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| − | ==General Notes & Tips==
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| − |
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| − | Ritchie the minstrel composed this song based on oral legends about the Kingdom of Solstice, rumored to lie west of Bal Harbor. Ritchie was awarded the star of recognition for his supreme performance at Bard Annual Festival in Opera Symphonia.
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| − |
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| − | <helpfile>
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| − | There was a proud and noble stag
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| − | In Shadow Wood was born,
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| − | And there he grew, and there he met,
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| − | And loved a Unicorn.
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| − |
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| − | He served her long, he served her well,
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| − | He served her, whole and part
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| − | Until one night in Shadow Glade
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| − | He told her all his heart.
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| − |
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| − | She did not mock, she did not laugh,
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| − | But softly told him, Nay;
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| − | He did not grieve, but chose to leave
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| − | And plotted to betray.
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| − |
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| − | He sought out then King Sable's men;
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| − | His words were cold and blunt,
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| − | 'Oh, sentry hosts, desert your posts:
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| − | I offer you a hunt.'
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| − |
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| − | King Sable's men were duty bound,
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| − | To guard the Wood from fear.
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| − | The king, in pride, set sword aside,
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| − | To bargain with the deer.
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| − |
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| − | 'There is no hunt for me,' said he,
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| − | 'Of any creature born,
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| − | Unless I could in Shadow Wood
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| − | Hunt down the Unicorn.'
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| − |
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| − | 'None knows so well where she may dwell
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| − | As I who did her will,
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| − | If you will heed, then I will lead,
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| − | And you may have your kill.'
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| − |
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| − | But one lone guard forewarned the king:
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| − | 'This hunt is evil-starred;
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| − | For those with arms and potent charms
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| − | Against whom we must guard
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| − |
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| − | No more will wait with eyes of hate
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| − | And souls and hearts of gall,
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| − | But purge the Wood of light and good,
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| − | And Jake forgive us all.'
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| − |
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| − | Still Sable boasts, 'Step down, my hosts,
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| − | And sic the hunting drake,
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| − | Let men invade both wood and glade,
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| − | I care not of this Jake.'
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| − |
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| − | The stag led on from night to dawn,
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| − | From sunrise into morn,
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| − | And in the shade of Shadow Glade
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| − | Betrayed the Unicorn.
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| − |
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| − | She spoke to him; her voice was grim:
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| − | 'What have you done for pride?
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| − | You know and see your destiny
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| − | And yet you turn aside.
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| − |
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| − | You would betray me to my death
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| − | And quite forsake your vow?
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| − | Then service lent without consent
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| − | Is all you do me now.'
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| − |
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| − | She touched him once, she touched him twice,
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| − | And three times with her horn.
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| − | And there he fell, and where he fell,
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| − | He rose a Unicorn.
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| − |
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| − | The guards have fled; their trusting land
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| − | All undefended lies;
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| − | And through the Wood invaders ride
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| − | With darkness in their eyes.
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| − |
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| − | Without alarms they practice charms
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| − | That drive away the light
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| − | And Shadow into Darken Wood
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| − | Is made that evil night.
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| − |
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| − | And afterward, with sword and spell
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| − | And horse and horn and hound
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| − | They hunted down King Sable's men
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| − | And ran them all to ground.
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| − |
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| − | The king was slain, his body lain
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| − | Among his dying men,
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| − | But they were told ere they were cold
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| − | To rise and hunt again.
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| − |
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| − | For every wraith who breaks his faith
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| − | Must wander without cease
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| − | And, cold, perform what he did, warm,
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| − | And never rest in peace.
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| − |
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| − | So every night the stag betrays
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| − | The love he could not keep
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| − | And king and host desert their post
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| − | To hunt and never sleep.
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| − |
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| − | And so they shall betray and die,
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| − | Until the day they show
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| − | That they somehow fulfill their vow
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| − | They broke so long ago...
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| − | </helpfile>
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| − |
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| − | {{AreaCategories
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| − | |name=Village of the Kobolds, The
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| − | |continent=Thordfalan
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| − | |newbie=true
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| − | }}
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| − | __NOTOC__
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