Bandcamp

This is a song found in the appendices of Oathbound. It originated several lands to the south of Valdemar. is about Tarma, Kethry and Warrl hunting bandits, and is attributed to the Bard Leslac, who “got a few details wrong”. First, Kethry was disguised as the lady and Tarma as her maid. Leslac has them reversed here. Also, while they were oathsisters, they were not shieldmates, as that term is used for partners who are also lovers.

First set to music by Leslie Fish, and sung on Heralds, Harpers, and Havoc by Larry Warner and Kristoph Klover.

A version composed by Ben Dobyns was made available to those pledging to the Grandmaster Collection Backerkit campaign. This was recorded by S.J. Tucker in 2025. Sheet music can be found here.

Lyrics (as printed in Oathbound)

Deep into the Stony Hills, Miles from Keep or Hold
A troup of guards goes riding with a lady and her gold
Riding in the center shrouded in her cloak of furs
Companioned by a maiden and a toothless aged cur.

Three things see no end, a flower blighted ere it blooms,
A message that was wasted and a journey that was doomed.

One among the guardsmen has a shifting restless eye,
And as they ride, he scans the hills that rise against the sky
He wears a sword and bracelet worth more than he can afford
And hidden in his baggage is a heavy secret hoard.

Three things be wary, of the hungry hunting cat, a shepherd eating mutton and a guardsman that is fat!

From ambush bandits screaming charge the pack train and it’s prize
And all but four within the train are taken by surprise,
And all but four are cut down as the woodsman fells a log,
The guardsman and the lady and the maiden and the dog.

Three things know a secret first the lady in a dream, the dog who barks no warning and a maid who does not scream.

Then off the lady pulls her cloak and armor she is clad
Her sword is out and ready and her eyes are fierce and glad,
The maiden gestures briefly and the dogs a cur no more
The wolf, sword-maid 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 and the lady only grins,
The sorceress bows mockingly and then the fight begins,
And when it ends there are but four left standing from the horde,
The witch the wolf, the traitor and the woman with the sword.

Three things never trust in, the maiden sworn as pure
The vows a king has given and the ambush that is sure

They strip the traitor naked, and they whipped him on his way
Into the barren hillsides like the folk he used to slay
They take a thorough vengeance for the women he’s cut down
And then they mount their horses and they journey back to town.

Three things trust and cherish well, the horse on which you ride,
the beast that guards and watches you and the sister at your side.