Elder Maren answers questions honestly but knows only folklore: the castle's master is 'Lord Veyne,' returned after a century; he takes victims on moonless and blood-red nights; holy symbols seem to ward his wolves. She gives the party 3 vials of holy water from the shrine and the key to the village crypt. If the party asks about weaknesses, a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Religion) check or roleplaying with Maren recalls classic vampire lore: sunlight, running water, wooden stakes, and invitations.

A nervous young villager, Tam, offers to guide them to the Barrowwood edge for 5 gold. If the party lingers past midnight, run a brief scare: 2 Skeletons shamble out of the fog toward the shrine and must be driven off before the village panics.

This is the investigation and first combat scene. In the graveyard, 4 Skeletons and 2 Zombies shamble among the graves (use exact SRD stat blocks). The mist grants them advantage on their first ambush unless the party succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot them first. In the miller's house, clues reveal the vampire's methods: two wine glasses (one with dried residue that a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check identifies as blood), and a letter under the floorboard (DC 11 Wisdom (Perception) to notice the loose board) inviting the miller to the castle 'to discuss a debt owed to my master' — signed A.V., sealed with a chalice-and-eye sigil.

In the graveyard, one freshly dug grave is empty: Maren's son's grave. The crypt door (Maren's key opens it) contains a stone stair leading up into the hill toward the castle — the secret approach of Scene 4.

The journey through the Barrowwood is a tense wilderness gauntlet. The vampire's wolf pack hunts the party: 4 Wolves attack in the mist, using pack tactics, striking from two directions. The mist gives the wolves advantage on their opening ambush unless the party posts a watch (DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) to hear the pack closing). If the party thinks to use Maren's holy water or holy symbols, the wolves recoil from consecrated items — reward creativity by making the wolves hesitate (disadvantage on their first attacks).

After the wolves, the party reaches the castle gate. The drawbridge is down but watched: 2 Goblins — deserters who now serve the castle for coin and safety — guard the gatehouse with a warning horn. The party can fight them (they flee if reduced below half strength), sneak past them (DC 13 Dexterity (Stealth) group check), or trick them (DC 12 Charisma (Deception) — the goblins are cowardly and superstitious). If the horn sounds, Lord Aldric is forewarned and prepares a warmer welcome in Scene 4: he greets the party personally and courteously, offering a 'negotiation' before violence.

The climax. Lord Aldric Veyne is the central villain and uses his own character sheet (generated separately) — do not substitute an SRD stat block. He opens with words, not violence: he offers the party gold and safe passage to leave Ravenmoor and forget it, or even immortality if any character is tempted. He is genuinely charming and genuinely evil. Combat begins when the party refuses or attacks. Aldric fights with hit-and-run tactics: he uses the hall's shadows, retreats down the iron stair to the chapel, and calls his servants.

His forces: 1 Vampire Spawn (Maren's son, tragically — the party may realize what he is; if they learn it, Maren's holy water or an appeal to his memory grants a DC 15 Charisma check to make the spawn hesitate for 1 round) and 2 Skeletons in the chapel. The chapel contains Aldric's black coffin. If the party stakes him, drags him into moonlight, or destroys his coffin, he cannot retreat.

If reduced to 0 hit points without his coffin destroyed, he assumes gaseous form and flees to the coffin — the party must follow and finish him there. If the party was stealthy and never triggered the gatehouse horn, they may ambush him or catch him in his coffin (advantage on the first round). When Aldric is destroyed, his body crumbles to dust, leaving behind a sealed letter on the table: correspondence from 'the Crimson Hierophant,' instructing Aldric to prepare Ravenmoor as 'the first chalice' and bearing a map fragment pointing to the distant city of Duskhaven. This is the campaign's true hook.