Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme

Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme was a mechanical pop-up book that was haunted and cursed by the malevolent undead spirit Shemshime.

Description
The book was a gnomish mechanical contraption made from wood and copper that had no pages but consisted instead of four different illustrated and animated pop-up scenes. A silver music box was attached to the side of the book, playing an infectious, metallic tune while the book was open. The book was both large and square, measuring along each side.

The pop-up scenes depicted a shadowy figure looking on as members of a family died in grisly ways: the mother maiming her husband with a scythe, a dog biting off the mother's hand, and the son drowning in a river. A final scene depicted the daughter crushing the shadowy figure under a millstone, though this scene was skipped over by the mechanical book as the music box had been partially broken in the distant past.

Curse
Anyone subjected to the melody produced by the music box in Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme became cursed and found themselves humming the tune incessantly. Those so afflicted could then transmit the curse via their own humming. Eventually, those cursed by Shemshime's melody had the associated rhyme implanted in their minds. The rhyme worked as a summoning ritual for Shemshime; when enough voices joined together in singing it, Shemshime would be restored.

Rhyme
Although not present in the book itself, Shemshime's rhyme narrated its scenes.

"''See a mother scything wheat Forgotten husband sleeping near With one swing she took his feet With another took his ear

Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME

See a dog that knows how to heel Never heeds plea nor command Mother gave it a tasty meal Dog chose instead to eat her hand

Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME

See a son doing his chose Washing clothes for folk in town Fell into the river's roar Sank to the bottom and drowned

Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME"

The final stanza was left unrevealed as long as the book's music box remained broken. It narrated the scene in which the daughter triumphed over Shemshime:

"''See a daughter grinding grain Wish the spirit's time was through Trap set for the shadow bane Her millstone killed it true"

- Shemshime's rhyme

History
Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme was created by a wandering gnomish bard who was fascinated by a local legend that told of how a family living in a water mill was plagued by an evil spirit called Shemshime, until the daughter of the family destroyed the spirit by crushing it under a Chauntea-blessed millstone. Unfortunately, by setting down the story in a book, the bard inadvertently gave Shemshime a conduit to the world of the living. The book was eventually discovered in a shipwreck by an adventurer, who then passed it on to Yowen Pilt, a procurer of rare tomes.

Yowen delivered the book to Candlekeep around the 800s DR as part of a bundle containing several other works. Yowen had been driven mad by Shemshime's curse by the time he arrived, and so he was placed in isolation for several weeks as the fortress library contained what they referred to as a "singing madness" that had spread among the Avowed.

In the, Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme was slated to have its spine repaired in Candlekeep's Firefly Cellar. The kenku custodian Crinkle opened the book and became afflicted with Shemshime's curse.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Candlekeep Mysteries: "Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme"