The Ballad of the Search for DunGrowling

The sun rose over the western harbour

The good ship, Hope, readied for sea

A motley crew had signed up

Some for adventure, some for a fee

The captain took up his command

His bearing of no ordinary sea dog

But one who had sailed beyond the seven seas

Who had glimpsed behind the mortal fog

The ship set sail, the crew heaved and puffed

Set on a course to where sky meets sea

The captain removed his cap and raised his eyes

Oh Neptune, I offer up this prayer to thee

The fate of the ship lies with you

Of I the captain and the crew

I Humbly beseech you lord of the sea

Let us live to see each day anew

For the ocean is beyond our call

Mostly angry, rarely calm

It throws its might against us all

I pray that you keep us from harm

The ship left lands green shelter

The sea woke from it restless slumbers

Crashing against the ship’s stern and bow

Straining the Hope’s creaking timbers

The captain brooded in his quarters

Spread before him an ancient scroll

Plotting a course to unknown waters

To this parchment he had entrusted his soul

He harked back to the sailor’s tavern

To an old Captain alone with his thoughts

One the seas had spared but time will not

Whose last battle will soon be fought

An old sea farer who looked him in the eye

Said, I can see you will soon be like me

Soon, no longer relentlessly sailing the seas

Tis within my gift to offer thee a destiny

This ancient scroll tells of a mystic Isle

A place many have sought but none have found

It is yours for a few pieces of silver

Take it and to your destiny be bound

On the ship the crew strained body and sinew

As days stretched to months to years

The crew yearned for the sight of bird or land

Yearned for a sign to allay their growing fears

For this was no usual captain, no usual voyage

The scroll took them to seas never sailed before

The stars above sang a different song

Aboard no escape from the oceans roar

Was their fate to meet purgatory or hell

The time to turn for home now gone

They were set on a course with no return

They had no choice but to sail on

Or would they find the mystic Isle

A place of delight from ancient lore

A place they cherished in their dreams

Could they alight upon its golden shore

Back at port the ship was not forgotten

A seer had made a fanciful claim

The Hope will return shipshape and sound

But only one sailor will remain

Seven years from the day it left

Aboard a lone sailor who has no tale to tell

A ship will sail back across the barre

The Hopes name engraved upon its bell

And so, seven years hence and as foreseen

When midday showed on the sun dial

The Hope returned, flag flying, in full rig

A mystery still, the mystic Isle

Notes from LawRouge:

This ballad, provenance an ancient scroll, is an excerpt from an unpublished Fitzroy story