Ealdwine's mouth twitched into an irritated frown. The barman had clearly ignored him! Him, who had played for the pleasure of high lords and illiterate peasants alike, who had crossed desert and sea, mountain and plain, and who had charmed a maiden from her petticoat in nigh every hamlet from here to Hell. Alas, it seemed that he would have to dip into his meager savings after all.

As he reached with his free hand for the pouch at his belt, he felt a touch at his arm. A young barmaid stood beside him, promising to grant his requests. She made eyes at the nobleman- and who [i]was[/i] he, anyway?- asking for a dignified song.

As the bard considered a fitting song, the maid was pulled away by the barman, who dropped some coins into her hand and urged her off to do something or other. She disappeared in a hurry, but not before gesturing with some urgency at Ealdwine. He imagined she wanted to impress the fellow by conjuring some music for him. For his part, the bard intended to play his part in this little drama well. Though, he was not sure what she found so interesting about him. He was handsome enough, he supposed, in an effete sort of way. Perhaps they were already acquainted.

[i]No matter![/i]

And with that thought, he strode casually toward the spot indicated. He took the lute in both hands and cleared his throat, plucking gently as he manipulated the tuning pegs.

“Harken, gentle born and common folk alike!” he called, with the easy authority of the practiced entertainer. His voice was something short of a yell- loud enough to be heard clear, but soft enough to be generally ignored by the disinterested.

“I will sing, if I might, a tale of truth and honor, of pain and woe- but most of all, a tale of love triumphant. If you know it, and I imagine many of you do, I invite you to sing along.”

And without a further word he began to play. The music was fairly simple, rhythmic and low, here and there embellished with high notes and chords, and flourishing plucking. The style was imitative of the epic poetry upon which the song was based, which would originally have been chanted from memory.

The song was, of course, Galeas and Griselda. A story of a noble knight and a virtuous maiden on opposite sides of a siege. As the instrumental introduction came to an end, Ealdwine's voice joined the sound of the lute. His pitch was perfect from long practice, and his intonation unwavering in its repetition of the lyrics.

[i]“Beneath the tower the foemen shined
in mail and plate bearing noble device.
From parapet, the maid fair,
did see below her gallant loved one there...”[/i]