From this first song on Rhojeka had won over the crowd completely. The mood in this rural tavern had never been better.

Yet she continued to give her performance everything she got. Mervella watched her closely. She must have been tired from the long journey, and what they had encountered while crossing the river must have shaken her. But she showed no sign of that. While her performance went on she sang, played the flute, told stories and jokes. Her one and only priority at this moment was to entertain the people around her. And she did that perfectly.

With every part of her performance, the overall mood in the tavern improved, but each part caused a different reaction, and it did so by design. With the first song, Mervella had felt pacified, calm, without any worries. Since then Rhojeka had sung and played pieces of music that warmed the hearts of the patrons here, but others that invited them to join in singing, and they did so enthusiastically. They bellowed the lines that Rhojeka had taught them just a few moments before the actual song, and they clapped and stomped their feet to the rhythm of it. For this little moment all the people in this room became one big unit, just singing and stomping together, having a good time.

It was more astonishing when Rhojeka played the flute, which was her favourite way of performing. Mervella tended to watch her more closely when she did this, and she observed that her friend closed her eyes while playing, seemingly losing herself in the music. This was basically the only time during her entire performance that she ever closed her eyes. During all the other parts she kept them open, watching her audience wakefully as they watched her. It had to do with Rhojeka's little secret, of which only Mervella really knew. But when she was on the flute, playing her tune, she didn't care for anything else. The music, she had once explained to Mervella, came from her heart. And it was the truest music she could ever play. The audience had been captivated before, but when she played, they were totally taken away by it. Nobody would make a sound, not even a whisper or a cough, not even a loud breath.

This must be magic, Mervella thought and shook her head to get her senses back together. Rhojeka's music had an effect on her, too, but she had heard and experienced it for a long time now, and she knew that this didn't go for everybody. There had been occasions when thieves would make use of the distraction, filling their pockets by emptying everyone else's. And there could always be people who either didn't like that sort of music or wouldn't be affected by it, so they could put more sinister plans in motion. At times like these Mervella had gotten used to keep an eye out on the crowd, even more watchfully than before, looking for anything abnormal. Like people who didn't seem to listen like the rest of the audience.

The man with the dark hood was one of those people.

He hadn't joined in during the singalong, as Mervella had noticed. And while everyone else was watching Rhojeka play, barely moving, never turning the gaze away from her, he was looking at something else entirely. Like Mervella herself he seemed to scan the room, looking for something - or watching out for something he was expecting to happen. Throughout the entire performance his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Also he had his right hand always near this wrapped item on the wall, like he expected to need it at any given moment. It reinforced Mervella's suspicion that this was a weapon of some sort.

Also he had barely drunk from his mug, although he was holding onto it the whole time.

What is he up to?, Mervella thought. What is he waiting for? She felt the urge to storm in the middle of the tavern and get Rhojeka out of here. Grab her by her cape and drag her, if necessary. This was not the time to lower defenses. Not after all they had been through. And whatever this man was up to, it could only mean trouble. Carefully, trying to not raise any more suspicion than she already had, Mervella checked whether her crossbow was ready. If things got ugly in here, maybe she could take the man out with one well-placed shot.

But before she could think about it any further, the performance suddenly stopped. As the last song ended, the audience applauded once more, and with a short announcement that she would be back shortly to continue, Rhojeka moved out of the circle and joined the table. This time she needed a bit longer - the people stopped her, talked to her full of admiration and awe, touched her gently by the shoulder and arm, shook her hand... Mervella knew the routine. It was always the same. It was different in big cities where bards performed more regularly, but it still happened there. In Sharol-Kham bardic performances were rarely seen, hence the reaction of the audience was overwhelming.

She finally sat down and dropped her act. She looked exhausted. Mervella pushed one of the two mugs over to her, and thankfully she took it and almost emptied it in one sip. "Your ideas used to be better," Mervella commented dryly as soon as her friend had settled.

Rhojeka shrugged. "It is something I can do on short notice, and it gave us drinks, food and lodging. So what are you complaining about?" As if fate wanted to underline this, the bar maid appeared with two big plates of wood. A wooden bowl of steaming hot stew was on each plate, accompanied by what appeared to be a freshly baked pie and some pieces of loose meat. It was still simple food, but quite nice for such a place. And the spoons they got to their meal, with a pointy end on the other side to pick up the meat, were made out of iron instead of wood. Mervella looked at her cutlery and raised an eyebrow. "Quite fance for this little nothing of a village."

Rhojeka frowned. "Don't say this too loudly in here, these people are proud of their village." She opened her right fist which she had clenched for some time now without Mervella even noticing. A bunch of coins slid off her palm onto the table. "Some wanted to really show their appreciation for my performance tonight. It would only be appropriate to be nice. Or at least play nice, in your case."

It wasn't much money, compared to what they had lost, but it would have been enough to pay for this night in the tavern, with drinks and all, hadn't Rhojeka paid for it with her performance already. Mervella sighed. She was right after all. Rhojeka was looking out for her as much as the other way round. She took care of Mervella by keeping her from rubbing people off the wrong way. Mervella wouldn't dare to think about how many encounters with the civilized world - outside the army, that was - would have ended badly for her if her friend hadn't intervened on her behalf. After all, the battlefield was where Mervella's talents really worked. But outside of it, it was Rhojeka who was the expert.

"Excuse me, m'lady?"

Mervella was startled at this moment. Damn it, I didn't pay attention! Instinctively she reached for her sword, but Rhojeka knew this kind of reaction already and stopped her with a hand gesture. Then she slowly turned around... and upwards. To the man in the dark hood who had just stepped up to their table.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

The man under the hood smiled. Mervella could see it, the lips between the goatee, and she also saw a shadow of his eyes. So far it wasn't such an ugly or sinister face - but that only made it worse. Evil men wouldn't be always recognized as such at first sight. "I just wanted to say that I really admired your performance tonight. But may I humbly ask whether you would be willing to do requests? Given that you are familiar with the song in question, that is."

Well spoken, Mervella thought, a bit surprised. He could have been someone on the king's court with his choice of words. Could be a diplomat, or a bard himself. Only that this suspicious item wasn't leaning on the wall anymore, but hanging on his belt, still covered. Even the position suggested that it was a sword. "Of course," Rhojeka readily answered without hesitation. "Now what song would that be?"

"Excuse me!" Mervella interrupted. "May I ask who you might be now?" She knew that her voice didn't sound very welcoming, but at this point she didn't care. Their safety came first, and this man did not look like good company.

But to her surprise the man wasn't repelled by this. He raised an arm and finally lifted his hood. It surprised her once more to find a normal, almost handsome face under there. Clear green eyes, a long but elegant nose and smooth lightbrown skin, like he had spent some time in the south. The goatee was carefully cut and groomed. He didn't have ugly spots or scars on his face that would explain why he hid it. And even his haircut was decent, having his brown hair grown till one inch above his shoulders. He could have been a noble. His clothing suggested otherwise, as simple as theirs, without any decorative elements.

"My name is Kane," he then introduced himself. His voice had some rasp to it, but not enough to make it sound unpleasant. He made up for it by talking in a very calm way. "I am a traveller. So are you, from the looks of it. This is surely a lucky night for me, being at a place with a bard performing." As he moved his hand, Mervella twitched, her hand going towards her sword again, but he just pulled a small purse from his belt and put it on the table. "Well, whether you do this or not, I would like to show you a little token of my gratitude."

He turned back to Rhojeka. "The song... Are you familiar with the works of the bard Sharon? Especially her songs from her 'silent force' line?"

"I am." As short as this answer was, Mervella knew that Rhojeka was holding back. The bard Sharon from a small kingdom to the west, near the Grand Ocean, was one of the reasons she had wanted to become a bard in the first place. She had sought Sharon out and asked her to be her apprentice, and Sharon had accepted. Mervella hadn't seen Rhojeka for two years after that, but when her friend returned, she had changed a lot. Still a good friend, but a matured one, experienced in the ways of the world, looking at it with completely different eyes. And of course she knew all the songs.

Kane seemed pleased with that. "Then I would like to make this humble request to you. When the time is right, would you do me the honor of singing the song for standing one's ground?"

Even though Mervella wasn't familiar with that title, she suddenly felt that Rhojeka's attitude towards the man changed a bit. "That's... a battle tune," Rhojeka remarked, with a warning undertone in her voice.

"I am aware of that," Kane agreed. "I don't expect you to sing it in here, tonight, in this tavern. But when the time is right, would you be willing to?"

Rhojeka's glance went from his face to Mervella, then to the purse on the table. She hesitated. But then she straightened herself and gave him the answer: "When the time is right, I will see what I can do."

Not exactly a definitive answer, but Kane seemed to be satisfied with it. "That is all I ask for," he said and slightly bowed before them. "Keep the money, please! You have earned it tonight." And he turned around, went back to his place. Leaving the two women alone with their dinner.

"Odd..." Mervella commented. But since he was gone, she could finally relax a little and eat. While she had already chewed and swallowed two pieces of meat, she noticed that Rhojeka had barely touched her food. Instead her bardic friend was staring at the purse, deep in thoughts. "Hey! Are you alright?"

Rhojeka looked at her as if she had just woken up from a dream. "Oh... Yes. Nevermind. You're right, it's..." She stopped, looked at the purse again. Then she took it and opened it. Her eyes widened as she looked at its content.

"What is it?" Mervella was on alert again. Something was wrong, she could read it in Rhojeka's face.

Rhojeka showed her the purse and the coins inside. "Rongarian silver coins," she said breathlessly. "A small fortune of those."

She was right. Again. Mervella looked at the coins. The purse was halfway full, but the coins in it would have been enough to buy the entire tavern. "He has been far to the east," she concluded from this discovery. "Very far."

"And I think this is all the money he has." Rhojeka looked over her shoulder at the man who now sat at the table and took a sip from his mug. A small sip. As if he was afraid of getting drunk.

"What's this song about that he asked you to sing?" Mervella asked. If he was paying all he had for this one song, this had to be of some meaning for him. "You said that it's a battle tune. What does that mean?"

"It means that bards sing that kind of songs for armies or warriors who are about to start a fight. This particular song is to encourage a warrior who is about to face off against a much stronger opponent, an overwhelming force. It tells them to face it and not run, even when this might cost them their lives."

As Mervella heard this explanation, she became aware of the fact that her assumption had been right. There was some magic to the music that Rhojeka performed. And each song was supposed to cause a certain reaction in those who listen to it. The songs tonight had been ideal for giving the tavern patrons a good time, but a battle tune like this would change the mood entirely. But that's what Kane said, too. At least hinted at. He didn't expect Rhojeka to perform it in here. When the time is right... They both had agreed on that.

"Will you do it?" Mervella asked the one question that was lingering at this table for the entire time.

Rhojeka looked back at Kane. "Gods, I hope I won't have to."

What is this building up to? Who is Kane? What is his angle here? Can he be trusted, or is Mervella right to be suspicious of him? What do you think?

On another note though: The song in the previous chapter, the few lines I gave you anyway, were written by me. But this song they are referencing does exist, it is the song "Stand my Ground" from Within Temptation (you should be able to find it on Spotify or Youtube). Let's see if this song will really come into play at a later time.