Respect your prep

In particular: write up threats and then use them in play. The town busybody might be an institution. The bright kid who idolizes the Seeker? A wildcard. The Stone itself? Probably a MacGuffin. Make binding decisions about these threats. Write impending dooms that involve the village and leave lasting marks upon it. Write stakes that involve NPCs that you and the players care about. And then put those threats on screen. See how the PCs react to them. Follow through.