mirthcard vs. Milo Bloom
The Dance of Lifey Death
An non-combative adventure for 4-6 characters of any level
The Set-Up:
At dusk, as the party is traveling on a road through some hilly countryside, they spy a small group of people dancing in a line
(Picture #2) along a ridge above them some distance away, going in the same direction as the PCs. Although the people seem quite obviously animated and perhaps even jovial, no sound issues forth from the group with the exception of the melancholy drone of a flute played by a cloaked figure who is leading them. None of them (including the leader) seem to take notice of the PCs, no matter how much noise they make or how they try to get the dancers' attention.
If the party attempts to make their way up the ridge towards the dancers, they will soon find that the climb is rockier than it had first appeared. To add to the difficulty, no horses can make the trip and the light is fading. Those PCs who have the ability of flight, teleportation or can traverse rocky terrain with ease, will find that the dancers (although appearing to be slowly dancing) move with an unnatural speed and always seem to be just out of their reach. The PCs can more easily follow the dancers by staying on the road, which runs parallel with the path along the ridge that the dancers are taking (although the dancers do stay a bit in front of the party the entire time).
Eventually, the party will hear the sound of approaching hoofbeats behind them on the road. Slowly coming into view is a ragged, bonethin horse with a rider that looks much the same. (If the party has decided to travel in the opposite direction of the dancers, then they will have this encounter a little bit sooner.) The rider's hoarse throat calls out in the direction of the dancers, but it is hard to make out the words. As soon as the man on the horse realizes that the party can see him, that they are not a part of the dancing group, he will become quite frantically ecstatic and spur his mount towards them post-haste.
If the PCs decide this is an attack, they can kill or subdue the poor b@$t@rd with ease. If they do not, the man will drop from his horse, landing hard on the ground, in front of them. He will struggle to his knees and begin pouring out a hoarse, throaty litany of who he is, all the while begging the party for help. He will refuse any healing or comfort, constantly watching over the party's shoulders for the progress of the dancers in the distance, wanting to get out his plea but not wanting to lose sight of them.
The wretch's name is Harun, and he has been chasing the Dance of Lifey-Death (as he calls it) for longer than he can remember. His mother Eustice and his mentally-challenged son Robard have been taken by the Angel of Death and are being lead, dancing, to the Underworld. Eustice and Robard felt that they were a burden to Harun, so they committed a joint suicide to save him from having to take care of them. Soon after Harun found their bodies in his home, his body froze so that he could not move. A naked woman entered. Harun could only see her feet as she bent over the bodies of Eustice and Robard and made them rise from the dead! After they left the home together, Harun's body was free from its magic hold. As he rushed outside, he could see Eustice and Robard joining the dance as the naked woman, her ornately tattooed back
(Picture #4) turned towards him, pulled on a cloak and took out her flute to lead the Dance of Lifey Death. He has been in dogged pursuit of them so that he may rescue the pair from their doomed fate. He begs the party over and over to help him, going so far as to grab at their legs and try to kiss their feet.
How can the party refuse such a pitiful and pathetic plea?
What's really going on:
The majority of Harun's story is true. Eustice and Robard are dead and they are being lead to the Underworld, but they did not commit a double suicide. Instead, Harun selfishly killed them because they we becoming too much of a burden to him. His pursuit of them is to ease his aching conscience. His doomed fate is to pursue them over and over and over again (neverending, much like Sisyphus) until he can admit to himself that he was the one responsible for their deaths. The party are the ones who will hopefully bring about this conclusion, thereby ending Harun, Eustice and Robard's suffering.
The other part of the story that is different from Harun's interpretation is that the woman is actually the Angel of Love and not the Angel of Death, as Harun speculates. She knows that Eustice and Robard are the innocent victims of a horrible crime committed by Harun and she is actually leading the entire group of dancers to the Otherworld (Beyond Life), not the Underworld (Death), as Harun speculates. Anyone in the party can try to make a Knowledge (religion) check to figure out who she is. The DC is 35 if they are just going by Harun's hasty description of the tattoo, however. If they get the chance to actually see the tattoo in the flesh
then the DC drops to 20.
The Main Event:
Once the party has agreed to help Harun, they can continue in their pursuit of the dancers. They will soon come to find that the path of the dancers and the party's road converge - the combined path leading through the open trunk of a tree whose roots emanate from either side
(Picture #5). In the half-light of dusk, Harun and the party watch as the dancers and their leader enter the trunk and disappear! Once all of the dancers are gone, a deer crosses on the other side of the trunk, showing that the path still continues there.
This is the gate to the Otherworld. Once the players decide to cross through the trunk (from either side, it doesn't matter), they will continue along the path into the Otherworld. The surroundings in the Otherworld are the same once they come out from the tree trunk, with only the subtle difference being that dawn is rising rather than dusk fading (DC 15 on Spot check). The dancers are nowhere to be seen and it may take a bit of time before the party realizes they are in a different place. A solid clue (pun intended) is that the tree they came through is solid now. No matter how the party investigates, there is no going back.
Anyone with tracking ability will notice that the path here looks much more heavily traveled than the one that they were on before. All of the tracks lead towards and over a hill in the distance. Harun will bound forward toward the hill calling to the party to follow. When the round the top of the hill, they will see a man standing off the path next to a stone marker with a hawk resting on top
(Picture #6).
"This one cannot go any further, for anger and blood are his mistresses" intones the man with the hawk as he steps in front of Harun, "his place is not with us and neither is yours. Peace is our only weapon," With that, the man points at Harun and he falls to the ground, comatose. If the party checks, Harun is fine but cannot be stirred or awakened.
If the party decides to attack the man, he will pull a highly decorative shield
(Picture #3) from under his cloak and proceed to engage the party, fighting defensively. It should be obvious to the party that he is not trying to kill them, although he will try and subdue them if he can. The man should be of sufficient experience and skill to give the party a struggle, but not so strong that he cannot be overcome. The hawk who will do constant, annoying flybys to try and impede the party's combat. The shield is magical and will help his effort at defense, however if the party defeats the man, the shield should not be an overpowering item for them to have. If they kill or defeat the man, the hawk will fly down the hill (squawking loudly) towards a weird looking village in the distance - a mish-mash of strange, contrasting bits of architecture
(Picture #1).
If the party decides not to attack or break off their attack with the man, they can try to explain themselves. The man will listen to them and if they are truthful, he will then say, "Those you seek lie in the valley below," pointing to the weird village. At which point, he will step aside and let them pass.
The End?:
The party can find the Angel of Love, Eustice and Robard in the village, which is the final resting place of those of many cultures who are pure at heart. If the party tries to parlay with any or all of the three, they will find out the true story of Harun. They can then return to him, at which point the man with the hawk will revive Harun. If the party can convince Harun of his true role in Eustice and Robard's deaths, they will be allowed to leave and the Angel will reassure the party that Harun will be dealt with accordingly.
The other conclusion is, without question, the wrong one. If the party reaches the village only to attack the Angel or any others, they will find that no one will resist and they can slaughter to their heart's content. Of course, that negates their ever leaving this place. As soon as the Angel is killed, the Otherworld begins to darken quickly, the plants begin to die, the buildings crumble and all hope fades for those remaining.
OOC: Happy New Year!!!