‘Never you mind the bard’ they chant

But to whom do they turn when they drink and rant?

They beg for a song to remember loves met

Or more often so a song to forget.

But to whom do they turn when darkness raps at their door?

Not a bard – they want something more.

Little do they suspect the terrors that lurk

Are banished by their neighborhood bard in the shadowy murk.

My weapon not a lute but a pen of magical reverberation

So goes the lonely exploits of a bard far beyond his station.

Sate your thirst and let your hearts mend

But mind the bard who rails against that which thirsts for your end.

– Tavern song by Arcanist Alstair Franzi

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