CHAPTER 25 My Bard

CHAPTER 25

My Bard

Rufus

As one of the more powerful people on the continent, I’d been a representative of Nilheim at Continental Councils hosted around the, well, continent . I’d stayed at inns, palaces, and even the Mages Tower. And I’d never experienced so much adventure as I had in just a few days travel with Minstrel Bronwynn.

People did not look at me the way a simple attendant—no disrespect to the profession intended—was looking at my bard.

Cough. My favorite bard.

“Does this mean our rooms are ready?” I demanded, stepping out from behind Donna. I gave the horse one final scratch behind the ear before handing her reins off to a ready stable hand.

“Ah, yes, Commander General.” The attendant took a small step back, and I made the effort to relax my face. Baring one’s teeth was never good form, so I slipped into a partial smile as I walked over to Bronwynn and offered my arm. “Shall we?”

“Alright.” The minstrel took it, amusement crinkling her eyes. She cast a wary eye at her horse, holding it for a few seconds, and then turned back to me. “Let’s get settled in.”

As we approached the attendant in the castle doorway, I told her, “I will keep my things in the wagon for now.”

Everything in my bag was for traveling, and anything important was in my storage ring.

“I just need everything that is red,” Bronwynn said. “I can come get my things after we’ve settled in.”

“You can’t settle in without your things,” I told her, then ordered the staff present, “See that someone delivers Minstrel Bronwynn’s red luggage to her room. Now, lead on. ”

“Right this way.” The woman bowed. I worried that the antagonism would continue, so I thought deeply as we were led to a small room on the first floor to drop off Bronwynn. It was obviously a servant’s quarters, but the minstrel was pleased, and it looked clean and serviceable.

I resisted the urge to offer to switch rooms with whichever they gave me. Bronwynn had been hired for this event, and if she wanted to sleep somewhere fancier, she was her own person and would say so. Her room also overlooked the stables, and that was perfect if Donna needed aid.

Besides, her window had a perfectly safe landing spot below it.

I asked if she would like to have dinner with me that evening, but Bronwynn surprised me with a rejection, following it up with how she was going to practice until the morrow. As such, I left her to her own devices and followed the attendant to my own rooms on the second floor.

We were en route when I decided that it was an opportune time to ask the woman my questions directly. The straightforward approach was usually the correct approach.

And it was my favorite.

“Miss, is there something I should know about my companion? I’ve been sent to guard her, but was not given much detail on Minstrel Bronwynn.” The words gave her the chance to explain, and showed my eagerness for her opinion.

“My name is Claire.” She stopped on the way up the stairs and looked down at me, uncertain. Making up her mind, she continued. “You might not know, Commander, but common bards are a very untrustworthy lot!”

“Truly?” I held back an eye roll. That was like saying all assassins were killers. Or all rogues were thieves.

Who was going to open a lock if you lost the key? Who better to run customs checks and find fraud than a Rogue class with a high Perception and a mastery at finding hidden compartments?

Who better to track lost children in the Dark Enchanted Forest or solo monsters, or put up banners along rooftops during festivals than an Assassin class?

“The duke is usually very picky about whom he hires, and only qualified royal musicians have been brought in on previous special occasions.” Claire continued up the stairs until we arrived on the landing.

The second floor hosted many portraits of the duke’s family. I admired the art that consumed every spare inch of the walls in front of me. It was eclectic, with many different branches arranged neatly for inspection. He even had a preela cousin, the long furry ears with little black tufts matching the other aspen coloring of the duke’s family.

I turned from inspecting the paintings and asked, “But Minstrel Bronwynn is an acclaimed international minstrel; does that not make her on par with a royal musician?”

“A traveling bard is a traveling bard, and known to steal the silverware or”—Claire shook her head, her hands gripping together in front of her stomach as she leaned forward slightly—“your heart!”

Of course, anyone who heard the minstrel would have their heart stolen by her music, but I didn’t think that was what she meant.

“The wild and untamable roaming bard is known for wooing ,” she said quietly, as if it were a great secret.

“I see,” was all I could ground out before I took a deep breath. This couldn’t be good for my blood pressure. “You are saying that Minstrel Bronwynn is known for this? You have been told stories? Personally?”

“Well, no. But she’s a bard .”

The sentiment was ridiculous and so offensive that I stood affixed while the woman simply raised her eyebrows as if inviting me to agree.

It occurred to me that I had the entire rest of the day free … I wondered if Duke Wyldon had a dungeon? Somewhere with a locked door to unpack a lot of toxic baggage. With a comfortable couch.

“Miss Claire,” I began, deciding that getting all of that ready was too much of a hassle. There were two sure-fireball ways to convince someone to change their world view, however: by making them think they’d thought of the idea themselves, or … the hard way.

“I am confused. Minstrel Bronwynn is an acclaimed and credited musician who is internationally famous. She has performed for royalty , and is highly spoken of among the well-to-do. Her songs are sung by adventurers and kings, and you are saying she is loose because of her musical title? Without any proof?” It took every nerve in my body to keep a light tone in my voice. Incredulous, not angry.

The attendant’s pointed ears turned red, and she must have realized the error of her ways because she took a step back, startled. “No! I’ve just heard—”

“I’m also curious why you would speak against the wishes of His Grace,” I stated calmly. I took a step forward and bent down to look at her more closely. My tail twitched, but she wasn’t paying attention to my tail. Her wide eyes held mine. “Openly criticizing his choice of performer when he personally requested her for her professional caliber.”

“That’s not it! I only—”

“I understand.” I dropped my voice into a soft lull and stood up straight again, bobbing my head in acknowledgement. “It must have been a mistake when you repeated vicious gossip. You would never speak ill of your master’s guest. ”

“Of-of course not!” She grabbed the rope I threw at her and looked relieved.

I smiled a too-wide smile. “Which is why I’m sure you’ll be the first to tell everyone how exciting it is to have a famous bard like Minstrel Bronwynn here. You wouldn’t want to embarrass Duke Wyldon.”

“As you say, Commander General.” She nodded vigorously, and I left her still sweating outside my guest suite.

Hopefully, that would be the end of that.