Jack and the Bard
A Samurai Jack Fanfic
By Laura McDaniel

Trapped by Rats!

When Arvel awoke the next morning, he discovered that Jack was still asleep, which seemed a bit unusual because a ray of sunlight was shining through a gap in the forest canopy, "Hmm, perhaps I should have played him a different song last night," Arvel muttered to himself. "Well, no matter. I suppose I could use this time to practice Clobyn's song one last time before my grand performance." He smiled momentarily at the thought, but the memory of Gwyddno saddened him slightly. "I must go through with this..." the bard assured himself.

Even though he'd played the song several times before, he didn't feel completely confident that he could play it right, so he went through his sheet music and pulled out a piece of paper labeled, "Clobyn's Lullaby." He set the music in front of him and then quickly retrieved his mandolin. Even though he wasn't performing before an audience, he felt incredibly nervous and his hands shook. It took him a few measures to calm himself down, and by that time, the peaceful song began to take flight. Arvel was pleased with himself, so he smiled softly and hummed along. However, he didn't get very far because he was distracted by a sound.

Jack had awakened. Arvel quickly ran to his buckskin bag and put his music away. He didn't want to run the risk of putting the samurai to sleep again!

"Is something the matter, Arvel?" Jack yawned.

"N-no...I was just packing," the bard stuttered.

"Oh..." Jack slowly got to his feet and then folded up his blankets. He handed them to Arvel so they could be packed.

"Thank you, Jack," Arvel said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Thanks to your song, I did indeed."

Arvel blushed brightly. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes," Jack replied. "Tell me, Arvel: Is your music...magical?"

"Well, the music the bards of Gobaith have played for centuries is usually meant to evoke certain emotions and reactions, but it's not magical."

"Then why was I unable to resist its power last night?"

"You weren't trying to resist it."

"Yes I was."

"Oh!" Arvel awkwardly interjected. "Then...you weren't trying hard enough."

Jack gave the bard a puzzled look.

Arvel laughed, "Oh, I'm afraid it's too difficult to explain. You wouldn't understand it unless you were trained as a bard." He paused for a moment and then added, "Of course, while Gwyddno always said that the music wasn't magical, he insisted that magic existed within the musician." He knelt down to collect his jar of cethin berry ink and then walked over to his bag, but before he made it, the jar slipped out of his hands and shattered. While he watched the black ink ooze over the forest floor, he added, "However, I find it hard to believe that one such as myself would contain any magic!"

Jack smiled slightly. He was beginning to think that Arvel did indeed contain his own type of magic, but that was something the bard would have to discover for himself.

Arvel finished collecting the last of his sheet music and then slung his bag over his shoulder. Then, he took his syrinx, which was attached to a slender cord, and put it around his neck. He strapped his mandolin to his back and then glanced awkwardly around the clearing.

"Are you finished making your preparations, Arvel?" Jack asked.

"I believe so. It's just that I'm not sure I remember my way out of the forest...It's been so long since I've set foot beyond it," Arvel replied.

"Then, I will show you the way," Jack said, walking in the direction that led out of the forest. Arvel followed close behind.

As they walked, the forest canopy became thinner and thinner and Arvel found himself squinting as the light changed. "This certainly feels awkward," he commented.

"You will be fine," Jack said.

"Oh, I'm not worried about anything. It's just that it's been so long since I've seen complete sunlight!" In fact, by the time they'd almost completely left the forest, Arvel was so overwhelmed by the light that his eyes were almost completely closed.

Jack noticed that the bard was beginning to stumble over stray sticks. "Arvel, we can stop for a moment if you need to adjust to the light," he said.

"No, I'm fine. Stumbling is completely normal for me."

Jack sighed and shook his head slightly. He was beginning to wonder just what he'd gotten himself into. "Perhaps you could take my hand," Jack suggested, extending one of his hands for Arvel to hold.

Arvel looked at Jack's hand in confusion and then scowled. "Fine. I'll take it for your sake." He was still slightly behind Jack, so he had to step forward some. Just as he reached for Jack's hand, he tripped over one extremely thick tree root that looped slightly above the ground. Jack tried to catch the bard, but despite all of his training, he found Arvel's movements difficult to predict. Instead of catching Arvel, Jack got his foot caught in the loop of the same root that the bard had tripped over and ended up colliding with him. Jack fell backwards and the next thing he knew, he was in a net hanging from one of the trees. He had triggered a trap!

"Woo-hoo! We've got 'im!" a strange voice called from the trees.

Arvel, who had fallen face-first on the ground, quickly looked up to see what was going on. Much to his horror, six or so Carthwyr leapt out of the forest canopy. Unlike the one Jack had previously encountered, these were all decorated with an assortment of shimmering jewelry.

"That must be what Jack heard last night!" Arvel exclaimed. "Jack...?" He got to his feet again and gasped when he saw Jack trapped in the net. "Jack, I'm sorry! Things like this always happen around me..."

"Do not worry, Arvel, I can easily cut my way through these ropes!" Jack called back

"Not so fast!" one of the Carthwyr hissed. This one was evidently the leader of the horde as he wore more jewelry than anyone else. He quickly drew a dart gun and fired at Jack. A single dart hit the samurai in the back before he could get his sword out and he fell motionless at the bottom of the net.

"What have you done, foul creatures?" Arvel yelled at the Carthwyr. "If you've killed him, I shall have my revenge!"

"Don't worry yourself. He's only tranquilized, but he'll wish he was dead when we're finished with him. We're turning him into a higher authority: Lord Aku himself!" He took Arvel's chin in his filthy claws and mockingly added, "Of course, we're all mortally terrified of you, mandolin boy!"

All of the Carthwyr laughed while Arvel nervously backed up. While he was certain that Jack would be able to take care of himself once he awoke, the young bard couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened to the samurai.

"Just a minute there, Olwydd," a rather young looking Carthwyr said, walking over to the one that had mocked Arvel. "How are you certain that this is the man who slew our comrade, Fychan?"

Olwydd grumbled and clambered up the tree from which the net hung. Firlmly holding the trunk with one of his handpaws, reached through one of the holes in the net with one of his others. He removed Jack's sword from the sheath and dropped it. It looked like it was about to land square on Adwyr's head, so he quickly jumped back and the sword landed blade first in the ground in front of him instead. Olwydd laughed sadistically at his comrade's panic and then leapt out of the tree. He yanked the sword out of the ground and held it in front of Adwr, who flinched slightly at the sight of the weapon. "It's pretty easy to tell that this is our man, Adwr. Fychan was obviously slain by a sword, and this man carries a sword with a blade that matches the size of our comrade's wound. And even if he's not the one who killed Fychan, he is quite recognizable as one Aku has a high bounty on. Even though I wouldn't say this under normal circumstances, I think Fychan was inexperienced enough that he was expendable. We'll be getting a lot more gold for capturing this man than Fychan could ever bring us!"

The Carthwyr gathered there cheered in agreement.

Deciding he'd rather be out of the way, Arvel walked to one side of the forest. "What am I to do now?" he asked himself. "I could probably find my way back to Gobaith, but when I reveal that I caused Jack to be captured, I'll be run out of the Kingdom again, even if I do get Clobyn to sleep!" He looked around and noticed that there was a dilapidated wooden cart with two alien horses hitched to it. "That must be how the Cartwyr plan on transporting Jack." He walked over to the cart and noticed that it was filled with straw. "If I stowed away, I could at least make sure that Jack escapes. I might even be able to save him..."

"Now, Adwr," Arvel heard Olwydd say, "go fetch the cart so we can get moving. There's still time before the prisoner awakes, so I think we should take him back to show Lady Atgus and Lord Braen. I'm certain there will be a feast in our honor!"

Adwr sighed and walked to one side of the forest, where the cart was parked. Arvel dove into the back and covered himself with straw before the rat got there.

"Personally, I feel sorry for Fychan," he heard Adwr mumble. "I was like him not too long ago. Come to think of it, I'm not the different now! Always doing things for everyone else..." He climbed into the front of the cart and grabbed the horse's reins. "Giddyup!" he commanded and the horses started in a steady trot back to where the other rats were gathered.

When the cart stopped, Arvel peered out of the straw to see that a few of the Carthwyr had climbed back into the tree where the net hung. "OK, I'm ready for 'im!" Adywr called.

The Cartwyr in the trees quickly untied the rope that held the net to one of the branches and it fell into the cart. Thankfully, the rats were too distracted by that to see Arvel quickly scoot out of the way so Jack wouldn't fall on him. The bard was afraid that Jack might have been injured by falling from such a great height, but it seemed there was enough straw to cushion his fall, so he didn't worry about that for long. Instead, he was more concerned about the Cartwyr sitting on him while they piled into the cart, but thankfully, none came near him.

As the cart started rolling towards Cartwyr Ridge, Arvel suddenly found himself filled with self-doubt once again. He had been so concerned for Jack that he hadn't really figured out a plan of action. If the Carthwyr spotted him, how would he be able to defend himself with just a syrinx, a mandolin, and the few odds and ends he carried in his bag? And what if Jack was unable to save himself? What would he do then? Arvel felt like backing out all together, but he was certain that he'd injure himself terribly if he jumped from the moving cart. He was just about to cry when he remembered a poem Gwyddno had written for him: "When all seems lost, you must begin to harness the power deep within. The magic's there, though it does hide. Let the music be your guide."

Arvel decided that the only thing he could do now was rely on the gifts he had been given, even if all he could do was sing to plead for his life.

"I unsheath my deadly...mandolin?!?"
--Dexter, Dexter's Laboratory ("D&DD")--

And now you all know why Arvel has a mandolin...
--LM