Bullace Bed (BULL-us GLEN)
This is the town that used to be Deadabed. The people here are cheerful and friendly to the party, offering food and drink made from the plentiful bullace/damson crop. They tell the party that today is an important harvest holiday to them, one which they call The Calling, which is celebrated once every thirty years. Apparently, they are to receive a prince and treat him to a feast made from the fruits of their labor, both literally and symbolically. He will eat of their food and be presented with a young woman, the Twining Maid, who represents the vines growing on the Prince's Throne. This all sounds mildly alarming, but the party is then introduced to the Prince, which is in fact a large white bullace tree covered in damsons from toe to tip.
With a high enough insight, the party will recognize that there are many children, middle-aged and elderly people, but only six young adults, three women and three men. Each gender is wearing the same outfit, set apart by a colored sash for the men and a kirtle for the women, clearly meant to split them into couples, but why?
The party can offer their services in three tasks: they can help to finish harvesting the damson crop (they are told to save the three largest damsons they find), they can help set up tables and the dinner bell (while doing so, they must deal with a rowdy young woman who flies in on horseback demanding to know where her friend is and why she and so many of the village youth have had to leave the village for the day), and finally, they must escort the Twining Maid from her 'chambers' (a purpose-built cottage for maids to reside in) to the 'prince', the large damson bush that sits and oversees everything in the middle of town. If the party takes any damsons from this bush, they will be harshly scolded and threatened with arrest or banishment.
To fetch the maid, the party is given a key and sent to the furthest corner of the orchard. The walk is quiet. The wind brushes against their faces. There is a sense of unease building. At the end of their walk, they find a small mud hut painted white and locked up. They find a starving young woman inside and offer her the damsons. As the 'maid' eats, she reveals that she is frightened and does not know what to expect when she is to be presented to the prince. In order to be 'prepared' for the Prince's arrival, she's had to live in the shed for twelve days and was forced to subsist on only water, seeds, and three fruits a day starting on the sixth day of her internment. Each day's fruit is at a different stage of growth and ripeness, with day six's fruit hardly a bud and day twelve's fruit the largest, finest damsons in all the orchard (given to her by the party, of course). A nature or medicine check or brief glance at her legs reveals that this strange diet has starting changing her into a plantlike being, with her feet turned into roots and her hair sprouting lovely dark-colored vines.
She is walked back to the town, where the whole of the village is waiting for her. The maid is carried away in a chair covered in vines and damsons, but she knows she cannot eat until the Prince arrives. She is sat to the prince bush's left, overseeing the feast she cannot partake in, for her sustenance is gained by growing with the prince. The party has seats saved for them, should they take them. They note that the six dancers are seating by the maid and the bush, the men for the prince and the women for the maid. The young woman who was such trouble before is now bloodied and tethered by the neck to a wooden pole in the ground. Once everyone is seated, a prayer is sung by all, then the dinner bell is rung.
The Prince arrives at last.
The damson bush in the center of town parts, and tall, handsome, green man with a bare face and royal garb steps out and stands as tall as the damson bush. He greets them all graciously and thanks them all for their generous invitation before sitting down, the damson bush stretching and straining itself into a throne for the Prince.
Everyone eats.
The Prince conjures a fey band. Every person between age 18 and 36 is compelled to dance wildly, including affected members of the party and the young woman tied to the post, who inadvertently starts to strangle herself. Some of the townspeople start to worry and yelp, terrified for the woman. Someone begs the party for help. The Prince is offended by this, stopping the music and the dancing (the woman falls to her knees and catches her breath). Angered, he asks if his gifts are not enough for the people and threatens to absolve them of his blessing.
It is then that he is pounced upon.
A woman, red with blood and wearing a black fur skin, comes running on all fours and charges him from the woods, leaping onto the long banquet table and heading straight for him. Terrified, the Prince tries to step into his damson bush again, but the Red Woman catches his hand and tears it off before he can step back between worlds. All of the fruit falls from the tree/bush when he leaves. She stands on the table before all, holding the large green hand like a rabbit's corpse. She tells them that he will never trouble them again, but that they should not be stupid and seek him out. He will lash out and associate them with the loss of his hand. Many furious villagers swarm her and stick her into the prince's throne, chanting and wailing at the loss of their god. Someone rings the bell, and the woman gasps and freezes into place, turning into a hide-coverered mummy in the bush. The village elder, defeated, tells everyone the feast is over, and to send for the young people at Lambairne. He looks to the mummy in the bush, then to the party, and asks, "What will we do now?".
Everyone who shared the dream wakes up for a moment.
With a high enough insight, the party will recognize that there are many children, middle-aged and elderly people, but only six young adults, three women and three men. Each gender is wearing the same outfit, set apart by a colored sash for the men and a kirtle for the women, clearly meant to split them into couples, but why?
The party can offer their services in three tasks: they can help to finish harvesting the damson crop (they are told to save the three largest damsons they find), they can help set up tables and the dinner bell (while doing so, they must deal with a rowdy young woman who flies in on horseback demanding to know where her friend is and why she and so many of the village youth have had to leave the village for the day), and finally, they must escort the Twining Maid from her 'chambers' (a purpose-built cottage for maids to reside in) to the 'prince', the large damson bush that sits and oversees everything in the middle of town. If the party takes any damsons from this bush, they will be harshly scolded and threatened with arrest or banishment.
To fetch the maid, the party is given a key and sent to the furthest corner of the orchard. The walk is quiet. The wind brushes against their faces. There is a sense of unease building. At the end of their walk, they find a small mud hut painted white and locked up. They find a starving young woman inside and offer her the damsons. As the 'maid' eats, she reveals that she is frightened and does not know what to expect when she is to be presented to the prince. In order to be 'prepared' for the Prince's arrival, she's had to live in the shed for twelve days and was forced to subsist on only water, seeds, and three fruits a day starting on the sixth day of her internment. Each day's fruit is at a different stage of growth and ripeness, with day six's fruit hardly a bud and day twelve's fruit the largest, finest damsons in all the orchard (given to her by the party, of course). A nature or medicine check or brief glance at her legs reveals that this strange diet has starting changing her into a plantlike being, with her feet turned into roots and her hair sprouting lovely dark-colored vines.
She is walked back to the town, where the whole of the village is waiting for her. The maid is carried away in a chair covered in vines and damsons, but she knows she cannot eat until the Prince arrives. She is sat to the prince bush's left, overseeing the feast she cannot partake in, for her sustenance is gained by growing with the prince. The party has seats saved for them, should they take them. They note that the six dancers are seating by the maid and the bush, the men for the prince and the women for the maid. The young woman who was such trouble before is now bloodied and tethered by the neck to a wooden pole in the ground. Once everyone is seated, a prayer is sung by all, then the dinner bell is rung.
The Prince arrives at last.
The damson bush in the center of town parts, and tall, handsome, green man with a bare face and royal garb steps out and stands as tall as the damson bush. He greets them all graciously and thanks them all for their generous invitation before sitting down, the damson bush stretching and straining itself into a throne for the Prince.
Everyone eats.
The Prince conjures a fey band. Every person between age 18 and 36 is compelled to dance wildly, including affected members of the party and the young woman tied to the post, who inadvertently starts to strangle herself. Some of the townspeople start to worry and yelp, terrified for the woman. Someone begs the party for help. The Prince is offended by this, stopping the music and the dancing (the woman falls to her knees and catches her breath). Angered, he asks if his gifts are not enough for the people and threatens to absolve them of his blessing.
It is then that he is pounced upon.
A woman, red with blood and wearing a black fur skin, comes running on all fours and charges him from the woods, leaping onto the long banquet table and heading straight for him. Terrified, the Prince tries to step into his damson bush again, but the Red Woman catches his hand and tears it off before he can step back between worlds. All of the fruit falls from the tree/bush when he leaves. She stands on the table before all, holding the large green hand like a rabbit's corpse. She tells them that he will never trouble them again, but that they should not be stupid and seek him out. He will lash out and associate them with the loss of his hand. Many furious villagers swarm her and stick her into the prince's throne, chanting and wailing at the loss of their god. Someone rings the bell, and the woman gasps and freezes into place, turning into a hide-coverered mummy in the bush. The village elder, defeated, tells everyone the feast is over, and to send for the young people at Lambairne. He looks to the mummy in the bush, then to the party, and asks, "What will we do now?".
Everyone who shared the dream wakes up for a moment.
Comments