Morning found Harald Silvertongue on the long, winding road to Kalig. For centuries the inhabitants of the region had tried to weaken the grip the forest held over the lands, but the ancient trees cared little for the plans of men and villages remained hidden in a sea of green.
Gone was the performer’s smile that Harald had worn the previous night, the ale had left his blood, long since replaced by bitterness. The cold wind that swept between the trees left the old man feeling the age in his bones; he was weary, and he was tired of spending his life retelling old myths, wandering from forsaken village to village in search of coin.
Lost in his own thoughts, the old bard stumbled, falling unceremoniously over what seemed a most perfectly placed rock. The resounding sounds of a bird followed, the loud repetitions of caw-caw echoed from a nearby tree and Harald knew, he just knew that the crow was laughing at him. Roaring as he rose to his feet, he threw the empty bottle of spirits he had held in his hands towards the offending avian and with eyes glaring at the sky he shouted in rage, "Funny is it!? Seeing an old man stumble!? Reduced to begging for table scraps from some peasant bastards, too dumb to see your ineptitude, too naïve to realize how little it is that you really care!?"
Spitting on the ground with disgust, Harald continued madly screaming, "Why don’t you answer!? Strike me down, punish me for my blaspheming, if you can! No, no, you bastards, you false gods, you can’t even manage that, can you?"
Almost sobbing, still seething with rage, and tasting his betrayal the shoulders of the old man slumped wearily as he cast his eyes to the ground, "You’ve left me, just like everyone else. Cursed me to wander and tell these foolish tales."
Composing himself Harald readjusted the ruff that he wore around his neck and sighing loudly he returned his monocle to its proper place in front of his right eye. Spinning his cane in his hand, he tried to summon what little joy he could. With thoughts of food and drink, he took one step forward and then another, trying to forget the weariness in his heart. Kalig had coin and coin was good enough for now.
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