Libation in the Bardic Guild

By: Syrah Posted on: July 24, 2004

The guild was formed as any guild might be. Ralph Mercadia began our great guild with a strong hand and brilliant vision. As the guild grew, more people were incorporated and became secretaries, novice aides, and volunteers in helping the younglings of the guild. No one knew the deadly disease which crept into her walls as the young ones went along with their studies and the elders went along with their business.

It started with Sam, our bartender. He's a good chap; excellent at the piano. He knows a few songs he'll sing for you if you ask nicely and there are many who say he serves the best booze in Sapience. What started as a simple drink among friends turned into an epidemic which was to change the way others viewed those in the bardic guild forever.

What is the epidemic you may ask? Aahh... that simple pleasure... harmless in and of itself, but deadly for those who overdo themselves. For many secretaries and novice aides, this libation was a release… a blessing used to forget about the struggles of a growing guild littered with novices of every race, ideal, and intelligence level.

The first time it happened no one expected it, not even the secretary who performed the act. There was a novice who shall remain unnamed who had recently joined the guild. After the novice aides in the guild had a hard time working with him, they finally asked one of the secretaries for assistance. The secretary quickly came to the novice aide's assistance and was appalled at the vegetable matter that resembled a brain. The secretary sweetly asked that everyone congregate at the bar for a small ceremony. She told the novice aide she did the right thing in contacting her and that everything would be made right.

It has been said in folklore that this secretary has in the past killed novices with a single bop for stupidity, however what was to follow was an unprecedented act, even for her. Without a second thought, she purchased a round of absinthe from Sam and thanked him politely for the drinks. She then asked him to sing a song. Softly at first, Sam began to sing, "You must remember this… a kiss is just a kiss…" As Sam's background music grew louder and the words of "As Time Goes By" filled the room, the secretary was overcome by a passion caused by the severe stupidity of this young novice. Starting to chant a quick ritual, she began to dump the absinthe on the novice, one shot at a time. Praises were sung to Gods and Goddesses as the ritual continued. A strange mist surrounded the growing crowd and as Sam's song came to an end, so did the secretary's chant. What was observed next was something no one expected.

When the fog cleared from everyone's eyes, they saw that the subnormal novice was no where to be seen. Somewhere, however, from up above, a God was smiling on the secretary. He had accepted her gift to Him with open arms and was quite happy with the essence received from her gift. It seemed there was a use, after all, for those novices which never seem to get it. Libation may just be the cure to guild's struggles to weed out these less-than-bright beings. For further information, lessons, and proper technique, please contact Xaviere Moncrieff-Byron in the Bardic Guild.