A Fine Tune for a Fine Day

[Caranel]

A stout goodwife who had previously been vigorously washing her laundry paused to watch a lone figure make his way down the road. Something of a smile crossed her lips, and she went back to her work with more vigor than she felt she had.

A tired vendor trying to hawk a load of apples to people on the street stopped his shouting to follow the figure with his eyes, a low chuckle emerging as he recognized the clothes. Though something of an eyesore, he was garbed in items that didn't match a single bit, along with a cloak that held patches of every color imaginable, any who saw him recognized him for what he was. Finally, it seemed, there was something to laugh about. A Bard had come to Rhyfaugh!

Caranel held an expression of disinterest at the small crowd of children and excited people following in his steps, though with some difficulty. He knew very well that if he forced these people to wait for a show, they would enjoy it ten times more. It was something he felt joy in; helping tired and overworked people remember how to laugh again, to recall old songs and sing them once more. Playing the part of the traveling Bard was his passion and duty, and he would do it until he was old and gray, and then some. The lute strung to his back jangled slightly with his quick steps, forcing the crowd behind to pick up their pace.

At length, he arrived at the Town Square, and stopped. The crowd held their silence expectantly, watching the Bard standing there, multicolored patches fluttering every which way in a slight breeze. 'A fine day for some fine music.' he thought. A low stone bench near a tree caught his eye, and he sidled over to it, the crowd following closely. With practiced ease, he slid down onto it, simultaneously easing his lute into his hands. One hand, decked in a fingerless glove that aided his dexterity in playing, lifted slowly to the strings. He closed his eyes. Moments stretched on, and one or two of the crowd shifted with unease.

A clear, crisp chord filled the square, emanating from the precious lute Caranel played in his hands. The chord was followed by another, then he began a slow, thoughtful tune, which was then accompanied by his melodious tenor...


Spring days do come and go,
Weaving life into the land,
And as I travel, I do know
That Nature doth take care o' me
With the wind across the prairie.

Many a time, and time again,
My strength would fail, I would depend
On Her own breath to ease my pain,
And uplift eyes most bleary
To the wind across the prairie.

Woe the day, when I'm without
Her cool embrace to soothe my soul,
I do not doubt, not think about
A time where there is nary
A wind across the prairie.

That Nature doth take care o' me
And uplift eyes most bleary,
I do not doubt, not think about
A time where there is nary
A wind across the prairie.

The Wind across the prairie...


'Wind Across the Prairie... always a crowd favorite.' mused Caranel, strumming the final chord and looking up at the assembled people. They took this as the end of the song, and burst into raucous laughter and applause, a few quickly shouting names of songs they wished to hear, one child in the back wondering if he could juggle, too. Caranel chuckled to himself and leaned back slightly against the tree, withered as it was. "This is the life." he muttered, scanning the crowd for the one he would call on for his next number.

[Meiso]

Meiso saw a crowd gathered around someone and smirked. Crowds were always easy to pickpocket, they never noticed. He walked through the people, picking bags of money from only the ones who looked like they could afford it.

He neared the end of the crowd and turned to see why all were gathered. He grinned as he say a man dressed in colorful clothing that didn't match. He saw the mans eyes looking over the crowd and smirked.

[Elysia]

Elysia sat on her table, arguing with someone who had tried to cheat her out of money.

"Won't take less then 100, sir." She said firmly, then looked up as a strangly dressed man wondered into the square. She slipped off her table as he sat down, and began to sing his song. She listened with a smiled and stepped to the front of the crowd, watching the bard, but still keeping out an eye for her table. As the song ended she clapped with the rest and went to her table, still watching carefully and waiting for the next song.

[Caranel]

Thanks to his sharp eyes, he'd had to use them so often in his travels, spotted someone among the commoners who were shouting and clapping. It could just be a person moving around trying to get a better view... yet the way it moved told volumes of it's intent. The jovial peasants would not even realize they were being pick pocketed in their mirth, and a small spark of anger ignited inside of him.

Then he remembered back when he'd first started, when he wasn't all that great at telling stories or performing, when no one had given tips to a sub-class Bard, when he had had to resort to thievery himself. Whether this thief was older or younger did not matter, he would still get in trouble if he was caught. If there was as strict an edict against thievery as there was against religion in this city, then all the worse for him.

He pointed directly at the thief and said, "You!" One of the commoners in front looked around, then said, "Me?"
Caranel shook his head and pointed past the man, at the thief once again. "No, not you, the one in back! Anything you would like to hear?" If bringing attention to him didn't scare him away, then at least he would get another song to sing, or tale to tell.

[Eidlin Isilramel]

Eidlin made her way, finally, to the town square. Indeed, finding one's way around a strange place was far harder than the journey toward it. Her brown eyes scanned the empty square quizzically. If it hadn't been for the small taverns and shops around the empty, although disheavaled courtyard, the stranger would have doubted it to be the town square. Hardly any people were about, it seemed deserted. At that thougth, horrible memories of a dead village came to her mind. One with empty streets and abandoned homes and the stillness, the dead silence that echoed through one's very soul. Just as Eidlin's nightmares began to take a hold of her, a cool voice brought her out of her trecherous reverie.

Her brown eyes followed the sound to a table under a shady tree where many of the towns folk had gathered. 'A minstrel,' the girl thought with a sigh, 'of course. Leave it to a minstrel to make the citizens forget their duties and worries. Indeed, these travelers are a blessing and a curse.' But her breathing came back to normal, and forcing herself to look at the present, the girl made her way over to the croud.

Yet she didn't join their ranks, instead, she came over to the side, from where the colorful figure of the bard and the rest of the town's folk were visible. From her desired spot, she could scan the faces of the people before her while remaining unnoticed. 'What best way to learn of the populace and their ways, then to see it all at once, and to hear of their ails in song?' she asked herself.

[Meiso]

Meiso froze as he put the last of the money he had taken into his pocket.
'Damn that bard.' He thought. He turned to face the bard and made a unpleasent face.
"Er...well...I don't know any songs...." He admitted, for only about the second time in his life he was embarrassed.

[Caranel]

'Hah, doesn't like songs, he says.' thought Caranel, grinning widely once more. The audience was clamoring for another song, now that they'd gotten a taste of music again. For a place with a leader like Rit Megilaf, music would be perhaps the only solace for these people. Then again, it wasn't his place to speak out against the authority, especially if he wanted to stay in the city for any length of time. Not his place to judge, at all.

"Well, then, I think I have a story you would like... about a masterful vagabond and his endeavors to steal the crown from off the King's head!" said Caranel, strumming his lute, a solitary chord that he repeated slowly. Letting the mood set in, one of night shadows and stealth. This song always served well on dark nights in a Tavern with naught but a fire to light the room, but here in the Square it would do well enough.

He began to tell the story, not sing exactly, but speak in Chant, which sounded to the ear as kind of a rhythmic way of talking. The main character, whose name is never revealed, comes to a fair city full of wealth. Setting his sights high, this master thief decides that the decadent King, lavished in riches unimaginable, would not miss the jeweled crown that rested on his head every day. So, through trickery, deceit, and subterfuge, the thief steals the crown off the sleeping King's head in the dead of night, past all the guards and deadly archers guarding him, and escapes with none the wiser.

The story stretched on, the Bard's inflection and dramatics seeming to bring the tale to life, making it easy to envision the thief making his way straight up a tower, or gently lifting the crown off the snoring King. When all was finished, and the last chord strummed, the crowd had mostly taken seats, since the story had taken just under an hour to spin. Caranel gave a monstrous yawn, and stood up.

"My friends, I hope you enjoyed this sample of my performances, I will be in your fair city for days to come, so do not despair. For now I shall be visiting the Tavern, for something to quench this loathsome thirst. I bid you all, adieu." He bowed, his shock of golden blond hair almost brushing the ground, and his cloak fluttering voluminously around him. Straightening up, he made his way past a crowd which clapped and whistled and tried to buy his drink or offer a room in their house. Ignoring them all, he broke past them, looking around.

A figure strategically placed to watch them all caught his eye, and he saw a strikingly beautiful woman there. Giving her a sly wink, he turned and walked off toward where he thought the Tavern was located. If Fate smiled on him, then perhaps he would get a chance to speak with her. The Thief looked nowhere to be found.

[Elysia]

Elysia stood by her table and shaking her head after the last song or whatever it was to be called she began once more arguing with someone about a price. She was smirking because the young man the bard had called upon had tried to steal from her once. She looked up and tilted her head as she saw the bard staring at a woman who had been watching them all.

[Meiso]

Meiso had ducked away from the crowd and smirked as he saw the bard look at Eidlin.
"Hey! Eidlin!" Meiso called. He had once went with her to the elven lands and knew her well enough to walk up.
"Hi there." He said smirking at her, "I think somebody is watching you." he said, pointing to the bard.

[Eidlin Isilramel]

Eidlin was surprised at how easily the minstrel had enchanted the group, and herself, with his tale. She hadn't noticed how quickly the time flew away from her until she saw the long shadows stretch out on the ground before her. She had entirely forgotten her dreadful experiences of the past, and being so drawn in by the tale, she seemed to awaken as if from a dream as the last note dissapeared in the air.

She smiled warmly as the rest of the people cheared the bard on. She didn't participate for she really did not want to draw attention to herself, although she heartily approved.

As he walked away from his listeners, she was quite surprised that he had seen her, and at his wink, she couldn't quite supress a smile.

As her sly friend came up, she bowed her head in greeting. "Meiso, it is a pleasure to see you again. And as to the minstrel, with all of us watching him, you'd expect him to return the favor," she replied to his comment with a grin, although she understood Meiso well enough. Her gaze also picked up his bulging pockets, and she couldn't stop from uttering a sad sigh and letting her warm smile fade. "I hope that you did not steal from the unfortunate." She had taken into acount the fact that the towns folk lived in unwelcoming conditions, and she found herself hoping that those conditions could one day improve.

[Meiso]

Meiso frowned, seriouse for once.

"No. I only steal from the ones who can afford it." He said, scowling at her. Stealing from those who barly had enough to feed themselves was something Meiso didn't ever want to do.

[Eidlin Isilramel]

"Forgive me, I did not mean to offend you," she replied, her voice sincere. "You remain the honest thief that I had the great pleasure of meeting," she added, hoping to remove the scowl from his face. "So what have you been doing here as of late? I for one, have only heard horrible tales of the ruler of the city of Rhyfaugh," Eidlin told him, her voice was strained a little, the usual lightness to it gone.

[Meiso]

He smirked, his offence at her words now gone.
"Stealing, whats it look like? Yeah, I've been sitting in front of the lords mansion, watching. If I ever see anything I want go in, I'm going in after it. Apparently, he tougher then nails."

[Eidlin Isilramel]

Eidlin looked up at Meiso with surprise. It looked as though he might have the information she needed. "What exactly did you mean by he is tougher then nails? Is he that powerful?" she asked, her eyes sparkling although it was not because she was amused.

[Meiso]

"No, I don't know for sure. I do know he can be plenty crule though. Look what hje put up about religon." Meiso shook his head.
"I don't klnow much about him, sorry Eidlin."