AGG: A Song of Songs (Patreon)

A Song of Songs

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Commissioned by AltHero

Word Count: 1036

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Reaching a city for the first time, you find yourself at a loss. You have nothing to offer for anything that might be purchased. Though the opportunities arose for you risk your life for valuables, you chose against doing so, and avoided any and all troubles. Having spent your journey hidden with your horse, sleeping when not foraging or scrounging, you find yourself with little to offer for trade.

You’d considered journeying outward, to perhaps investigate the ruins in the outskirts, or even join a caravan, as your knowledge of the wastes would aid others quite well.

However, in the end, you cannot do either with only your Moon Spade and Tribal Clothes. You have no means to mend your injuries or attack those with projectile weapons. Though you’ve been told that you’re a gifted warrior, you know better than to test yourself against the Marauders and Scavengers that plague to land, even with your abilities. 

So, you have decided the court where the food vendors have congregated, as to hopefully amass leftovers for a journey into wasteland by entertaining eaters and passersby, so that you might secure valuables. In essence, you’d wished to procure fuel, so that you might venture out to find something of goodly value for the purchase of supplies, armor, and a weapon, in that order.

Yet, now, you find yourself squirming before a guard, as she looks over the incriminating amassment of wealth that had somehow fell at your feet because of your singing.

“So, you expect me to believe that you gathered all of this, just by singing at the food courtyard?” Beneath the scarlet gaze of the Dhamphir, you cannot help but sweat in your seat. You have, of course, told the guard everything. All you did was sing and, before you knew it, you’d amassed a season’s worth of supplies and more than a few trinkets of high quality. You wouldn’t believe the story if you were in her place. “That you didn’t manipulate anyone with magic? That, through skill and talent alone, you managed to sway the hearts of dozens of penny-pinching merchants as to give you treasures that wouldn’t look out of place in the governor’s familial manse?” 

You don’t hesitate to say that it sounds incredibly unlikely, but that it is the truth. You have no knowledge of any magic beyond the Sage Arts, and those do not involve any manipulation of the mind whatsoever. Truly, you have no clue as to how you’ve amassed such a stunning amount of supplies and valuables. 

“…Alright, Li Song, let’s say that I believe you, if only because of the fact you don’t seem like a bad kid, and everyone leaving that courtyard was grinning from ear to ear.” Shizi, the Dhamphir Guard of the city, crosses her arms with a huff, practically telling you that she doesn’t believe you in the slightest. However, you take heart in the fact that you’re not dead or sentenced to be jailed. “So, how about this: you give me a song, one song, and if there’s even a hint of magic in your voice, I see to giving all these back to their owners and gagging you for the rest of your stay in my city.”

Without hesitation, given your confidence in the fact you didn’t use any magic whatsoever, you accept that condition. You also thank the Dhamphir profusely for giving you a chance to prove yourself innocent.

“Don’t thank me yet, if I don’t think you’re worth all of this, I’ll be sending these all straight back to those who gave them to you.” The Dhamphir gestures to all of the amassed supplies and valuables. There are High-Quality Filters there, along with Radios and Infinity Pistols, and more food than you can eat for months. That’s not even counting the glittering jewels and baubles among them. You’d loath to lose it all, but you know better than to argue for it. You nod . The scarlet-haired guard nods approvingly in return. “Good, that’s a point in your favor, Song. So, if you would, sing me your song, so the both of us could go on with the rest of our day.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, you search for a song to sing, but one comes to you with ease. 

You choose a ballad that you loved, one that details the coming and goings of a Warrior who sought redemption, and who found himself redeemed. As always, you choose to simply sing it as earnestly as you wish, as your heart wills you to, instead of following what you’ve been taught by the Sage. 

You’ve always felt the triumphant notes of victories ill fitting, and the dirge at the defeats too ominous, so you curtail both into a seamless melancholy. A warrior who sought redemption wouldn’t be ecstatic at his victories, nor would they be completely somber at defeats where they’d nearly died. Every battle would be one survived to go onto another, until they felt their sins erased. It isn’t a triumph, but a tale of melancholy and struggle, and so that’s how you sing the tale.

When you’re finished, you feel proud as you do whenever you finish a tale, and prepare yourself to be dismissed. After a moment of sustained silence, without your immediate dismissal, you find the courage to open your eyes and inquire. 

You find the Dhamphir still, with eyes wide open, but with tears falling freely from her eyes. 

“Take it. All of it.” You’re so shocked by the sight that you nearly miss the whisper that comes from the Dhamphir’s mouth. When you don’t manage to act quickly enough, you find the whole of the bag shoved into your hands, and the Dhamphir standing and with her back to you. Shocked as you are by the outcome, you freeze at the softest breath that follows the action. “Please, leave now, Li Song.”

Though you don’t feel in danger, you hurry out nonetheless. 

You’d felt as though you were a trespassing on something sacred, and had no right to stay in Shizi’s presence, so you do as you’re told.

Still, the next day, you find yourself with a companion to join you in your travels.