell, and a central plinth where the Lantern's crystal heart rests. Cracked floor tiles conceal a drop into the burial vault.

  Foes

  • Odran Vale, custom grave-touched guardian using an appropriate low-CR undead or spellcasting humanoid baseline

  • 2-4 tollhouse husks

  • 1 Crownroad wisp, if the party enters with the Lantern's light active

  ComplicationOdran uses the tollhouse bell to call one wave of husks from the cellar if the party takes too long. Characters can silence the bell, convince Odran to stand down, or disrupt the cellar's ward before fighting.

  ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, Odran fights alone until reduced to half strength, then offers a truce. For a stronger party, add 2 husks or give Odran one additional defensive spell-like effect. Treat custom features as table rules, not official D&D 5E abilities.

• Mara Venn

  QuestgiverQuestgiver and village reeve

  WantsShe wants the disappearances stopped before the spring market draws more travelers into danger. She conceals how many victims have vanished because she fears the council will dismiss her if the number causes panic.

  “Bring back the Lantern's heart, and Brackenford will remember who stood with us.”

• Tovin Reed

  Ally and witness

  WantsA road warden who survived an encounter with the lights, Tovin wants to guide the party and prove he did not abandon the missing travelers. He knows a safe approach to the tollhouse but is reluctant to return.

  “The lights do not hunt at random. They circle the road as if they are waiting for someone.”

• Sella of the Mile

  Wildcard and captive spirit

  WantsA spirit bound to the Lantern's stone, Sella wants the party to free her and expose the bargain that trapped her. She will help them if they promise not to simply replace the binding with another victim.

  “That flame was never a blessing. It was a lock, and your elders chose not to ask what it held.”

• Odran Vale

  Antagonist

  WantsThe tollhouse keeper, Odran, is a grave-touched custodian who believes the Lantern must remain sealed, even if the village pays in lives. He seeks to keep Sella contained and prevent the buried dead beneath the tollhouse from waking.

  “You can take the stone, but the road will keep what it is owed.”

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