Songs for Naughty Children

[Ogregrim]

Tottespiel had had no idea how much he would enjoy performing for the urchins of Skullport. The mere notion had at first, were he to admit it, caused a strange churning in his stomach. He was, momentarily at a loss. Sing for children, while The Priestesses of Elistraee fed them on a street corner? The very notion of the thing was nearly beyond his imaginings.

All the same, that was precisely what it was he found himself doing. He sang and smiled at the small, grubby audience, with their darting eyes, and tattered clothing. But then he SAW them. Really saw them for the first time as something other than obstacles in his path or pickpockets at his side. He watched them transported, their hollow eyes gleaming as they pictured the images about which he sang. They did not just hear.
They did not merely listen. They understood and believed; for a moment it was they who lived in his songs and he had ceased to be. While he sang, it seemed, they were free of Skullport and their lives, and their woes, and their everyday struggles. They were, when he considered it later, the most sincerely appreciative audience for whom he had ever performed. They did not just desire his songs for a backdrop to conversation and a distraction from whispered connivances. They wanted the songs for the songs. They needed them.

And so it was, later that he found himself back amongst them on his own, singing and distributing sweets. Tottespiel, the brooding bard who was no one of any signifcance, a person of no importance, was among these waiflings Someone. And he liked it.

Later the two of them discussed it.

"What are you doing, An'Anzi?"

"Singing for the children, Tottespiel."

"And to what end? Have they any gold to give? Prestige? Influence? Are they not but the overlooked detritus of carelessly breeding rivvil, overrunning the streets even as do the rats of the sewers? What purpose does it serve?"

"Must everything serve a purpose? Must every action have a motivation? Why can you not let me simply enjoy this? I enjoy singing for them. They enjoy my songs. I have even heard some of them singing bits of my songs as they went about their bussiness. So there! Fame! They flatter my pride even as the Ladies of Skullport disregard me, as if I were some sort of dancing rothe: less aware of whether it is done well than that it is done at all! They listen, really listen. Is that not enough?"

"I do not wish to crush your enthusiasm, An'Anzi, merely to encourage you to use that formidable mind of yours for something besides a notebook. You must learn to think. Dead or not, I remain commited to your education. If only for the fact that should you die through some carelessness, we shall then both cease to be, shan't we?"

"Think? Think on what? I am but singing for children, many of whom are orphans, and many of whom may well be collected up by the slavers and sold away. They are not even Illythirii children."

"No, they are not. And as such, how swiftly will they grow? And when grown what skills will they have? Think. Children of the street who are clever enough to survive to adulthood must surely have some usefull qualities. Those who survive will be the exceptional ones. And as such, might in a short time be valuable allies. The rivvil do learn quickly. All that they require is the right instructor, nau?"

"You are suggesting that we educate them?"

"Win them over, An'Anzi. You have the talents so to do. Aide them. They know so little of kindness, that if you show it to them, they will consume it more rapidly than the sweets you have given them. And they may well remember it."

"So I may sing for them? And feed them?"

"And teach them... Make your songs instructional. Tell them tales that will inspire them. Win their love, thier trust, and their loyalty. It is a small investment that may one day prove to be of great value. And if it comes to nothing, you will have lost little and entertained yourself in the interim."

"Then we have found an audience, Tottespiel."

"Xas, An'Anzi, I suspect we have."

[Ogregrim]

It is my intention to use this thread to post the songs and stories that Tottespiel writes for the Children of Skullport. It is my hope that they may give some amusement to those who read them.

[Mikayla]

[Ogregrim]

The gobble uns will get you if you don't watch out,
If you aren't carefull, you can have no doubt,
They will creep and they'll grab you and they'll drag you down,
And forever they will keep you down in Gobble Un Town.

If you're careless and you're dirty, and don't wash your face,
If you're noisy and you always run about the place,
If you're sullen and you're lazy, and you always pout,
The gobble uns will get you if you don't watch out.

If you are a bully and you taunt and tease,
If you won't cover your face any time you sneeze,
If lies and accusations are all that you spout,
The gobble uns will get you if you don't watch out.

It's the worst of children that the gobble uns will steal,
To wed their ugly sons and daughters or to be a meal,
So if you are a nasty girl, or brutish lout,
The gobble uns will get you if you don't watch out.

So let me give to you a hint that won't go wrong,
You can help chase away gobble uns with a merry song.
Tottespiel will teach you manners if you ever have a doubt,
But the gobble uns will get you if you don't watch out!

[Ogregrim]

Out in the streets,
While the city is sleeping,
Around every corner,
There is something creeping,
You quicken your pace,
And you hasten to hurry,
Uncertain of what it was
That you heard scurry
Down in the alleyway,
You might have heard pawing
Or some sort of sharp teeth
So buisily gnawing
At something or someone,
Who might have been plotting
Whose plot went awry
And they ended up rotting
A corpse in a cove
Half-hazardly hidden,
Some place you don't go
Unless forcibly bidden
It's no worry of yours,
If some fool got to talking
About things he shouldn't
So you keep on walking
Listen well, children,
Remember my sermon,
For dead things, you know,
Will most surely draw vermin,
And vermin, dear children,
Carry nasty diseases,
That can give you the shivers,
The shakes and the sneezes,
That can give you away,
When you're working at hiding,
From some sneaky slaver
Who comes slinking and sliding
To catch careless children
Who don't heed the warnings
Of Learned old Bards
Who are ever performing
For their clever small friends
With odd, catchy ditties
That offer advice,
To survive in the city,
And whose songs run too long,
Till he thinks to ammend it,
Just like this one has,
So I think I shall end it.

[Fionn]

Sing us the one about the dirty old priestess of Loviatar...

[Amar]

Sing us the one about the dirty old priestess of Loviatar...

But...that one is naughty

[PensivesWetness]

Sing us the one about the dirty old priestess of Loviatar...

But...that one is naughty

and anything Millia has sung about, Isn't?

[Ogregrim]

There's something in the darkness creeping,
For those awake that should be sleeping,
Something hungry, sly, and cruel,
That waits for you to break the rule.
And wander wither you should not,
Amidst the refuse and the rot,
It's tail is twisting, twitching teasing,
In wicked thoughts it finds so pleasing,
Its saucer eyes are goggling wide,
That it may pounce if it is spied,
For if you see it, it will see you,
And from its gaze no spell will free you,
It will come with claws to catch you,
With slavering jaws it will dispatch you,
And with its tail, it fierce will beat you,
Till it grows weary and decides to eat you.
And when others all awaken,
None will know where you were taken,
None but a beast with belly distended,
Will know that your life was ended,
Some will worry, and some will fret,
But in time they will all forget,
So sleep you well, when you are told to,
Lest the bogey come to hold you.

[Ogregrim]

Children don't wander all unawares,
Go not alone, but e'er in pairs,
In cluttered alley or 'neath the stairs,
Keep a friend ever near.

For two may see what one might not,
And keep each other from being caught,
Or better recall what you've been taught,
With two, there is less to fear.

So find a friend, and make a pact,
Know just how you each will act,
If you should find yourselves attacked,
And to where you'll run.

Prepare for every situation,
And set aside a safe location,
Where you may plan retaliation,
When time to flee is done.

Find one in whom you can confide,
And keep that one by your side,
And with that one abandon pride,
And share an oath of trust.

For there are those who walk alone,
Who disappear and go unknown,
And no one cares to where they've flown,
Or if they are but dust.