Tales of Tempo

After another long night of preforming at the tavern, Lyric stumbled wearily into her modest cottage. Actually, calling it a cottage was a small act of kindness. In reality, it was nothing more than a weathered shack, nestled deeply in the forest. She was exhausted, having just completed a twelve hour shift with hardly anything to show for it. Her pockets were just as empty as they were yesterday, her stomach was even hungrier than it was yesterday, and her feet ached just as much as ever. Lovingly, she gently leaned her revered mandolin against a corner of the shack. Groaning in fatigue, Lyric flung herself into a pile of blankets on the floor, as she was too poor to afford a mattress. Nuzzling her head into her favorite blanket, she was interrupted when something sharp and pointy unexpectedly poked her in the eye.

Surprised, Lyric sat up to discover an envelope buried among her bedding. It was crisp and white and sealed with bright red wax. Her name was written across the face of the letter in a large, scrolling script. The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, Lyric thought. A wave of panic swept over her. Who could possibly have figured out where she had been hiding these past few years? Especially after she had taken such great pains to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The frightened girl gulped involuntarily. Breaking the wax seal, she opened the letter tentatively, half expecting it to explode in her face. Lyric was just about able to make out the words in the dwindling light:

Lyric of Acesso,

You are cordially invited to quest for the legendary Orb of Tune. The orb, forged by the incomparable Minstrel Queen, has been pilfered in the dead of night. Her Majesty is offering you untold riches if you can procure and subsequently return the sacred artifact. Time waits for no man, however. Three other adventurers have already been recruited. Only one of you will be handsomely rewarded. Best of luck to you, Lyric, my girl.

Your former tutor,

High Wizard Madrigal

Without warning, the letter spontaneously combusted into an energetic shower of colorful, squealing fireworks. Lyric let out a horrified shriek, and rushed outside. Her shack may just be a collection of two by fours hastily nailed together, but it was the only home she had. Lyric couldn’t afford for the shack to go up in flames now, tomorrow, or ever. Once safely outdoors, she tossed the flaming envelope into the dirt, and quickly stomped it out with her boot.

“I should have guessed this came from Madrigal,” Lyric grumbled to herself, sucking on her slightly scorched index finger.

She couldn’t fathom how that old bat Madrigal managed to track her down. Lyric hadn’t tapped into her magic for the better part of three years now. She stopped to think. Had she seen many owls around lately? Owls, typically, were the animal familiars Madrical favored, and those birds favored him, too. They would carry out his bidding at the drop of a feather. They would follow that old bat to the farthest corners of the world, if they had to. Lyric shivered, because Madrigal probably had hundreds of beady bird eyes on her at this very minute.

“I hate you, Madrigal!” she shouted at the sky.

Suddenly, a large gray owl launched off a nearby tree, swooped down toward her, and left a most unpleasant gift on the toe of her boot. Lyric sighed, and scraped her boot clean against a large rock.

“I see Madrigal’s sense of humor remains intact,” Lyric grumbled.

Why was her childhood tutor bothering her now? Madrigal knew she’d given up on this adventuring business nearly three years ago. Never again, Lyric swore. The last quest she accepted cost her sister’s life, and almost took hers in the process. Lyric marched back into her modest shack, and again surrendered herself to her collection of blankets, but sleep would not come. Lyric was restless, and the promise of “untold riches” sounded mighty tempting right about now.