dolphinthrees

Out among the barren hills, miles from keep or hold
A troop of guards comes riding with a lady and her gold.
Riding in the center, shrouded in her cloak of fur,
Companioned by a maiden and a toothless aged cur.
Three things see no end, a flower blighted err it bloom,
A message that miscarried, and a journey that was doomed.

One amongst the guardsmen has a restless, shifting eye.
He scans the barren hillsides as they rise against the shy.
He wears both sword and bracer worth more than he could afford,
And hidden in his baggage is a heavy secret hoard.
Of three things be wary of, the hungry hunting cat,
The shepherd eating mutton, and the guardsman who is fat.

The bandits charge screaming at the pack train and its prize,
And all but four within the train are taken by surprise.
And all but four are cut down as a woodsman fells a log;
The lady, and the maiden, and the guardsman and the dog.
Three things share a secret first, a lady in a dream,
The dog that barks no warning, and the maid who does not scream.

The lady, she pulls her cloak, in armour she is clad,
Her sword is out and ready and her eyes are fierce and glad.
The maiden gestures briefly and the dog's a cur no more,
A wolf, swordmaid, and sorceress now face the bandit core.
Three things never anger or you will not live for long,
A wolf with cubs, a man with power, and a woman's sense of wrong.

The bandits growl a challenge, but the lady only grins.
The sorceress bows mockingly and then the fight begins.
When it ends there are but four left standing from the hoard:
The wolf, the witch, the traitor, and the woman with the sword.
Three things never trust in, the maiden sworn as pure,
The vows a rogue has given, and the ambush that is sure.

They stripped the traitor naked and then whipped him on his way,
Into the barren hillsides like the folk he used to slay.
But what of all the maidens that this bandit raped and slew?
Well as revenge the sorceress makes him a woman too!
Three things trust and cherish well, the horse on which you ride,
The beast that guards and watches and the sister at your side!

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