Dancing that night with the Jester

Is one I shall always remember

I sought him out the following days

Searching for signs among all the graves

“Jester, Jester, please come back!”

I shouted and begged until I lost track.

For fifteen long days, I tried to find

He, who had brought me peace of mind

But my search always ended the same:

Isolation filled Doubt and dolorous pain

Time passed like wind, until snow started to fall

Autumn blew by without once hearing his call

I told others what had happened that night

But all that heard only laughed at my plight

“You must have dozed off,” is what they had said.

“Forget idle dreams, there is no Jester in Red.”

“Quit acting so strange, quit telling these lies!”

Was never spoken by lips, but showed in their eyes.

Despised and mistrusted, I returned to the dead

A wretched man I was with a heart full of lead

I sang, I pranced, I hummed his tune

I sprang, I danced, from night to noon

But still there was no Jester

No maidens, no ghouls

The only soldier left to pester

was me, the fool

“How cruel, how strange, how long must I toil?”

Deranged and estranged I sat on muddy soil

Rain fell like despair and it was all too easy to see

I was beyond repair: sorrow-stricken with Misery.

Heavy hearted and lost

In the cemetery I remained

I departed when the frost

Left me weary and pained

Days turned to months, and I began to wonder if

My meeting with the Jester had been a curse or a gift.

A cold shadow crept amidst the soft glow

Of the pale blue moon, and fresh fallen snow

I was alone.

Now and forever

No line could I find

Whether stupid or clever

To describe the sublime

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In meeting the Jester

One night beside my cot, sat two other men

Their lanterns burned hot

As they took up their cards again

“Come now,” they beckoned to me

“Join us once more, like we used to play”

“Games better with three, will you not sway?”

“Just a game,” is how I replied

Though I felt if I had denied

They would only press me again

So I took up the cards

And played with these two men

We laughed and joked

Filed pipes to smoke

Drank brandy, shared rum

All while desperately,

I tried to have fun

But the joy, like the Jester

Just wouldn't come

Smiling while beguiling

I counted the seconds as they passed

Unending was my pretending

Until at long last

The game was over

The cards were through

And I returned to my cot

Until the day was new

But before crimson light could hit my eyes

I awoke to a candle by my bedside

It was another soldier returning from his post

The color of his face was as pale as a ghost

Cold sweat dripped from his brow

I asked his trouble and this he avowed

“Last night I was to see to the hounds”

“Feed the beasts and silence their sounds”

“But the gate, I must have forgot to lock”

“Now on the streets all the dogs do walk”

“They run, they bark, and I was unable to catch”

He dug his nails into his cheeks and started to scratch

“The Captain, I fear his whip and his stern gaze”

“I’ll be punished for this until the end of my days.”

I grabbed his wrists and removed them from his face

“Breath easy dear soldier, this mistake we can erase.”

“Sun is not up and the Captain sleeps in,”

“We’ll capture the beasts,” I said with a grin

We flew threw the streets wasting no time

Chasing after all the strange sounds

The houses passed by as we tried to find

Each and every one of the hounds

Two had made it to the front gate

One was snacking inside of a butcher’s crate

Four were found in the alleys and behind the shops

We cornered the beasts and made them stop

We searched and found

All of the hounds, but one evaded our quest

The sun peeked through the clouded sky

As we tried to catch our breath

The beast was fast and seemed to fly

Anytime we would draw near

It was large and gray and would growl our way

The other man shrunk from fear

“That hound is from Hisskar!” he called with a shout

“Long lived are those beasts and hard to calm”

“Soon the people will be walking about”

“It’s too dangerous, we must sound the alarm!”

I shook my head and told the soldier “no.”

“If we do, he'll be brought down by the bow.”

“Go if you must, but I ask you to trust that I will find a way.”

“Perhaps a song will bring him back,”

“If he will not listen to what we say.”

The man ran off, and now It was just us two

I thought no wrong could be found in song

So I performed the only one that I knew

And as if the beast was waiting for this

He stopped and dropped his head

I approached him as he laid in bliss

Singing the song of the Jester in Red

I pet his fur and he let out a howl

As triumphant as the thunder

He muttered not even one growl

And nearly fell to slumber

I heard the bell and knew it meant

The beast would soon meet its end

We left Scrydell and on we went

I had found myself a worthy friend.

The joy I sought could not be bought

But now it had been found

So north we trot, just us two:

Master and his hound.