Sierra Ju'ent: Rhinestone Cowgirl

[CowgirlClementine]

The Law of Effect: 5. Regret

Sometimes

Sometimes the body betrays the heart
And I let my feet carry me far away
Sometimes I let my mind take over
When everything else told me to stay

Sometimes,
Just sometimes,
I don’t know what to do
Or what to say
When sometimes
I wish I did
And could take the pain away

Sometimes I want to give it up
And I feel to tired to go on
Sometimes I want to forget it all
About how it felt to you to belong

Sometimes,
Just sometimes,
I’m not sure
If it’s right I stay
When sometimes
I remember
How I threw everything away

But every day, every night
I’ll ask you to take me back
Take me with every flaw
Every perfection that I lack

Every minute, every hour
I swear I’ll never try to leave
Hoping that someday
You’ll listen to my words and believe

[CowgirlClementine]

The Law of Effect: 4. Aggression

I wake up every morning
Knowing I’ve died the night before

It had been years by now.
Gods had been abandoned.
Hope had been lost.

Not many people know
What it’s like to have died
The freedom in it

They did not treat half elves well in Thay, especially because of their relations with half elven Aglarond to the south, the land which they felt should be theirs by right of power, but always beyond their grasp. So she was lucky, to be in the position she was in. This is what she was told, by some of the men she was made to entertain.

She didn’t know what was worse really.
What they did to her, or that she had to listen to them drivel on.

To tell that while a body walks
Talks
Lives and breathes

Most important, she’d learned simply not to care.

Pain had become part of everyday life, when they used their knives to cut into her, while at the same time they defiled her body in other ways. Or when they burned her, all the while crying out their pleasure and glee.

It just didn’t matter anymore.

Of course, if she was still inclined to give her faith to anyone, she could assume that maybe it was partially because of the prayers the mistress made them all give at the house, at the Loviatarian altar before they were taken out, but she always laughed her way through those prayers internally, often changing some of the words around to make them much more amusing. She remembered that she used to do things like that a lot, and no one else ever noticed.

Whatever got her through the days.

The heart of the person
Who was born into a body
Once living but now dead

After all, most of her had died years ago.

She had even made a little anniversary of it, the night when she was first killed, one that apparently the house mistress actually thought she celebrated, instead of damned. Granted, the house mistress was also a devout follower of Loviatar, so she didn’t see things in the same ways others did, and expected them to enjoy pain as much as she. Because of this “anniversary”, the house mistress had chosen her on this particular day, to be part of a special gift ordered by one of the more important men in the city. It was the son of the man’s birthday, and this man wanted to make the day, and more importantly the night especially memorable.

Trussed up as usual, to be made as attractive as possible, she was loaded into one of the nicest carts, and quickly transported to the house, where she was quickly shut into one of the bedrooms. There she would wait until the man was ready to unveil his gift to his son.

She always felt like this before what was bound to happen, happened.

Shame of betrayal.
Regret over all the decisions she made that lead her here.

But sometimes the ghost of the day before
Reminding me of the days that belonged to you

Then numbness, and apathy.

While waiting by the window, she heard a voice. Such a familiar voice, it cut through her, making her heart thaw and clench painfully. Then she heard the voice again, laughing.

And then a name.

Her own name, her real name.

Sierra.

_At my own hands
By my choice

I’ll know that I’ve died the night before
I know that I’ve survived

To my ghost I say goodbye_

She didn’t remember snapping the son’s neck or any of the other things she did to him. Or leaving shortly after and walking back without her usual escort to make sure that she didn’t run away. But, she knew that she had done it, as though it had been told to her as an afterthought. She’d gone back to the house and collected her things before anyone seemed to have found out what had happened. The blood didn’t phase anyone, for it was not at all out of place, and for that, no one seemed to ask why there was so much of it.

Somehow, someway, she left.

She never even knew why.

_Yesterday was your day in my life

Today is mine_

Sierra went out for a walk.

[CowgirlClementine]

The Law of Effect: 3. Remembrance

My gift to understanding is a scene
To illustrate heart’s demand
Stillness of dark shades of night
Giving restlessness to the idle hand

She leaned against the wall of her cell, which was packed with the bodies of many others. Some living, some… not so living. But all bound either way for Thay. A place so close to where she had come from, but because of her situation, may as well be lost to her, for it seemed doubtful that she’d soon find a way to escape.

The trip left her many, many hours, to think about what had been, and what might have been. And who she had left behind.

She let her hope fall away, and wondered if she would really ever see him again.

Down the alley ways of no light
Something taken for granted, is unseen
A pair of lovers bound together
By silence, walking shadows inbetween

…………

Nico took Sierra’s hands in his, for all the world to her seeming as loving and gentle as she liked to think him capable of being. And so he was, loving, gentle, understanding, and always kind… at least with her.

As they sat before the fire, he slowly and calmly finally told her what she’d been wanting to know for so long, but had always known somewhat instinctively.

And as much as she said it didn’t matter, it did.

Later that night, Sierra packed up her tools, her weapons and anything else she needed, and left to take a walk.

She just needed to think.

A dangerous taste, love of life's passion
sanctuaries unknown and not their own
Lady of life and Night companion seek
What they reap is what they have sown

[CowgirlClementine]

The Law of Effect: 2. Consequences

You don't know how you got here
You just know you want out

Fibers pulled at the rawness of her skin, with the scents of blood, sweat, and other fluids trapped inside of the burlap bag that contained her. She tried to hold her breath for as long as she could, afraid that if she breathed in the acrid scents, she’d vomit, and be trapped with that smell as well.

Outside, she heard him. He was bartering with someone, periodically poking the bag, laughing, but all in a language that she couldn’t understand. She strained her ears and tried to concentrate, hoping that she could figure out what they were saying, but holding her breath finally got to her, and she sucked in a lung full of air and stench.

Gagging hard on her bile, she thankfully, passed out.

………………

Sometime later, perhaps days, maybe weeks, she woke up. Bandages were wrapped around her wounds, her hair cut, and washed. Things were feeling, and smelling, much better than she last remembered.

Some women came to talk to her, again, in the same strange language as before. She still didn’t understand though.

It didn’t take long though, to figure out even though she didn’t understand the language, that she had been sold by him, to someone else. She was now a slave.

Trying desperately to hold onto hope that somehow she’d find a way out of this, part of her nagged from within, whispering that this was punishment.

She just should have stayed put.
She should have never chased him.
She should have listened to her gut.

Why can’t we ever be happy with what we’ve got?

Believing in yourself
Almost as much as you doubt

[CowgirlClementine]

Law of Effect: 1. A History Lesson.

You don't know how you took it
You just know what you got

She slowly came to, a pain rippling through her head. As she tried to move her hand to feel for bumps on her skull, she found that both her wrists and ankles had been tied.

She had left her future to get even with her past. To get even with the man who had cheated her all those years ago. Such a pursuit is always a gamble.

She had tried, and she had failed. Now it was time to pay up.

The door creaked open, and in he came. Cocky walk, smile on his face. Just like she remembered him. But his smile held a special sort of glee this time, a sick anticipation.

Circling around her, he ran his hands over her naked body, giggling in a high pitched octave.

Pausing, he laid to rest his hand on the top of her shoulder, and then slowly begin to glide it down, until he reached her fingertips.

“How lovely…” was what he said, as he began to bend each finger backwards, in unnatural form, one by one.

He was an artist. He didn’t begin simply by beating her. No, he worked up to that.

First her fingers

Then her hands

Her wrists….

He burned with fire

With ice…

Cut with glass…

And then left her alone for days

With no light

No sound.

Just complete …

Emptiness.

Eventually he got bored of making her cry though.

And she thought, “Good. Maybe he’ll just kill me now.”

…If I’m lucky…

Oh Lordy you've been stealing
from the thieves and you got caught

[CowgirlClementine]

**The Simple Knight – A Tale of Many Parts

I**

I wish to tell you a tale, a very important tale, though all are,
For tales chart the passing events of life that run swiftly by.
So many stories of heroes, villains, grand nobles and peasants-
Some brimming with joy, some with tragedy to make you cry.

What my tale is to be is quite up to you, the listener, but to be certain,
This tale begins with a simple boy, on a simple farm, simply farming.
Many tales begin this way, with the boy growing warrior tall and strong,
But with this simple boy, another soul he would not think of harming.

Toiling away on his farm daily, year after year things were the same.
This boy, as simple as he may have been, did however, grandly dream.
Until one unusual day from over the mountains came a wondrous king,
And wise, for he knew things were not always as simple as they seem.

“Of you I have a dangerous request,” said the wizened wondrous king,
Approaching the boy at his duties, the monarch looked him up and down.
“A journey of great adventure, and peril, requiring honor and duty,
To recover for me a rare, luminous jewel, to set in my golden crown.”

Such a thing the boy had never thought would happen to him, he was sure.
But simple boy agreed, and packed his belongings and put his hoe away.
That night he kissed his mother on her cheek, and wiped at her sad tears,
In the morning he said farewell to his father, promising to return one day.

[CowgirlClementine]

-A Study of the Bard-

_Sitting within a town’s walls
Does a true bard not make
Singing of other’s journeys
Sounds pleasant, but fake

Find the many tales that wait
Go out, walk the tired lands
Not simply read, but experience
Stories endless at your hands

Hands that grasp the blade
Scream into battle at the ready
Sculptor’s delicate hands
Hold your sword ever steady

Heart of a warrior driven
Hands of an artist inspired
Tongue of a tired poet
For telling tales of what transpired

Keepers of tales and song
Live lively, live well and long
Find many secrets, find your tales
Find your road and walk on_

[CowgirlClementine]

-In the Legion-

(( To the tune of "In the Navy" as sung by the Village People. ))

_Where can you find your pleasure
Search the Nars for buried treasure
And blow up Gnomish technology
Where can you begin to
Wear nothing but black and blue
On your armor and facially
Where can you launch hins in the sky
Poke out an angry orc’s left eye
And not worry about giving an apology
You’ll run screaming from Bigby’s hand
Or be the last one in rank left to stand
When the sh*te hits the gnomish fan!

In the Legion
Yes, You’ll eat nothing but lotsa peas
In the Legion
Yes, you’ll battle scary mutated bees!
In the Legion
They’ll make a man out of any Narfellian
In the Legion
Even the male elves, yes we can!
In the Legion
Come on protect the snow covered land
In the Legion
Drink as much dwarven ale as you can
In the Legion
Together we’ll protect Narfell land
In the Legion, in the Legion

They want you. They want you. They want you as a new recruit.

If you like adventure, don't you wait to enter
Their ranks are filling fast
If you like to hit things, with swords that clang
They're signing up front liners fast
You are never too weak so join up today
And don't you worry 'bout a thing
For I’m sure there will always be room for fodder
As long as you can heal, shoot or sing

In the Legion
Yes, You’ll eat nothing but lotsa peas
In the Legion
Yes, you’ll battle scary mutated bees!
In the Legion
They’ll make a man out of any Narfellian
In the Legion
Even the male elves, yes we can!
In the Legion
Come on protect the snow covered land
In the Legion
Drink as much dwarven ale as you can
In the Legion
Together we’ll protect Narfell land
In the Legion, in the Legion

They want you.
They want you.
They want you as a new recruit.

They want you.
They want you.
They want you as a new recruit.

But, but, but I'm afraid of the pain.
Hey, hey look man, I have no sense of aim

(They want you) oh my goodness
(They want you) What am I gonna do against a war machine?

They want you.

They want you, In the Legion_

[CowgirlClementine]

_For my love, Nico

Upon the occassion

-A Darker Shade of Night-

My gift to understanding is a scene
To illustrate what is a heart's demand
Stillness of darker shades of night
Giving restlessness to the idle hand

Waiting for the sign of purpose
Lady of life and secrets contained
Afraid to admit her desire, her want
Fantasies of mischief well restrained

Then comes along a companion
Someone to show her the way
Down to a darker shade of night
From set path she goes astray

Down the alley ways of no light
Something taken for granted, is unseen
A pair of lovers bound together
By silence, walking shadows inbetween

A dangerous taste, love of life's passion
sanctuaries unknown and not their own
Lady of life and Night companion seek
What they reap is what they have sown

Together they find
A darker shade of night
One of thier very own_

[CowgirlClementine]

_Despite the initial roughness in our association, Nico and I worked together pretty well. Where as he was one to take times to consider things, I was impulsive. He could play the games of politics, but I simply wanted to get things done. I may have not been the most effective of employees, but it didn’t matter. It was obvious even to me that Nico mostly kept me around if only because I amused him, and he was a man who didn’t have much to make him really laugh or smile- and it wasn’t something he could buy either.

And at first, he tried his best to buy me.

At first, he gave me a new set of leathers and an armored harness to “protect me while I was on the job”. I accepted them, merely because I assumed that it was exactly that, and something that was extended to any one of his employees. Then he brought to me a new bow. It was finely made, and of much higher quality than I had seen or owned before, but I refused. Yet he insisted. “It’s for the job. It doesn’t do to have my employees dying because they’re ill equipped to handle the risks” he said.

So I began asking him about his wife.

Nico didn’t seem to want to talk about his wife much, and I had found earlier that it was a sure fire way of changing the subject. He always withdrew from me whenever I asked, making replies such as, “That’s my private life, and I prefer to keep it private,” or, “The state of my relationship with my wife is between me and her.” I hated to do that to him, but it was a good way of putting him off from giving me things.

But eventually, he would without a doubt try again. I ended up taking the bow one day when he said that it was my payment for services rendered that week. And he still persisted even after that, trying to give me anything he thought I’d like, but I became stronger at saying no, or so I thought….

I sat on the docks one day, locked deep in thought about my life so far. I had tried to be a good person, but I had trouble being that person. I felt horrible guilt. Not because I was doing bad things- but because I did what was necessary, and felt no remorse for doing so when others would have.

I knew that I had developed feeling for Nico. And I knew he had a wife. I also knew what I was about to do, and felt no sorrow for what his wife would feel. All I could think about was when, just after Nico told me he was married that a voice whispered in my head:

“You meet the man who was meant for you, and find you’ve dawdled. You finally arrived, only to find you’re five minutes too late.”

I knew that I couldn’t allow it to be too late, not without giving it a last shot.

Just about to go tie up my loose ends with Nate, I turned around to trip over something- a mace of exquisite design and enchantment. I knew that somehow, Nico must have left it behind me while I was lost in my thoughts, and seeing it there, instead of making me happy simply angered me. Nico would try to handle me by buying me, and prove I was fatally flawed. Anything that could be bought was cheap, and easily forgotten.

When I found him, I did so with the intent of informing him that without a doubt I was not cheap, easy, or forgettable. He merely looked at me with one of his rare grins, telling me that he had never seen the mace in his life, and then suggested that I accept it as a gift from Finder Wyvernspur, my god.

He found the one way I couldn’t possibly refuse.

I was touched that he’d gone through such effort, and conceded. From then on, things went increasingly better every day. I was preparing to break things off with Nate as soon as I could think of a good way how, and Nico was smiling and laughing more.

Then one evening, he stopped laughing. He nearly died, and I found myself in Jail._

[CowgirlClementine]

_The entire trip I was miserable. Either I was being threatened by dwarves, ordered around, being shot at, or worse. But, once we arrived to our destination, I was allowed to sit in on the negotiations for the exchange of goods- which was the purpose of our trip I came to find out. While I listened to the prattle and verbal dance that was bartering, I almost had to smile at how well Nico played the game of reaching the most profitable agreement. He was really good at what he did, there was no denying it. But at the same time, it made me hate him more that I wanted to like the man who had just treated me like some sort of street urchin.

Finally the negotiations were closed, the bargain struck, and we on our way home. In the highs of the deal just made, everyone was nicer to me on the return trip, Nico included. And I began to wait for something.

That something didn’t take long, as when we arrived back to Peltarch, Nico invited me for dinner. While he’ll still claim to anyone that asks, he simply felt sorry for me, if you really ever got to know Nico you’d know that’s a line and nothing with him is really all that simple anyways. But anyways, he didn’t take me to anywhere nice. He took me to the Pissing Goat Tavern, a dive where the scum of the city college and congeal together.

Though a Senator, and a member of the wealthy classes of the city, he truly seemed more comfortable there than he had anywhere else. He was very charming the entire time, and seemed to suppress a smile during our conversation- as though if it broke out, whatever play acting he was doing as the intimidating and smooth merchant would fail.

During the dinner, Nico offered me a job. He had been told that I had a knack for trouble, and usually coming out in one piece in the end. And in addition, after all the pains he put me through on the trip, he was impressed that I stuck with it, didn’t give up, and perhaps most of all, didn’t follow through with my fantasy of “accidentally” shooting him in the eye.

For some reason, I began to think about Nate. I knew he was somewhere out in the city waiting for me, with his fair smile, warmth and goodness. He was something I could never be, never aspire to, never touch. To even think about it was painful.

Time stilled for a moment, as if to say, “Pay attention, this is when everything can change…”

I felt this run through me, and even almost a tiny glimmer of the pain I would be apart of causing, but how miniscule it compared with a something else that was unknown. It was a mystery that had not yet declared it’s out come, whether it was good or bad, but only that the journey would be something defining.

With only a brief moment’s hesitation, I took the job._

[CowgirlClementine]

_While some people may have theories of how and why I came to be with Nico Black, and I’ve told many versions of how it happened, usually these stories are only partial truths. I could say that it wasn’t physical, or that it was love at first sight, or something much more romantic than it really was. But it wasn’t really romantic, at least in my opinion. In actuality, it was really a series of really wrong decisions and lack of conscience on both our parts that just somehow ended with a result that perhaps he and I both do not deserve.

However, it has always been my theory that is why Nico and I fit so well together. We’re not good people, but nor are we bad people. Sometimes we do the right things, and sometimes we do the wrong things. And a lot of times, we don’t care nor take into how others might feel about our actions along the way to a goal.

Nico and I probably wouldn’t have ever met if it hadn’t been for a man whom I was tentatively seeing at the time, Nate Wingates.

When I initially met Nate, I found his peppiness to be very charming and uplifting. That was important to me at the time, since I was strongly considering killing myself rather than live out Finder’s Curse (which is a whole other story all in itself). But what really made him romantically attractive to me was finding out he was being controlled by someone else through a spell. Setting myself on the task of helping him break the spell gave me purpose and I found that more than anything to be exhilarating.

Following the breaking of said spell, I found myself steadily growing irritated with Nate. There’s just only so much “whimsical” and cheerfulness one can take. Not to mention Nate was really good, and really nice. After I tried for a while to get him to do something daring and exciting, I came to the conclusion that he was at heart, a goody goody through and through. We didn’t suit as well as I thought we once had, and admittedly I was looking for a way out.

Here is where the irony begins.

One day, I received a note stuck under my door with some such thing about how I had “won a dinner with Nico Black”. I didn’t know who he was at the time, nor did I care. But, I did care that someone was leaving notes under my doorway, and I wanted to know why. The best lead I had obviously was to find this Nico Black and ask if he knew anything about it.

So, I ran around the city trying to track this man down. Finally one of the guards tell me that he’s near the docks, preparing to board a boat. Upon arriving at the docks, I find the ship he is supposed to be on, but yet no one is there. I search below decks in the hold, and still yet, no one is there. I then decided to give up on my search, and my hand begins to turn the handle on the hold door. Only to find it locked. Finally, some hours later I was let out of the hold, to face an angry man with the oddest haircut and choice of facial hair I had ever seen. I almost felt like asking him if he knew that mutton chops ceased to be fashionable sometime in the last century, but considering my position at the time, I thought it best to stay quiet on that subject.

However, one thing was very apparent. Nico Black, the man with the muttonchops, had taken an immediate dislike to me on first sight. Almost immediately, he began yelling at me and screaming, asking who I was spying for, what I was doing on the ship…All sorts of things. I kept wondering why he even bothered asking me, seeing as how he had decided I was some sort of spy.

The very next thing I knew, I had a mop thrust into my hand and I was told to begin mopping the deck, or begin my swim back to Peltarch. Though I am a very good swimmer, I assumed that mopping wouldn’t be so bad, but in hindsight, I sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t have just taken my chances with the Icelake._

[CowgirlClementine]

_Personal note: I've finally broken out of my creative block that had plagued me ever since my….. accident.

It was hard for a while. I had felt like I had lost something... something that I couldn't put my finger on. Then I realized it was apart of myself.

For days I spoke in nothing but rhyme to recover what I had lost, or some thread of inspiration. Finally, I gave up when I realized that it wasn't to be seen as something lost- but a chance at reinvention.

I just hope it turns out well.

Commissioned song- Dolvak Pest Control, for the purpose of advertisement

"Save a Headache, Hire the Dolvaks"
((set to the tune of - "Save a horse, Ride a Cowboy"))

_Well, you walk into your room
To see a scene that makes you ill
Rodents are tearing and chewing
on your furniture and window sill
But who do you call around this town
Someone who’ll get dirty and get down
Dolvak Pest Control is the one and only name!

Oh we they are your salvation
From rodents in the city
Things that make a lot of noise
Vermin that are disgusting
And so dirty
Go to Dolvak Pest Control today
For an end to your troubles

If you want to
Kill the rodents, Hire the Dolvaks
If you want to
Kill the rodents, Hire the Dolvaks

Commissioned song- Annonymous Party, Noble Lady Desdirita to be the recipient

"The Lonely Heart Love Sick Blues"

A lady of peerless beauty
From the rest she stands a-part
She’s not just class and style
But a genuine work of price-less art

She’s got skin of fine porcelain
Hair in long silky flowing braids
If she would give her love to me
Ohh… I’d have it for-ever made

But she doesn’t know
What she does to me
Or how together
We’d live so happily

Ohh… my beautiful lady
Just one chance with her
isn’t something I want to lose

But I can’t tell her how I feel
I’m too afraid that a life with me
isn’t what she’d choose

I’ve got the lonely heart
Love-sick blues

A voice to charm a dragon
She stole away my will-ing heart
Skin as smooth as mithryl
Lips as red as a –sweet- straw-berry tart

A lady of classic noble tastes
Of her I’ll never-ever tire
If I could I’d make her my queen
And give her what-ever she de-sired

But she doesn’t know
What she does to me
Or how together
We’d live so happily

Ohh... my beautiful lady
What I wouldn’t give
To live my entire life with you

But I can’t tell you how I feel
It’s tearing me apart
I just don’t know what to do

I’ve got the lonely heart
Love-sick blues

Yeah… I’ve got the blues…

Ohh… my lonely heart

Love…

Sick…

Blues…__

[Clan Dolvak]

Bravo!

[CowgirlClementine]

Song Commissioned by Foilir Dolvak

((To be sung to the tune of "I'm gonna be" by the Proclaimers. I figured a song sung by two Scots about drinking seemed like a good fit for dwarves))

_The Dolvak Duet

(to be sung by two dwarves, probably mining and most likely drunk)

(First Part: Foilir)
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be,
I'm gonna be Foilir Dolvak, Dwarven cousin to you
And when I go out, well I know I'm gonna be
I'll be the Dwarf who tries to out drink his cousin too
But if I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be not nearly as drunk as you
And when I haver, hey I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the dwarf who's havering on the bard in blue

But I would drink 500 ales
And I would drink 500 more
Just to be Foilir Dolvak who drank a thousand pints of ale
To be the dwarf that drinks you to the floor

(Second Part: Dwin)
When I'm working, yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be Dwin Dolvak givin’ orders to you
And when the money, comes in for the work I do
I'll still have more money than my cousin too
When I grow my beard, well hopefully and maybe
Just maybe I’ll have a beard like most dwarves do
And if I grow old, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the dwarf who’s still out earnin’ you

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be Dwin Dolvak who walked a thousand miles
To mine that vein of adamantine ore

(First Part: Foilir)
Fa la la

Fa la la

I can drink anyone to the floor and still drink more

(Second Part: Dwin)
Fa la la

Fa la la

I’ll make my fortune smithing weapons and mining ore

(Third Part: Foilir and Dwin)
We’re Foilir and Dwin, of the Dolvak Clan and family
Ore mining and ale drinking dwarves through and through
When we go out (When we go out), we know we’re gonna be
We’re gonna to be drinking the finest ale and Dwarven brew
And when we go mining (yeah mining), we know we’re gonna be
We’re gonna be carrying ten times more ore than your crew
And if you farkin’ try to mess with my cousin or me
We’re going to be the dwarves that kick the crap outta you
Yeah, we’ll be the dwarves that kick the crap outta you

I would drink 500 dwarven ales
I would mine 500 ingots of ore
And if you mess with the Dolvak Cousins
We’ll settle the score

fa la la

fa la la

Yeah we’ll kick the ever loving crap outta you

fa la la

fa la la

And we’ll still be able to drink and mine more than you

fa la la

fa la la

Ore mining and ale drinking dwarves through and through_

[CowgirlClementine]

(( This is the song that Sierra would have performed at the mage fair, but something came up, so Mirkali will be performing it in her place. Sung to the tune of "Gimme three steps" by Lynard Skynard))

Gimme Eight Schools of Azuth's Magical Lore

_I was studyin’ a spell
It was difficult as the ninth hell
I was cursin’ my teachers cruel
When in walked a man
With a staff in his hand
And wearin’ a robe of azure blue.
He said, ‘My name’s Azuth,
And I’ll tell you the honest truth,
Why that’s spell’s confusin’ you
’cause that’s the abjuration school
Not the conjuration magical pool
And it’s third circle not two’

(chorus)
’won’t you give me eight schools,
Gimme eight schools mister,
Gimme eight schools of magical lore?
Gimme eight schools
Gimme eight schools mister,
And you’ll get eight schools an’ no more

Now Conjuration’s a good tool
Manifesting objects is mighty cool.
Sometimes a transfer of power to you,
But if you want to protect,
Then Abjuration is what to get.
Casting Dispel may save your hide
Divination lets you see,
What the future might be.
Or secrets forgotten and long gone.
Enchantment will affect the mind
It’s good for when you’re in a bind
Usin’ charm on an enemy fool.’

(chorus)
’won’t you give me eight schools,
Gimme eight schools mister,
Gimme eight schools of magical lore?
Gimme eight schools
Gimme eight schools mister,
And you’ll get eight schools an’ no more

Well the school of evocation
Is energy manipulation
So cast a magic missile or two.
And I’m telling you son,
Illusion is lotsa fun
Creatin’ magical images of you.
Necromancy’s is the power of death
It can give the rottin’ dead new breath.
And hold ‘em together with magical glue
If you want something with physical range
Try Transmutation for a change.
Turn into a troll and umber hulk too

(chorus)
’won’t you give me eight schools,
Gimme eight schools mister,
Gimme eight schools of magical lore?
Gimme eight schools
Gimme eight schools mister,
And you’ll get eight schools an’ no more
Yeah Gimme eight schools mister,
And you’ve got eight schools of Azuth’s magical lore.’_

[CowgirlClementine]

And yet.. MORE songs and stuff from Sierra's journal

Victim of My Own Pride

(Sung to the Tune of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers)

I'm coming out of my saddness
And I’ll be doing just fine
Gotta get rid of my pride
Greed made me want it all
It started out with a poem
Something not mine alone
Just one poem, I thought my own
Now I'm falling from grace
And the circle’s coming ‘round
While I had his faith
He’s taken it back
Now I’m lost, alone
because of the humility I lack
And did it on my own
But I’ll get back on track
Now, he’s withdrawn from me
Not forever I know
I just can't accept that its killing me
And taking it’s toll

Jealousy, turning faith into misery
Making me want to run and hide
Choking on my swelling pride
But it's just the price I pay
Humility is forcing me
To ignore temptation’s lies
The victim of my own pride

I'm coming out of my blues
And I'’ll be doing just fine
Gotta get rid of my pride
Turn myself to brighter hues
Remember I have my love’s kiss
I won’t be reduced to only this
It was only a time, return my faith divine
Now I will try to keep face
And try no longer to be sad
While he's having his fun
Challenging my resolve
I want to find my way back
And my purpose on track
Pride won’t get me dead
Because humility I lack
Now, he’s withdrawn from me
Now, I’m such a mess
I just can’t let this kill me
But it’s taking a toll

Jealousy, turning faith into misery
Making me want to run and hide
Choking on my swelling pride
But it's just the price I pay
Humility is forcing me
To ignore temptation’s lies
The victim of my own pride

A Fool in Peltarch, Narfell

(Sung to the tune of "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett)

Nibblin' on a muffin cake
Watchin' the ground quake
All of the citizens scramble and scream
Realaxin' with my badger-friend
On the Pel-tarch commons bench end
I think my muffin’s dry- maybe I should get some cream

Chorus:
Just putterin' away again in Peltarch, Narfell
Searchin’ for something tasty to drink
Some people claim that I’m a Fool and insane
But I don’t care, what the people think

I don't know the reason
I stay here through the season
Nothin' to show but my flashy robe
But it's a real beauty
I look like a gnomish cutie
Am I wearing underwear - I haven't a clue

Chorus:
Just putterin’ away again in Peltarch, Narfell
Searchin' for something tasty to drink
Some people claim that I’m a Fool and insane
Now I think
You know, I’m bet I’d look good in Pink

I found a tasty mush-room
Roasting it on a wooden-broom
Got three kids waitin’ back home
I got my badger songs to whistle
And about ten magic missiles
I’m a brilliant and fun lovin’ gnome

Just putterin' away again in Peltarch, Narfell
Searchin’ for something tasty to drink
Some people claim that I’m a Fool and insane
But I don’t care, what the people think
Yes and some people claim I’m a Fool and crazy insane
But I know, I look fabulous in pink

[CowgirlClementine]

Selected songs and poetry from Sierra Ju’ent’s Songbook, party III

Imitation and Identity

Imitation a form of flattery
Or so it is often said
Why does such replication
Makes my heart feel dead

A point of pride gone
Once unique to me
My claim no more
Gloom stifling glee

A victim of my patron’s pride
Have I grown that vain
To think I alone would sing
Identity now lost to pain

The Rash

Love, you irritate me
Making me do things
Out of sort

Driving me crazy
Making me want to
Drink large quantities of port

Turning me inside out
One minute I’m up
Next I’m down

Once enraptured
Then insane
Fool of the town

Love, you irritate me

Underneath

It’s where I can feel safe and content
Knowing the layers of blankets and sheets
Will be my barrier against the real world
Keeping responsibility and reality at bay

Here I can breathe

It’s where I hide myself and my feelings
Because anyone else will only see the surface
Worn mossy green and lumpy like dough
Keeping the pocket below serene and still

Here I can feel the feel

It’s where I dream and let my mind dance
For here - if just for a moment - I can believe in magic again
That all the tales I was read at bedtime could be truth
And where bills, work and mediocrity is the fiction

Here I can think

Where only one other person has ever been allowed
To take a deeper look at the maelstrom of emotions
To listen to silly secrets and familiar fantasies
To be a companion with which to camp out in the bed

Here I can touch

Where I can feel the purity of life and my senses
Warm sticky and sweet like fresh maple syrup
Or maybe of honey and cinnamon to make my tongue tingle
Making my breath hitch and my mind pause

Here is where time stops

Just below the soft blankets

Follow the trail up from my toes

Where I am wrapped up and waiting

Underneath

Ghost of a Day

I wake up every morning
Knowing I’ve died the night before

Not many people know
What it’s like to have died
The freedom in it

But sometimes the ghost of the day before
Reminding me of the days that belonged to you

To tell that while a body walks
Talks
Lives and breathes

The heart of the person
Who was born into a body
Once living but now dead

A mistake made apparent
And left to rot
With nothing but the corporeal remains

This man who swore
They loved me
Would always protect me

One who said
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it
Made me want to believe it was true

They placed the blame
Acting as though they were the innocent
The victim of what they did to others

This ghost of mine
A ghost of a day
That was the person who believed
Every word

Words that twisted and turned
Their beliefs and their sins

A person controlled by the words
Chains that cut deep
But then I go to sleep
And wait for the next sunrise

When I see that sun
I’ll smile bright
I’ll wake up

At my own hands
By my choice

I’ll know that I’ve died the night before
I know that I’ve survived

To my ghost I say goodbye

That yesterday was your day in my life

Today is mine

[CowgirlClementine]

Selected Songs and Poetry from Sierra's Private Song Book, II

"A Moment of Perfect Grace"

It is man’s endless pursuit of a place

A moment of frozen time when everything is perfect
So extraordinary is that moment, it will catch your breath
Settle to stillness in the watery ripples of the tempest soul
An expanding of your soul beyond width and depth

In one second you believe the most amazing things to be true

That every hope of your heart has a promising future
That every fanciful wish within us is so much more
Than just a dream of shining day or shimmering night
It is the promise of infinite possibilities in store

It is an understanding and a way of knowing

Without being told the many questions or answers
To every curiosity and wonder of life and being
And every desire, passion and pain of the heart
A feeling of something flawless to give life meaning

Imperfect as members of mankind we are

There will be times that trusts will be broken
Our high standards and expectations will not be met
That stark reality will fall short of the fleeting dream
And promises of the night before will be un kept

But you can always go back to that moment

When you knew you had first truly felt it within you
Have faith and remember your sweet love’s face
Know you found something that can last a lifetime
Your moment of perfect grace

"War Song"

The rapid rhythm of life disturbed
Threat of conflict come to kill me
A symphony of frightening sounds
Harmonies of war with fear fill me

Man’s passionate greed for power
Death and destruction’s driving beat
Countless carelessly destroyed
By anger’s avenging and burning heat

Rage and rush of battle
Sounds of metal hitting bone
Another soul’s lost chance
To see their children grown

Iron swords invade the body
Blood from marrow spilling
Crimson creeping into the ground
Coloring the grass from killing

The rumbling sounds of struggle
A fight to reach high and stay alive
The prized one or two moments longer
One that contains a lifetime or five

A single last chance at solitude
To feel your child in your arms
One more precious chance
To savor your lover’s charms

Life slips away silently into memory
Pausing to see who was left behind
Several souls pray that somehow
Hope returns to the sorrowful mind

But finally calm has come to claim me
Desperately inhale sweet life long and deep
Close my eyes from the world
Feel the fear and anger finally sleep

Powerful Passion
Jubilant Joy
The love of life
Let them fill me.

Those who gave their own life
Allowed our lives to go on
We owe our priceless gift
To those who died and are gone

I have not much of value
To me no precious jewels belong
But to them I give them this…
My heart’s war song

“Ode to the Civil War”

((Set to the tune of “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV Theme))

Come and listen to a story ‘bout the Pel-tarch civil war
When one mornin’ a Senator named Koreth decided he wanted more
That fateful day he was in such a foul and plottin’ mood,
He staged a coup and kicked out the citizens which was mighty rude

Treason that is, Takin’ over, People runnin’ for their lives.

Well the next thing you know half of Pel-tarch is in a camp takin’ refuge,
Everyone still fightin’ and the loss of life is mighty huge
But they won’t give up their brave fight for Peltarch, their fair Ice Lace city
So they’ll battle to the end in the pursuit of freedom and liberty.

Victory, that is. Kickin’ Arse, Takin’ names.

Well now its time to say good-bye to Koreth and all his kin.
And we’d like to thank them to drop dead ‘cause they’re guiltier than sin.
They won’t be invited back again to this locality
Unless they want to have a heapin' helpin' of brutality

Exile that is. Not welcome. Take ya’ll selves off.

And don’t come back now, y’hear?

[CowgirlClementine]

Hail to the King Baby, Part III

Soo… where was I?

Right, the tower.

Okay then, so we read the riddle, bust into this tower, and everything seems mostly calm so far. Granted, there was a nasty wizard fella and his stupid cohort inside, but you really have to expect these things if you read the Handbook of Hiding Really Valuable Things. There’s always a nasty powerful wizard right next to where the treasure is, or at least a nasty and powerful something. Large mutant creatures sometimes, but always something.

We start attacking the wizard fella, and it was really very sad. He started protecting his cohort first. It was really sweet how he was practically sacrificing himself to save his henchmen.

Which made it really easy to slay him as well… unfortunately… or fortunately, depending which side you’re on.

But it did put me to pause for a moment. The wizard and the henchmen seemed so dedicated to protecting each other, that I began to wonder if they had a particularly special relationship between the two. I felt my eyes begin to tear up the more I thought about it. It was tragic.

Lovers in life, and in death.

I only hoped that Sune had prepared a special field of flowers for the two of them to frolic in for the rest of their afterlife, and have pleasant little picnics, and tea, and dance with the maypole, and ….

“Hey!” I heard someone say. “We found the coffin! And there are four chests in here!”

I snapped out of my reverie, mindful of my surroundings.

Like, hello? You’re in a really strange tower with a dead king. Who’s been mummified. That was guarded by a riddle. It’s not exactly the time to be daydreaming!

I looked around, seeing the Fool off to the side playing with a badger, Tal approaching the chests, and P.A. the coffin.

Everything seemed under control, so I figured I’d help out Cranky Metal Pants with the chests. P.A. seemed to have the dead guy well in hand.

I mean… what could possibly happen?

A blessing and a curse lie hand in hand, united as the ocean and the sand – Here man shows his true face, and his true desire he embrace….

Why does that riddle keep bugging me?

“My ruby…”

I was just about to turn around and say that I hadn’t found a ruby yet, and don’t get your britches into a twist, when I turned around to see P.A. holding the largest ruby I had ever seen.

I mean big. Huge. And…

So pretty. Gorgeous. Wanted it. Had to have it. Mine. Mine… gotta get it… mine mine mine…

“No! My Ruby!”

Those bastages were all gunning for my ruby!

The Fool dropped the badger on the floor like it was a two day old muffin, Cranky Robe Pants was holding his staff like he actually meant to use it, Tal was already drawing his sword….

I remember shooting arrows. I remember being stomped on by a troll. P.A. stabbing me with his rapier, and Talgrath knocking me out with the butt of his sword.

There was fighting. And chasing. And I think I remember trying to blow up a badger. I’m not sure.

But most of all… I remember a voice…

The scariest thing of all…. The voice…. The Fool possessed…

“My Precious….”

And then sweet darkness came.

When I came to, I was told that Evendur, aka Cranky Robe Pants, had some how managed to help get the ruby, which was cursed as all get out, away from the Fool and back into the coffin to lift the curse.
Oh great. He was going to be insufferable now about the advantages of his damn magic studies. He REALLY needs to get laid.

Before Cranky Robe could begin droning on about some of his more boring points on why everyone should only devote their life to studying magics, we split up and emptied out the rest of the chests and wrapped up the King’s body for transport.

When we got back to the ship, we found that the elf Braeth had tied himself to a tree, refusing to get back on the ship. Roland and the Fool spent hours trying to convince him that if nothing else, they could cast a simple sleep spell on him so that he’d not have to suffer another bout of “Spewing Elf Syndrome” but Braeth wasn’t about to budge.

Finally, the Fool offered to Teleport the three of them back to Peltarch, rather than subject the rest of us to Spewing elves either.

Now that no one was retching over the side of the boat, the trip back was really quite nice.

And I had to admit, maybe my companions were not all that I made them out to be.

Maybe Zyphlin wasn’t a Pompus Ass and the Elf wasn’t a Fountain of undigested food.

Maybe Talgrath wasn’t a Metal Cranky pants, and Evendur wasn’t a Cranky Robe pants.

Roland might not be Boring…

And the Fool…..

Well, we’ll just skip him.

But you know, in their own way, they were all pretty decent sorts. Kinda nice if you think about it.

Maybe I should try to be nicer to them, and more cooperative and personable. And maybe I’ll stop thinking of them as Cranky Pants, or Pompus Asses.

Maybe.

….

Nah.