Author's Note: Hello again all. This is something a bit different for me. My 'Marvelous Misadventures' files being stuck on my computer back at school, I have needed another creative outlet. Since my DM has been bugging me for quite some time to write out more of the songs my bard character is supposedly famous for, I thought this forced hiatus from 'Misadventures' would be a good time to do it. There you have it. I hope you enjoy.

Oh, yes! And if you ever get the hankering to know more about Lyra, or the motley crew she adventures with, take a peek at the excellent stories "The Saga of Boy" by JoGeek and "Follies Under the Banner" by LaughingWolf. Peace.

EC

The fire had long ago burned out its hungry fury. Now, the flames were flickering docilely, casting odd dancing shadows onto the tired faces settled around them and creating a small globe of comfort beneath the vast skies of the prairie.

Yadros stretched contentedly, lazily following the sparking embers with his eyes as they flew up to join the endless stretch of stars. His reverie was interrupted, however, as the quiet of the evening was broken by a stream of cursing coming from the darkness on his right. Recognizing the voice, he chuckled to himself and reached for his bottle of brandy, proffering it to the irate figure sitting next to him.

"Little hair of the dog, Lyra?" He laughed smugly and ran a hand through his tousled auburn curls. "You sound like you're still recovering from your little drinking competition with Boy earlier."

Boy lifted his head at hearing his name and shot the mage a long-suffering look from across the fire. "I would hardly call it a "little" competition. We drained what? Six bottles?"

Lyra looked up from the rolls of parchment she was shuffling and raised an eyebrow with a crooked smile. "Well...I drained six bottles. If I remember correctly, you were kissing the dirt halfway through bottle number five." She waved a hand airily to cut off Boy's outraged denials. "In any case, I am in no need of any of your rat piss, Yadros. I'm fine. The colorful language was merely the result of having spilled nearly an entire bottle of ink on this damned parchment." She shook the damp parchment woefully as if to make her point.

Boy sat up on his elbows, interested. "What are you writing?"

Yadros waved a gangly arm expansively. "Doubtlessly, it is the tale of our brave exploits across the known continent to save life as we know it."

Lyra smirked, tossing her long, dark braid over her shoulder. "Oh yes.... Exactly. In fact, there's a whole ballad dedicated to you, Yadros. I call it "How I Decimated an Entire Village of Innocent Tribesmen." Catchy, isn't it?"

Boy rolled on to his back, choking with laughter as Yadros shot Lyra an icy glare.

"Charming, my dear... Charming."

Lyra merely chuckled and shook her head, the scratching of her quill the only sound in the once again peaceful night.