A strange malady strikes a village, everyone under the age of 12 starts dancing every single night from midnight until 1 in the morning, unable to stop until they collapse. Even infants moving in the rhythm. They need help, soon! -- Anon Guest
They tell cautionary tales about a little hamlet in the middle of nowhere. The piper rid the place of rats and, when they refused to pay, rid the place of their children. The lesson should be, "pay those who do the work" and NOT "kill your contractors."
Now the vengeful ghost of the bard wanders the streets between midnight and dawn. The mournful melody takes children from their beds and, still sleeping, sends them tripping and skipping about as if dancing to a merry tune. Even babies in their cradles writhe as if they were merry.
They spend their days exhausted. Footsore and lax even if they try to stir themselves. Those who tried too hard to help their families fell sick. They needed rest. They needed nursing. Some would barely eat.
The little town of Skunthaan were desperate for help. So desperate that they were willing to hire a Hellkin cleric to unriddle their quandry.
"Let me get this straight," said Clemency Brightmoon. "You paid a Bard to remove your locust plague, and when they asked for the payment you promised, you paid them with a sword through their neck."
"We heard about what happened to Haemleth. All their children but the lame just... gone."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just let you suffer the consequences of your choices," he snarled. It was a very effective snarl, given that his fangs were longer and his mouth was black on the inside. His eyes, burning like coals, issued smoke in his rage.
"But we're not suffering," pleaded one of the mothers. "Our children are. They're innocent. We're not."
"The only way to break this curse is to pay the piper," said Clemency. "And for that, I need to bring back the dead."
"That costs far more than the piper!"
"Mistakes often cost more than doing things properly the first time.The good news is, you can repay me in your own time. The bad news..." Clemency grinned a very menacing smirk. "My skin can turn aside metal blades."
A miracle paid in diamonds. A Bard paid in gold. A town bordering on poverty with a Hellkin for a cleric until such time as their debts were paid in full.
All things considered, they got off lightly.
[Photo by Aswin Raj on Unsplash]
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