A castle and its inhabitants have been struck by a strange disease, or…situation. They eat, yet they still hunger, a gnawing hollowness always in their stomach. Leeches and physicians have been no help and the peasants are already whispering about demonic possessions and the like. The adventurers were passing by, or one of their friends or relatives were involved, and were called to help (the knight errant would have a blast being begged back!)
- Not all the inhabitants of the castle are inflicted with the constant hunger. Most of the servants do not, and one of the bastard son of a noblemen too. It seems that by tracking what common events the inflicted have in common, the PCs can find out what happens. One of the nobles has went hunting and caught a fine white stag, which they proceed to dress and feasted upon at a banquet. However, the stag is the friend of a dryad deep within the woods. Angered at the mortal’s intrusion (perhaps they are new to the area?), she cursed all those who ate the stag meat. Her demands to remove the curse – “eye for an eye”, she says, if the PCs do ask. The nobles are more than ready to send in the bastard son (who had no part in the killing or the partaking of the feast) to appease the dyrad. Should the PCs do that? Or is there another way?
- A parasite of sort dwells within the victims’ stomach, feasting upon the food given to it – if not, it would gnaw at the inner linings of the host, causing pain and the feeling of “emptiness”. The parasite will grow to a worm about the length of a hand in three weeks time, by then it would crawl out of the host’s body by the windpipe, choking him or her to death in the process. The leeches did suspect a worm of types, but none of their methods have been able to lure it out. However, if the PCs are able to trace the origin of the worm, they may be able to get an idea to the cure. A distance off from the castle is a marsh, and under questioning, some of the nobles have been there before the constant hunger, exploring a ruin of sort. They did more than just explore though. Would they care to explain the strange, jeweled daggers found in their possession? Could they have brought the parasite back with them?
- A friar had visited the castle during one of their extravagant feast and asked for a simple meal, for him and to share with the cottar he would be lodging at. The nobles laughed and mocked him, and threw him out of the castle. In passing, the robed man said, “May you eat, yet never be satisfied!” After which, the constant hunger began. If the PCs caught up with the friar, he would express surprise at what happened, for he is (really) just a simple monk and would express outrage that he had cursed the family (he has a stormy temper, this one). However, magic users, psionic users and those with a devout faith would sense something about the monk. The truth is that he has been given a ‘gift’ of bringing his curses to reality, granted to him when he shown kindness (of all things) to a boggart. Only by removing the ‘gift’ could the constant hunger be removed – the monk is ready to cooperate in that aspect, and for experienced PCs, his gift would be ineffective against them (only ‘mundane folks’ are prone to them). Perhaps this is a chance for the monk to learn to stop swearing, cursing and making oaths needlessly too?
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