“WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU REMEMBER?” The woman asked.

“The woods, a canopy of leaves, a green glow all around me, birds chatting merrily…” Reminisced the young man sitting across from her.

“That’s a bit more eloquent than I expected, especially from a sixteen year old.” The woman sitting across from him laughed.

“I suppose so, but one can hardly lapse back into simplicity when they’ve had so much of an experience in their life,” remarked the young man, reclining in his chair.
“What sort of an experience would that be?” Inquired the woman

“Allow me but an hour, and I’ll recount it to you.”

"We don't have an hour," the woman said sharply, running her fingers subconsciously over the mail of her armor. "Just the quick version, please."

The young man sighed dramatically, recalling his bardic training. "But the tale! You would have me skip the entire build-up and go straight to the climax? That's not how stories are told!"

"The dragon is wreaking havoc in villages throughout the Greenshade. If it isn't stopped within a day or so, we won't have a kingdom left to save. You're the only one who saw it before its reign of terror started, and you may be the only one who knows its weakness."

"Sounds like the perfect setting for a tale of drama, action, adventure..." The boy produced a lute and strummed it. "I was walking through the woods upon that day, leaves bright above my head, when I heard a strange sound coming from beyond a hollow oak. I turned round to investigate, and I saw... any guesses?"

"We don't have time for an interactive tale, Journeyman Drey."

The boy ignored her. "It was a squirrel! The poor creature was trapped in a narrow hole in the tree, and so I stopped and set the creature free. With a look of gratitude in its little black eyes, it nodded to me as though to say I was a wise and kind hero, then both of us went upon our ways, continuing on to new adventure and glory. You see, this actually builds up narrative tension, and it nicely foreshadows the later twist of... oh, but that's a spoiler."

Head Huntress Althea Addax clenched her fists, fingernails biting into her skin. This young man was going to give her gray hairs with his storytelling--if he didn't doom the kingdom first.

The boy made a tsking sound, a condescending tone Addax hadn't experienced since before her rise to Head Huntress. "Now, now. Patience is a virtue." The boy winked mischievously and wagged his index finger at her, a smile playing on his lips that said, I know what this is doing to you. I'm going to keep doing it. And you can't do anything about it.

Addax waved at him irritably. "Proceed." She couldn't believe she was allowing a bard, of all the folk, to take up an hour of her time with this performance. People with far more meaningful roles than his would hardly be spared more than a hardy exchange of words. The King of the Greenshade Region would slaughter villages for a jester like the one before her. But he had information she desperately needed, her people needed. The quicker he went on with his story, the quicker she would get what she needed and get out of here.

The boy settled into a cross legged position on the stump of a felled tree, seemingly pleased with her decision. He plucked the strings of the lute, the faint melody drifting from his instrument to her ears. It was an agreeable tune, and she found herself more vexed by the minute as her body swayed slightly to the music. And the storytelling began.

"This latest epic of mine own creation, has been titled 'A Tale Too Long'. For it is a long tale." He paused in his lute playing momentarily to bark out a laugh at his own words. The boy shook his head in amazement at his own genius before he fingered the twines to produce the sweet harmony again.