Chapter 32: Interlude: Three

Twenty-ninth day, Twelfth Moon, 240 AC

"And so, laid to rest, The Dance of Dragons…"

As the song died down, the listeners in the hall began to clap. I nodded to my group, and we all took a step forward and took a bow. It was a fair enough reception to the song, not the best we had ever received on the road, but certainly not the worst. The hall still looked ready for more, but we waited until the signal from Lord Stout before we started up again.

At his nod, Jeyne, my wife, turned to me and whispered, "Royce, do you want to do those new songs of yours?"

I took a moment to look around before I responded to her. I eyed the room, taking note of the rowdiness of the hall, how drunk everyone was, the temperament of Lord Stout; all the things an experienced bard knows to look for in a crowd. How good a singer you are or how good a song is, does not matter if the audience is not ready to receive it.

But the crowd looked to be in the mood for something new, something to stir their hearts. I nodded to Jeyne, and said, "Yes, let's start with Direwolf and see what happens."

I started to play softly to set the mood. After much practice, we had decided that Jeyne would be better off singing this song. It suited a female voice, soft and light as the wind.

"Our hero, our hero

Claims a warrior's heart

I tell you, I tell you

The Direwolf comes"

As we played the song, I watched the reactions of our audience to weigh their thoughts on the new song. Once the repeated lines came back, some of the crowd began to repeat it. As the song continued, the crowd got more into it. Lord Stout looked intrigued by the song, he wasn't following along, but I didn't really expect it from the man.

He was a bit of a stick in the mud, so when he put out word for bards for a feast, I was a bit surprised. It was common knowledge amongst my brethren that Lord Stout was not musically inclined, or even big on entertaining. His vassals were poor and few in number, but the pay for this feast was actually quite modest. Jeyne and I were lucky that we had been in Torrhen's Square when word came out about this job, and we quickly made our way here.

As the song wound down, the men along the tables clapped and cheered their appreciation. It was a much better reception than the Dance of Dragons song, though not on the level of The Bear and the Maiden Fair.

I gave an enquiring glance to Lord Stout, indicating if he wanted our last song to be a more traditional song or a newer one like the one he just heard. He indicated for a new song, he seemed to enjoy the change.

Interesting. Perhaps I read Lord Stout wrong? Maybe, it was just traditional entertainment that the man disliked?

With a nod to Jeyne we started to play another song. "I'm running with the wolves tonight"

The applause was a bit more cautious, but Lord Stout seemed to enjoy it more than any other song that they had played.

It was a song that was a bit more complex than traditional songs, and it seemed a bit lost on some of the men in the hall, though I could still spot that they liked to sound of it. Something to think on I suppose.

Jeyne and I stepped forward and gave a bow during their applause. We passed a group of mummers as we made our way out of the hall and gave them all a nod in recognition of our similar jobs. The head servant of the castle gave us our pay as we left, and we headed back to tent in the nearby field.

xxxx

Jeyne and I sat hunched over our little folding table in our tent the next morning, after the performance, and we were discussing this new style of song.

"I still think it won't be popular," she said.

I rebutted, "I think there is two distinct styles we can explore, dear. The first, would be something like The Direwolf Comes. Something that stirs at the heart; it's easy to understand and it's easy for the crowd to repeat it and participate. It's more in line with traditional, but with the repeating phrases they crowd can sing along. The other, songs like Running with the Wolves, use more complex terms and hidden meanings. It has more of a 'it means what you want it to' feeling, something vague yet specific. It speaks to the heart, but someone might not quite understand why at the first listen. Lord Stout seemed intrigued by the second song, much more so than the first, and both were more favorably received than the traditional songs."

Jeyne appeared in thought. "I guess. But his reaction may have just been from a new song, not from his opinion on the style of it."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Perhaps, he doesn't seem like the musically-inclined type. I just wish that the man at Deepwood Motte would have taken more time to talk to me about his songs."

She nodded. "Aye, it would've been nice. Put any more thought into making a new song?"

"A bit. I was thinking maybe start off easy, with something that speaks to my heart. A love song perhaps?"

"Love is easy?" She asked in a teasing voice.

I gave her a cocky smile. "Of course, love. I got you after all." She rolled her eyes but held her tongue. "I was thinking of tying it to our love of traveling along the open road, with naught but clouds to accompany us."

She nodded as she pictured it in her head. "Aye, that could work. I think we would need a catchy repeating phrase to capture the crowd though-"

A knock on the tent peg from outside interrupted her.

I exited the tent to see who was there and saw a demure well-dressed servant.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Are you the bard that goes by the name of Royce?" At my nod, he continued. "Good. Lord Stout wishes to talk to you about performing again at tonight's smaller feast."

That was a surprise: most of Lord Stout's vassals had left this morning. "Aye, that sounds good. Let me grab my partner."

I poked my head back into the tent and got Jeyne's attention. I gave her a silent look to ask if she was interested, she just nodded. We both knew that any coin we could get before we left here would be needed.

As we both followed the servant back to the castle, I gave Jeyne a winning smile. This new musical style was quite the unexpected gift.