As the party travels through the country, they hear a bass voice singing a beautiful melody. If the party isn’t initially intrigued, the song will intensify, forcing a DC11 Wisdom check, otherwise they become charmed.
DMs Note: You can leverage the Luring Song action of a harpy as a model if needed.
Investigating further, the party sees an elegant home, with a triton (male siren) out on a balcony, singing a tune. In the yard is a young Imp, drawing in the dirt, and a female halfling leaning against the white picket fence that surrounds the home. As the party approaches, they can talk to any of them first, but the Halfling is most likely to notice them. None of the group seems hostile.
The Halfling introduces herself as Larmbo Nasherfoot and notes she is an intrigued neighbor. She explains that the triton on the balcony is Homer, who moved in a few days ago. What has Larmbo confused is that Homer continues talking about how lovely the sea looks even though the home is in the middle of the plains.
Larmbo lives two houses over and has for many years and no water has ever gotten close to pooling near the area, especially a sea. “I’ve not determined why he insists on singing to the sea when one doesn’t exist, but maybe you could find out for me? Don’t get me wrong, he’s got a lovely singing voice, and he’s extremely charming, but he sings at all hours and I’m a light sleeper. Even Homer’s Imp son is getting annoyed by it.”
The young imp drawing in the dirt looks annoyed and shoves some grass in his ears. The imp is shy, but if the party is kind in their approach, he will note that he isn’t really Homer’s Imp son as the halfling said, he is purely along for a bizarre journey with Homer, one that got sidetracked when Homer wanted to buy a house by the sea and “settle down.”
The imp, who goes by Zephyrion, tells the party about their travels and epic adventures, and that Homer was ready to put all that behind him and find a mate by singing, just like the female sirens do (he rolls his eyes at this thought). Zephyrion also lets the party in on a new piece of information, Homer bought the home from an odd-looking real estate agent from Eye On The Price LLC. The agency is a few hexes away, but the party could explore that route if desired.
If the party talks directly to Homer, they will find him to be delusional, speaking of the epic sea in front of him and all around. He notes the saltiness of the wind, the squawking of the gulls, and continues going further into his delusion. Homer is becoming saddened because no mates are attracted to his singing.
Additional facts:
- The home was purchased by Homer 4 days ago
- There is no water surrounding the home in any form or fashion
- If Detect Magic is used, the party will find that an illusionary magic is being used
- The home was sold by Polly Feema, from Eye On The Price LLC
- Other than the illusionary magic, nothing else seems odd with the house
- The halfling appears to be enamored with Homer, but he hasn’t taken notice
- The imp has offered a rare artifact if they can snap Homer out of his singing
- If the illusion Homer is seeing wears off, it’s possible he will initially lash out at the party unless they can keep him calm
I’ve Only Got Eye For You
If the party heads off to Eye On The Price LLC, they are greeted by a large female cyclops in a great-looking pantsuit. She introduces herself as Polly Feema, #1 Real Estate agent in the plains. She speaks in broken common, but is able to carry on a conversation well enough. She is jovial and polite and will try to sell the party on a fixer-upper just down the road. She’s a bit pushy about it, but in a nice way. The house itself is only 300gp, so, pretty good deal honestly.
Inquiring about Homer, Polly blushes a bit and speaks highly of him, noting that she sold him the home for 20,000gp.
Some additional facts Polly will reveal (she’s not shy about this at all as she thinks it was a fair business deal):
- She’s using a spell gem embedded in the floor boards of the home to cast Mirage Arcane for the square mile worth of terrain for up to 10 days. This is extremely large for an area, considering that Mirage Arcane can make this area feel, smell, sound, and look like another kind of terrain
- She tricked Homer, because he killed her father in their hometown a few weeks ago
- With the money she got from the sale, she is having a diamond delivered so she can cast Revivify on her father (he is being watched over by a Cleric, who cast Gentle Repose to prevent his permadeath)
- Once revived, Polly plans to destroy the home with her father
- She offers the party 1,000gp each to look the other way
Resolution
With all the facts, there are many ways this can play out, but the decision is up to the party!
- If the party assists Homer, destroys the Illusion, protects him from Polly, and is able to figure out his love life, the party is awarded with Scylla Cone Implants (given by Homer, a token from his travels), that give the wearer large conical implants to place anywhere on their body. Up to the DM the exact function, but likely a +1 AC or some additional bludgeoning damage for melee depending on where the cones are placed.
- If the party assists Polly with her plan, the party will get 1,500gp each (a little extra for the debauchery)
- If the party does nothing, Polly will resurrect her father and they will destroy Homer, Homer’s home, and Homer’s Imp Son, leaving Larmbo horrified and hating the party forever. She is likely to spread rumors about them as well. The party will receive 1,000gp each.
Thanks to @leinadkeeb for the business name and @rufus_comics_404 for the inspiration behind Polly Feema
