Lanternfall Tower

Once a western watchtower of the Lantern Priests during the war against the Mad Sorcerer Morthos Dray, Lanternfall Tower now stands abandoned along the edge of the Southern Oathlands, near broken paths leading toward the Whitehorn Marshes. Though its beacon has long since gone dark, rumors of vanished travelers and Plaguefoot activity persist around the ruined outpost, making Lanternfall a place of uneasy fascination for adventurers and desperate souls willing to brave the forgotten western roads.

Lanternfall Tower was hastily built during the war against the Mad Sorcerer Morthos Dray. Situated along the western edge of the Southern Oathlands, beneath the shadow of the Languished Step Mountains, the tower served as both a military outpost and a sacred watchpoint for the Lantern Priests of Rezmir. Operated jointly by the Grenchester Army and the clergy of the Illuminated Church, Lanternfall protected western supply routes and monitored movement along the harsh frontier roads leading toward the Whitehorn Marshes.
Following Morthos Dray’s defeat in 492 EoIF, the tower remained active as a refuge for pilgrims, traders, hunters, and travelers preparing to cross the dangerous western roads. The great lantern burned through every season, becoming a symbol of safety throughout the Oathlands and the final guiding light before the marshlands beyond the kingdom’s borders. For decades, Lanternfall stood as proof that the light of the Illuminated Kingdom still reached even its most distant frontiers.

Fall of Lanternfall

Over time, however, the western roads became increasingly difficult to maintain. Flooding from the Whitehorn Marshes worsened year after year, old trails disappeared beneath blackwater and heavy fog, and reports of missing travelers became more common. As trade shifted northward toward safer routes, Lanternfall slowly declined. Fewer soldiers volunteered for assignment there, fewer priests remained willing to serve so far from Grenchester, and portions of the tower fell into disrepair.

The tower’s final years were marked by growing fear surrounding the Plaguefoots, a corrupted clan of Softpaw believed to have nested somewhere within the surrounding hills, marshes, and abandoned tunnels beneath the western roads. Travelers vanished without a trace, caravans were discovered stripped bare, and survivors spoke of scratching voices moving through the fog at night. The remaining garrison attempted to hold the region together, but conditions worsened with each passing winter.

In 571 EoIF, communication with Lanternfall ceased entirely. When a relief force finally reached the tower weeks later, they found much of the lower structure scorched from the inside and several outer chambers abandoned in haste. No signs of open battle remained, yet no members of the final garrison were ever recovered. Official records state the tower was evacuated due to isolation and loss of strategic value, though rumors persist that the defenders tried to burn something out from beneath the ruins before abandoning the outpost entirely.

Present Day

Today, Lanternfall Tower stands broken and overgrown near the western reaches of the Illuminated Kingdom, its shattered stone walls slowly being reclaimed by moss, blackwater vines, and the damp winds rolling eastward from the Whitehorn Marshes. Though officially abandoned for decades, the region surrounding the ruins has grown increasingly dangerous in recent years, as reports of renewed Plaguefoot activity continues to spread.

Because of these dangers, most travelers are strongly advised to avoid the western roads entirely. Those seeking safer passage across the kingdom typically travel north toward Paranor along Ironbound Way Road or secure passage by ship through the port city of Dundragon rather than risk the marsh routes surrounding Lanternfall. Even so, the ruined tower continues to attract scavengers, desperate adventurers, and priests hoping to recover relics left behind by the Lantern Priests who once guarded the frontier.

RUINED STRUCTURE
571 EoIF

Founding Date

484 EoIF

Type

Tower

Parent Location

Southeastern Lyrathil

by Dominick

Plaguefoot Burrow

The Plaguefoots surrounding Lanternfall Tower are believed to belong to a Burrow led by an aging figure known only as Mother. There is little agreement on who Mother truly is, as descriptions vary wildly among survivors. Some claim she resembles an enormous gray-furred Softpaw wrapped in rotting priestly cloth, while others insist she rarely appears at all, speaking instead through scratching voices carried within the walls beneath the tower.
Among nearby settlements, Mother is blamed for organizing raids along the western roads and expanding the Burrow’s influence deeper into the abandoned tunnels beneath Lanternfall. Several survivors claim the Burrow has grown bolder in recent years, no longer scavenging alone but actively hunting travelers and isolated homesteads across the Oathlands.
Though the Illuminated Kingdom officially dismisses many of these stories as exaggerated frontier superstition, patrols sent near Lanternfall have quietly confirmed signs of increasing Plaguefoot activity. Some Lantern Priests now fear the Burrow is no longer merely surviving beneath the ruins, but growing.