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Oh, wonder working cars

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in the precious... Incredible as

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they seem. Are

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not the results of massive stereo... You

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may wish to adjust the dial. You're

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currently tuned into... The

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Wrong Station. Spring

1:38

wind on the damp sand, with

1:41

heavy clouds out at sea sending their

1:43

first shards of rain toward the shore.

1:46

Two horses churning up the strand, two

1:48

riders heavy raiment flowing out behind them as

1:50

they raced against the weather. The

1:53

lead rider was a... not quite

1:55

young man, richly dressed in

1:57

patterned wolves of red and gold and red. green.

2:01

A gilt harp was slung between the crook of his

2:03

arm and hip, and his eye

2:05

held a bird-like gleam. Slightly

2:08

behind him rode a monumental ruin of

2:10

a man, half slumped and

2:12

huddled in the saddle, so

2:14

heavy, despite great age, that even his

2:17

huge mount found him a burden. This

2:20

rider carried no instrument, but

2:22

only a two-handed sword slung wide across

2:24

the miles of his shoulder. His

2:27

clothes, once fine, were

2:30

now all dinged and stained, no

2:32

shining chestnut hair hung from his brow, only

2:36

shaggy, leaden curls. If

2:40

you could hear over the wind and surf

2:42

the pound of hoofs and cry of

2:44

seabird pups along the cliffs, you

2:47

might have heard him humming something, a

2:50

dim, meandering, off-key

2:53

tune. Slow.

2:56

The lead rider pulled his reins, flinging

2:58

out an arm to stay his half-aware

3:00

companion as they came around the headland.

3:03

Both horses slowed, and the younger man

3:05

laughed as a fresh wind came

3:07

upon them, and those distant clouds reddened

3:10

the sinking scene. A

3:12

great mountain of tumbled stones sloped into

3:14

the sea before them. Black

3:16

raven spiraled the thermals of its heavy

3:18

slopes. Resee and

3:20

mountain met, a half-drowned

3:23

cave gasped amid the stiffening surf.

3:26

There it is, the youngish

3:28

man announced. The cave of

3:30

grizzly tharch. We have

3:33

arrived. His companion

3:35

only mumbled aimlessly beneath his breath.

3:38

What? sneered the younger man.

3:41

No song of praise, no ancient

3:43

words to venerate our goals achieved.

3:47

His only answer was that

3:49

toothless song. Now

3:52

sunset grew purplish with the coming rain,

3:55

a taste of petrichor upon the air, a

3:57

hint of thunder on the wind. The

4:00

horses were splashing ankle-deep at the entrance

4:02

of the cave, when a voice swirled

4:04

up from the darkness. Hold!

4:09

As if the water itself had spoken. Further

4:13

in, where that water stagnated under

4:15

darkness, something like a

4:17

low fountain began to boil up from

4:19

the scungy surface. First

4:22

it hummed itself up into a vague silhouette,

4:25

and then lurched and reached itself into

4:27

a mockery of human form. You

4:30

must turn back. Its

4:33

words were vomit, its waters collapsed

4:35

all the time under their own

4:37

weight, boiling back up again in

4:40

stink and flecks of floating rot.

4:43

This cave is hers.

4:45

She allows no man

4:48

to enter. The

4:50

younger bard unslung his harp, fingers

4:53

quickly plucked upon small strings,

4:56

and the cave waters began to retreat, pulling

4:59

the liquid form back as quickly as it came

5:01

on. We know who

5:03

this cave belongs to, the youngish man

5:05

shooed his chin. We've

5:07

come to reclaim that treasure she stole

5:10

so long ago. Now

5:13

the waters of that churning form

5:15

redoubled themselves to flow forward, advancing

5:17

into the last beams of sunlight.

5:19

The shadow of something solid showed

5:21

through them. Who

5:24

are you? I

5:27

am Talon of the Bards. I

5:30

do not know that name. You

5:35

shall. Fingers sped

5:37

upon the harp, and once more the waters

5:39

withdrew. Now the stagnant

5:41

form prowled from side to side in darkness

5:44

at the music's edge, like a man creeping

5:46

on his belly in the murk. Talon

5:49

let his fingers slow, allowed

5:51

a thin smile to appear at the edges of

5:53

his mouth. And

5:55

what of him? Asked

5:58

the shape of rancid water. Oh

6:01

I see I silent

6:03

Fred. Him.

6:06

To. Learn barely spare to glance.

6:09

P is the song master.

6:12

The creature see punching the

6:14

like a threaten dog. That.

6:17

Stay him. I do

6:20

know. It. Till

6:22

to do what passed for it's head.

6:25

Yeah, so this is not some

6:27

bad guy or that. Bass.

6:30

A wave began to swell and the

6:32

darkness behind it. Is.

6:35

Much reduced, but I am strong

6:37

enough for as books said to

6:39

learn. Now let us pass or

6:41

I will play a song to

6:44

freeze you solid for a dozen

6:46

summers. With. No

6:48

sooner had spoken than the wave

6:50

unleashed itself, suddenly bloating the form

6:52

of rancid water so that it's

6:54

wold twice the man size and

6:56

fell upon Tell Larne howling fingers

6:58

to slow upon the strings he

7:00

was smashed from a saddle with

7:02

all the a are driven from

7:04

his lungs and through the water

7:06

a pair of bony hands least

7:08

themselves around his neck. Panic.

7:11

Set in this tell and inhaled foul

7:13

water. Declawed. Fruitlessly, the grip

7:15

around his throat and then is

7:18

darkness swirled around him. The.

7:20

Bony fingers were torn away. Tell.

7:22

On pushed to the surface, coughing and

7:25

sobbing as he sped up water the

7:27

tasted like deaths. There.

7:29

Came a grizzly, some. And.

7:32

Then another. Then.

7:35

Science. It

7:38

was the song mr. One

7:40

arm drenched to the shoulder he

7:42

was carrying. that thing he ripped

7:44

from Tell owns throat. a drone

7:47

have skeleton ending up a spine.

7:49

It's bones long and glistening and

7:51

brown. He had disco clutched in

7:53

one huge hand as if it

7:56

was nothing bigger than a turnip.

7:59

As. Tell on. Ratched and cost himself

8:01

to his feet, the Song Master

8:03

raised that brown blow to his

8:05

own. here. Removed.

8:14

From their rancid water, the

8:16

bone spoke only in beer

8:18

makeovers. The. Song Master

8:20

frown and then slammed. let's

8:22

go back against the wall

8:25

of the cave. Three more

8:27

times. one one crunch So.

8:30

He. Tossed the broken remnants away, Ah

8:34

yes! Tell our

8:36

and admitted after a moment. A.

8:39

Certain music to it. Five.

8:43

Weeks earlier inside, crowded whole let

8:45

close to do in. Color.

8:47

And had quite a d assembly. A

8:50

new brooch of authors have shone

8:52

brightly upon his chest, and he

8:54

taken a new chair higher than

8:56

any other save the Song Masters

8:58

itself. Friends. Brothers.

9:02

Eat assured them. We. Need not

9:04

yet abandon hope. There is one

9:06

weapon we can use. If only

9:08

we have the courage to reach

9:10

and take. His

9:12

voice had been met with mingled cheers

9:14

and shouts of score. Everybody

9:17

knew which weapon he meant. Most.

9:20

Made up their minds already. That.

9:22

Weapon remains beyond our power tell

9:25

on. Nor his voice came in

9:27

low and clear from the other end of the

9:29

days. She. Was looking all to

9:31

Tell loans I. As.

9:33

It should remain. I say

9:36

it is not. One among

9:38

us has been to the cave

9:40

of bracelet arts are very own

9:42

song master. He. Raised one

9:44

armed war, their leaders great in

9:46

bulk. a ragged cheer newly raise

9:48

the ancients drooling team from his

9:50

chest. The harp of avail

9:52

means death to those who here. It's. Nor.

9:55

And could barely be heard over the crowd.

9:58

Can. We trust you with that power. Not

10:01

I never. Tell

10:03

on lied. Bought. Him time

10:05

of war, we must look to

10:07

ourselves who have the wisdom to

10:09

use this thing. If not we

10:11

the bard's And if this house

10:13

votes to use the hop, then

10:15

who shell deny them. Here

10:18

hair shouted tell or faction

10:20

in the crowd or hop

10:22

song master the song master.

10:25

And nor in return silent to a

10:27

chair. Finding. Herself: out

10:29

voted. As they

10:32

chanted the Song masters name. At

10:34

old man looked up and confusion on

10:36

his throne. His eyes

10:39

were bleary. The.

10:41

Tuneless mumble trembled on

10:43

is cracking lips. This.

10:47

Way so Mr. To

10:49

learn shouted waiting deeper into

10:51

the muck quickly before the

10:53

storm comes. Already.

10:55

His fingers were back in the

10:57

heartstrings, playing up a tongue of

11:00

fire to dance the darkness with

11:02

him in night behind the song

11:04

master dismounted with a grunt and

11:07

creek then heavy stride sloshing. And

11:09

that vague persistent hum suddenly loud

11:12

and the dark always on the

11:14

verge of resolving and tune. Below.

11:17

Thunder echoed the see behind them.

11:20

This way, my lord. Quickly. No. No

11:25

No No. Tell.

11:27

On my Lord. Towel

11:29

on your loyal hand. The.

11:40

Floor saying can water rose as

11:42

they splashed Beeper. From. Cavs

11:45

to knees, hips and

11:47

lower ribs. Though he

11:49

was ancient and accustomed to blankets and

11:51

braziers on his throne, the song masters

11:53

seemed not to notice how cold water

11:56

at become. Perhaps. Is

11:58

great body still remembered hard. From

12:01

time to time he'd stop and the darkness

12:03

to shut his eyes and shake his mighty

12:05

head. In these

12:08

moments, he almost stopped humming.

12:11

Know. The water stood at

12:13

tolerance armpits. the song masters

12:15

ribs. And. The only way forward

12:17

was a drone stairwell leading down

12:19

into black water. The. Song

12:21

Master gave an anxious grump. But.

12:24

Teller and sneered. Nothing. To

12:27

worry about My Lord. It's

12:29

a sort of thing a bard can handle.

12:32

And though the song master was

12:34

head of the order of the

12:36

bard's so many where the sword

12:38

burns and humps of may start

12:40

scar on his skull that's He

12:42

didn't seem to notice he'd been

12:44

insulted. no tolerance. fingers raised a

12:46

new and haunting to. For.

12:48

A moment the floating tongue a fire

12:51

didn't And then the waters the tunnel

12:53

whispered themselves back out of the way.

12:56

A reeking stairwell wound down

12:58

to total blackness. Pale.

13:00

things scuttled back. Or.

13:02

Drowned in the air, upon the slime.

13:05

This way. Song Master.

13:08

Tell. Own cold. And

13:10

let them down below the waterline.

13:15

Deep. Had been the crowd is peloton

13:17

and the Song master set out upon

13:19

their quest. but of neurons facts in

13:21

only be Old woman herself showed up

13:23

following on foot to gently call after

13:25

Tell Aren't as they left the gates

13:27

of Close had done behind. What?

13:29

Is it naran? The. Younger men

13:32

dang slow as the song masters,

13:34

my he silver horse swayed on

13:36

the head. I

13:38

wanted to ask you something before you go. And

13:41

be quick about it. She. Stepped

13:43

close to the stir up and looked up

13:45

at him. Why?

13:48

Do you hate him so much? She.

13:50

Meant the song master of course.

13:54

Tell. On glanced back at the gate

13:56

and judging himself far enough that know

13:58

key near would hear him. You.

14:00

Been close to her and his the troops.

14:03

Because. He is an embarrassment,

14:05

but law does he know

14:07

what songs can he's seeing. All

14:10

that one mindless tune of

14:12

his why should he lead

14:14

us. Get.

14:17

Expected this outbursts to scandalize

14:19

her. Partner. And

14:21

normally looked set. To learn

14:24

stomach turn. He

14:26

hadn't expected pity. There.

14:28

Is knowledge of a kind you find in

14:30

books tell on. And. Then

14:32

there is the other kind. He

14:35

snorted what deep that he such

14:37

a fun the tude did you

14:39

chase me down for this nor

14:41

and stuff bore me with mystic

14:43

nonsense. We. Are Bart's tell

14:45

on. She was patients.

14:49

We. Know how to sing, How

14:51

to play. We. Come

14:53

to truth through home. Not.

14:56

What? And what

14:58

spray does that old rec know how

15:01

to do? She.

15:03

Said simply. He.

15:05

Is an artist. Halfway.

15:09

Down the stairs, Tell on stood aside

15:11

and let the Song Master pass. We.

15:14

Old man rolled down into darkness without

15:16

waiting for a tell own little flame

15:18

and the smell of him was strong

15:20

and sour as he passed. The.

15:23

Times last for about an hour. Song

15:25

Master. Tell. On whispered after him.

15:27

After that, the ways will flow back in. But.

15:31

The old man gave no answer. Not

15:34

because he was lost as ever

15:36

and scraps of disconnected tune. But.

15:39

Because he'd raised slumped shoulders to

15:41

stand rigid at the bottom of

15:43

steps as Tell On came up

15:46

behind. Song Master glanced back. In.

15:48

His eyes reflected like great ships of

15:50

crystal in the dark. One huge hand

15:53

reached for the scabbard a his shoulder.

15:56

Tell. Owns mouth formed beginning of

15:58

a what. Before he

16:00

could shape is question. something rustled

16:02

in the dark a kite than

16:05

click a scrape of clause upon

16:07

the rough hewn floor. He felt

16:09

his blood leave him. Swingers

16:11

were cold as they reached for his heart. Syncing.

16:14

Faded slowly from the blackness

16:16

into gloom. Pallid, Crustacean

16:19

plates reflected dimly in the flicker

16:21

of his little like men shaped

16:23

but faceless. Eyeless. It's head extruding

16:25

warm like into a jolly sphincter

16:28

ringed by sharpened plates. It's arms

16:30

hung see and staggered without water

16:32

to support his way. Suddenly this

16:35

thing looks toward them with a

16:37

sucking sound and others boil forward

16:39

from the night behind and tolerance

16:41

hands clenched up at the strings

16:44

as he fell backward to the

16:46

steps. Then.

16:49

Came. A low hum. It

16:52

sounds made the bones buzz the

16:54

base of his skull and it

16:56

came from the Song Masters chest.

16:59

Suddenly. The years have fallen from

17:01

that old man like leaves from an

17:03

autumn. Oak is great. Head was held

17:05

up right and the heavy sword was

17:08

in his gnarled. Hence the tune which

17:10

buzzed from his throat was unlike any

17:12

human sound than it was painful to

17:14

hear it veered from discord, dissonance, offending

17:17

all aesthetic sense and he had some

17:19

lively quality to the noise seem to

17:21

a week the song master with every

17:24

bar reminding him of the next one

17:26

and the more he remembered of himself.

17:28

The. More he remembers the tune.

17:31

in front of talon he seemed to

17:33

grow wider than any human being and

17:35

ever been and then suddenly he was

17:37

falling forward and lurching time with the

17:40

tune in the heavy sword with all

17:42

his huge weight behind it plowed through

17:44

plate and scale and flesh and all

17:46

that reach toward him no more and

17:48

more of the plate of creatures boiled

17:51

out of darkness but a to grew

17:53

louder and threatened to resolve and with

17:55

each change in pitch the mighty bar

17:57

he beard and a plunging weapon made

18:00

wet percussion through the pinkish fluids of

18:02

their bodies. One

18:04

of the things slipped past that hewing

18:06

blade and descended on Talon, who screamed

18:08

and kicked it off and fumbled for

18:10

a knife at his belt, and barely

18:13

managed to wedge its point between nested

18:15

plights and pushed deep. Fleshy

18:18

whiskers surged from the sphincter mouth to

18:20

probe his eyes and nose and ears

18:22

while the creature sputtered and died upon

18:24

him. But all

18:26

the while the songmaster sang, or

18:29

hummed, or made whatever noise he made,

18:31

and all the while his weapon crunched

18:33

and split and sawed until he

18:35

stood thigh deep in the wreckage of

18:38

the pallet things, still hewing as

18:40

he sang their wreckage into mush beneath

18:42

his hands. And

18:45

when the percussion ended, so

18:48

too did the song. The

18:50

old man breathed heavy in the darkness,

18:53

covered all in thicknesses of hemolymph.

18:57

Talon whimpered and kicked away the still twitching

18:59

body of the thing he'd killed. He

19:02

stared in terror as the songmaster turned

19:04

the blazing eyes to stare at him

19:06

from the ruined face. It

19:09

was like looking into a storm. Then

19:12

the music's final echoes were sopped up

19:14

by the softness of the slaughtered things,

19:17

and those blazing eyes bleared up

19:20

and the great frame shrank. And

19:23

once more the songmaster was only

19:26

the ruin of a man. Talon

19:29

stared a while in silence. Then

19:34

he muttered that same thing which Nurn

19:36

had once told him. He

19:39

is an artist. Once

19:44

when she was young, Nurn had

19:46

spent three days outside the cave of

19:48

Grislyth Arch, in the rain, waiting

19:51

for dead men to emerge. On

19:54

the morning of the fourth day, just as she was

19:56

packing the last of her camp, a

19:59

red figure crawled called like a great newborn

20:01

from the grimy surf of the cave

20:03

entrance. An immense man,

20:06

his hair a mop of dark

20:08

curls, his hands like blocks of

20:11

masonry. Seagulls had already

20:13

descended on him by the time she drew

20:15

close. They were aggressive toward her,

20:17

but she played them to sea with a

20:19

song of the west wind on her ocarina.

20:23

She had been quite certain he was dead, but

20:26

as she knelt by the body she was

20:28

surprised to find a pulse still strong in

20:30

his neck. At the

20:32

touch of her cool fingertips he suddenly shook

20:35

and clawed the sand and pushed himself

20:37

up into one arm, staring at her

20:39

with wild eyes as a song poured

20:41

inhuman from his lips and the stones

20:43

began to bleed. She

20:45

had done the one thing she could think of in the moment, struck

20:48

him in the side of the head with a rock, knocking

20:51

him out cold. It

20:53

had been difficult to wrestle him onto horseback after that,

20:56

but she'd still been strong in those days.

21:00

When next he came to, they were

21:02

on the road home to Klarshedun. That

21:05

day she became the

21:08

first to call him Songmaster.

21:12

Now in the inmost depths of

21:14

Grizzloth Arch it was the

21:16

Songmaster who led and Talon who scrambled

21:18

to the rocks behind, trying to keep

21:20

up. What was

21:22

that song? His own

21:25

voice sounded thin and piping to him

21:27

after the Songmaster's growl, but

21:29

the old man gave no answer. His

21:31

moment of clarity had passed, it seemed, and

21:34

now he was born deeper into the mountain

21:36

by instinct or memory, as if

21:38

drawn by the sound of a song that only

21:41

he could hear. Could

21:43

you teach that song to me, Songmaster?

21:46

He received no response. Now

21:49

they began to climb a winding spiral

21:51

of wet rocks, and when Talon judged

21:53

they'd risen high enough, he

21:55

released his song on the curling waters of the

21:57

outer cave, letting them flow back to the water.

22:00

down wash away the broken bodies of

22:02

the plated things. He

22:04

felt his mind lighten without the burden of

22:06

that spell, but when he

22:08

tried to piece together that melody the songmaster

22:10

had howled, he couldn't make it come together

22:12

in his thoughts. Where

22:15

did you learn that tune, songmaster? The

22:18

tunnel now widened ahead, out

22:20

onto a promontory above some open

22:22

space where a reddish glow stained

22:24

the rocks. The songmaster

22:26

lengthened his stride as if his

22:28

unheard music had quickened and

22:31

great thighs flung him from step to step

22:33

while Talon struggled behind. At last

22:36

the songmaster hesitated on that precipice,

22:39

framed by that red light rising from below.

22:41

He turned his

22:43

back toward Talon and the red light

22:45

flowed across his face down chasms of

22:48

scar, his eyes

22:50

still unfocused. No,

22:54

my lord, it is Talon, your...

22:57

your servant. Talon.

23:02

The songmaster glanced down again at the source

23:05

of red light. Then he

23:07

shuddered and curled away from it, sinking

23:09

to his knees with a great hand over his face.

23:13

No, not here.

23:16

Not again. Talon

23:18

stepped slowly to the brink. Below,

23:21

a river of thick magma glowed along

23:23

the cavern wall. You could

23:25

follow its rising fumes to a gap in

23:27

the distant ceiling. No

23:30

stars showed beyond, only a

23:32

distant flick of lightning. And

23:34

from these brief flashes something glimmered in

23:37

the haze below. A

23:39

great pile of golden treasure gathered

23:41

careless in a heap. It

23:45

amidst those many precious things.

23:48

A harp of shining silver white.

23:52

What else could it be but what they had come here for? Yet

23:56

Talon could see why the old man

23:58

despaired. For at the

24:00

Magma River's bank a huge creature sat

24:03

hunched forward at a spit. His

24:06

hide was dark-furred blubber like a seal's,

24:08

yet he carried himself like a man,

24:10

and an armor of linked

24:12

obsidian plate hung clacking down from

24:14

chains across his shoulder. The

24:17

head, too, was flat-eared and seal-like,

24:20

and yellow teeth were pitted black within

24:22

his panting jaws. On

24:25

the spit he had three

24:27

bodies wretchedly impaled—the sheeps, the

24:30

seals, and the man's.

24:33

As if he could sense himself being watched,

24:36

this Fomorian glanced up at the

24:38

promontory above and teller and flung

24:40

himself back from the edge. In

24:42

the brief glimpse he'd gotten of that creature's

24:44

face, he'd seen one

24:46

eye pinched and withered shot, the

24:49

other red and huger than a

24:51

grown man's fist. Songmaster,

24:55

what is that creature? Call,

24:58

said the Songmaster through his hands. Heavy

25:01

fingers dragged themselves down the old man's

25:04

face, and for the first time his

25:06

eyes were clear, not with

25:08

the terrible brightness of the tunnel fight, but

25:11

with the simple clarity of a man awakened from

25:13

his sleep. Who

25:15

are you? he asked. And

25:18

why have you brought me here? Talar

25:20

knelt across from him. Songmaster,

25:23

we are here for the harp of a Vel. Whatever

25:26

this gall may be, I have seen what you

25:28

can do. If we work together, we

25:30

can— But the old man only

25:32

curled himself to the floor. Songmaster,

25:36

Talar insisted, you must have

25:38

something we can use against him. There

25:40

must be something you know. But

25:42

the old man only hummed and pounded

25:44

his forehead against the rock, until

25:47

tears forced themselves between the crags of

25:49

his eyes. Now

25:52

Talar stood, his demeanor growing

25:54

cold. Very well. I

25:57

thought I'd been wrong about you, Songmaster. something

26:00

in you for a moment. But

26:02

it was only a moment, and

26:04

now that moment's passed. So

26:07

be it. I know the nine

26:09

charms and ninety songs. I can list the

26:11

words of might by memory alone. I will

26:14

seize this heart myself." Tellorn's

26:17

fingers drifted on the strings, and the

26:20

charm wove up and over him. He

26:23

knew every variation of this charm, one

26:25

for fish and fowl and bird and beast

26:27

and every other type of living thing, and

26:30

so he played confidently as he climbed

26:32

down from the promontory, step by winding

26:35

step, hidden from the eye

26:37

and ear of gull, who sat focused

26:39

on his pike of slowly browning meat.

26:42

And with a cold smile on his

26:44

lips, Tellorn stopped within reach of the

26:47

familiar and played, knowing the

26:49

monster had no idea he was there.

26:52

And yet, even in absolute safety,

26:54

he felt a tremble standing in the

26:57

presence of that giant, his

26:59

huge, sleek body like the side of a

27:01

hill, breathing like a

27:03

forge, his fingers in the roasting

27:05

spit large as Tellorn's forearms. The

27:08

smell of him, like sea and

27:11

like the musk of a

27:13

dog's glands, was overpowering, overawing.

27:16

The animal in Tellorn longed to flee.

27:19

The man within him had to force

27:21

it to heal, to demonstrate superiority by

27:23

way of this unseen taunt. The

27:27

Fomorian drew a deep breath. Your

27:31

playing is awful.

27:34

Then, as Tellorn wondered who the giant

27:37

spoke to, it turned

27:39

over its shoulder and stared at

27:41

him with that unpupilled crimson eye.

27:43

Oh! The

27:47

hand seized and clenched him tight, cracking his

27:49

ribs before he could even think about what

27:51

had happened. The harp fell from

27:53

his fingers, and Gull, chuckling,

27:56

tossed him away. He landed

27:58

on the pile of golden treasure. felt

28:00

his cracked ribs break, and the pain

28:02

was like a rising sun. He

28:05

would have screamed, but even to draw

28:07

the slightest breath hinged his body with

28:09

fire. Still chuckling,

28:11

Gull turned back to the molten

28:14

river and slowly hefted his roasting

28:16

spit. One

28:18

more for the feast. But

28:22

then a buzzing song filled the chamber

28:24

of the cave, and Gull's

28:26

eye grew wide, and he cast about him for

28:28

the source of the noise, but

28:30

it was all around him. Songmaster,

28:34

I thought I saw you hiding up

28:36

there. Come to take

28:38

my other eye. And

28:40

as he turned back to the river of fire, a

28:43

figure hung as if suspended above it. The

28:46

songmaster, soaring in his leap down

28:48

from the promontory with a song upon his

28:51

lips, the heavy war-sword in

28:53

his hand. Right!

28:56

Gull stabbed out with a spit, as if

28:58

thrusting a spear up into the throat of

29:00

some great beast. The songmaster

29:02

fell onto the point of it, still

29:05

singing, his face transformed as the point

29:07

burst through his belly and he fell

29:09

down the length of that great wooden

29:11

shaft. With a mighty

29:13

heave, he hurled the sword with both

29:16

hands, and it spun into Gull's eye,

29:18

as the songmaster tried to

29:20

drag himself down the spit with both

29:22

hands, still singing that

29:24

awful song, still crystallized,

29:27

still pulling with both hands even as

29:29

the spit tumbled from Gull's grip. Then

29:32

the old man died upon the cavern's

29:34

floor. My eye!

29:37

What have you done to me, songmaster?

29:40

Blinded, the giant collapsed to all fours

29:42

and groped across the cavern floor, streaming

29:45

blood from the sword hilt buried in

29:47

his eye. The blood dribbled

29:50

from his teeth as he moaned and

29:52

reached. I'll kill you,

29:54

songmaster. I'll kill you both. The

29:58

bloody face loomed huge over tali. Talarn

30:00

and the crimson light as Gaul's

30:02

huge hands pawed at the pile of

30:04

gold. Thick blood dribbled

30:06

from his hound-like teeth to spatter the

30:08

young bard's face. Then

30:11

the hand of Gaul by chance seized hold

30:13

of Talarn's leg, and the young

30:15

bard groaned in agony as he was lifted in

30:17

the air. One more

30:19

for the feast, Gaul

30:22

slurred words through his own blood. One

30:25

more for the feast.

30:29

He lifted Talarn to his black

30:31

lips. Then

30:35

a chord shook the air. Reality

30:39

shivered. Oooooooh!

30:45

The giant wailed and flung palms over

30:47

his ears, dropping Talarn who landed heavy

30:49

in the pile of gold. The

30:52

pain of that landing almost whitened his senses,

30:54

but he somehow kept hold of the harp

30:56

he'd seized, the silver-white harp of a bell.

30:58

And now that his fingers had begun to

31:00

play, it was as if they played at

31:03

the will of something other than himself. Oooooooh!

31:09

Now two chords, now three,

31:11

and Talarn realized with dawning horror

31:14

at the fourth dissonant chord, that

31:16

he knew which tune his fingers

31:18

played, and he tried to

31:20

stop them, but his ruined hands would only

31:22

speed tormented on the strings. Oooooooh!

31:27

Gaul moaned as the blood poured forth

31:29

between his fingers and fountained out between

31:31

his teeth. Talarn opened

31:33

his mouth to howl with pain,

31:35

but all that waited inside his

31:38

jaws was… The

31:41

song. That same

31:43

song, buzzing and tuneless

31:45

and unlike any human sound,

31:48

painful to hear, veering

31:50

from discord to dissonance, offending

31:53

all his phatic sense, and

31:55

yet some lively qualities seemed to clarify

31:57

the sharpness of his pain with every

31:59

bar. showing him the road of

32:01

broken glass that led from one note to the

32:04

next. The song was like

32:06

burning vomit in his throat, yet the

32:08

pain it filled him with was not

32:10

the pain of broken ribs or broken

32:13

hands or burning bile, but the pain

32:15

of beauty truly understood, the

32:17

ecstasy of understanding that seers

32:19

beyond mere knowledge. And

32:21

the rocks themselves began to bleed, and

32:24

the cave itself began to peel itself

32:26

against the open sky, and

32:28

gall like a sheet of paper was

32:31

ripped and twain. Once,

32:38

when she was old, Nouran

32:40

spent a night outside the cave of

32:42

Grisleth Arch in a storm, waiting

32:45

for dead men to emerge. As

32:48

the wildness of night gave way to the simple light

32:50

of a clear morning, a red

32:53

figure crawled like a great newborn from

32:55

the grimy surf of the cave entrance.

32:59

A slight man of no remarkable

33:01

appearance, seagulls

33:03

had already descended by the time she

33:05

drew close. They were

33:07

aggressive toward her, but she played them over

33:09

the land with a song of the east

33:11

wind on her ocarina. She

33:14

was quite certain he was dead, but

33:17

as she knelt by the body she was surprised

33:19

to find a faint pulse still stirring in his

33:21

neck. With a touch

33:23

of her cool fingertips he suddenly shook and

33:26

clawed the sand and pushed himself up

33:28

onto one arm as the song tried

33:30

to force itself between his jaws, and

33:32

he clenched his lips so tight that

33:35

they began to bleed. She

33:38

did the only thing she could think of in the moment. She

33:41

stayed by his side and held him

33:43

in her arms until tears streamed from

33:45

his face, and the

33:47

song in his throat died away to

33:49

winding murmur. It

33:52

was difficult to wrestle him onto horseback after

33:54

that. She was

33:56

old, but he was

33:58

only a slender person after all. After all, the

34:01

pain blacked him out. When

34:04

next he came to, they were

34:07

on the road home to Klarshedun. The

34:09

headland was far to their rear, and

34:12

the cave of grizzled arse was hidden by

34:14

its bulk. He

34:17

were right, you know, she

34:19

said, about him. No

34:22

names of ancient kings, no

34:25

songs except the one. He

34:28

wasn't much of a bard. She

34:31

sighed and looked out at the clear sea,

34:34

the white lines rolling down its length.

34:38

He was a great artist, though. There

34:42

was so much Talarne wished to say

34:44

that all he could do was close his

34:46

eyes and clench himself against the pain, clench

34:50

his jaws against the song. She

34:53

reached out and rested one cool palm

34:55

against his face. You

34:58

will be too, she told him,

35:02

in your time. And

35:06

then she called him. Songmaster.

35:57

Just by Alexander Saxton, Anthony Botello.

36:00

and Jacob Duarte-Schpeil, with music composed and

36:02

performed by Alon Citroen, and arranged from

36:04

Viola and performed by Viola Schmidt. You

36:06

can follow The Wrong Station on social

36:09

media, at The Wrong Station, and email

36:11

us at thewrongstationatgmail.com. And

36:14

until next time... Thank

36:16

you for listening. Thank

36:30

you.