Special: Texts of the Jewels - The Jewels of Edelenn

After meeting the Great Stag, Tira, Bash, and Peter made their way to the city of Flenmoor to begin their quest. But first, they had to discover what they were looking for. To do this, they needed to learn what the Jewels of Edelenn were. On arriving at the library of Flenmoor, the party realized someone had beaten them to it: Rebec, the wandering troubadour they had befriended outside the city, had been poring over the text, and had been making notes. What could it mean? This special episode provides this foundational text in a standalone format for easy reference. Here's the text: ----- Whilom there was a king in noble land  Who rose to throne full mighty in his pow’r.  His head was high, his frame of kingly state  The rod of governance was in his hand.  Full well the people trusted him to lead,  But he was turned by lust for golden things,  And bled the people dry through lusty greed.  No bottom had he for his deep desire,  No treasure deemed he worthy short of all;  All rings and scepters sought he to control,  No matter where in Edelenn they lay.  To this ignoble end he put his men,  Four captains of his armies, val’rous all.  They scoured the land, in four directions rode,  Returned with waggons heaped with treasure bright.  Yet greatest skill in metal was still naught  In that consuméd king’s now jaundiced eye,  And taking up the captains’ fam’lies said  Their lives were forfeit should they fail again.  With tears in eyes the captains rode anew,  And bent with doubled minds to task at hand;  They knew the price that failure bore too well,  And cursed in silence him for whom they rode.  But while the captains fared so far afield,  Close enemies attacked the foolish king.  He, unprepared, with armies with no heads  Fell victim to the force and might of arms.  They bore him thence to dungeons deep and dark,  And in the gloom he wailed for days gone by.  Oh, that he had not sent in foolish pride  The very ones on whom his safety lay!  But late, too late, the lesson came to him,  And soon he loosed his grip on golden toys  To buy his freedom from the hated foe.  When came the captains to report their woe—  for none had found more riches for his hoard—  They found a broken man on empty throne.  How unlike king the weeping man now seemed.  He welcomed them with open arms spread wide,  And gave to them their families unharmed.  With tears the captains now confessed their lack;  No treasures could replace the empty vaults.  But jewels fine they had encountered when,  In journeys wide they chanced upon great wealth.  Not wealth of thing or wealth of smiling gold,  But wealth of knowledge, and of helpful craft.  Four cities had these noble riders found,  Four jewels shining in the farthest reach.  First, in the west, in tangled jungles thick  A city carved from stone and woody root.  Jarhamanad it hight, that wondrous place.  The next, in west again, on mountain high,  With terraces of flow’rs by breeze caressed,  It was yclept Tuo Nue, the quiet peace.  And then in east, a desert place and bare,  A roving city, made of tents and ropes.  Fierce nomads round its route yclept Jama.  The last, but not the least, in east was set  On white-rimmed coast against a jungle dark,  Ebendele the fair, a lovely city bright.  These were the jewels the captains brought their king,  Four cities great in learning, knowledge, pow’r.  When told, the king did weep and rue the day  That golden dreams did blind him to the cost  His pride would bring upon a people dear.  Not all was lost, for then in after days  The king did send for peace both east and west,  And stores of knowledge found and made did share.  Then came a day when wealth to him restored,  Yea, twice and thrice his vaults were over-filled.  For knowledge is the greatest treasure here  That mortal man may seek to sate his thirst.  And so the lesson comes to all who read,  Beware of fleeting treasure in your hand,  That is today yet on the morrow flees,  But seek instead the prize that cannot fail,  And draw upon the jewels of Edelenn.  ----- We used an excellent Battlebards music track. If you like what you hear, check them out at battlebards.com. If you sign up for a Prime account, be sure to use our special code, stack, and you'll get a 20% discount on your subscription. Here are the sound effects we used in this episode: Portents of the Future - Prophecy of the White Witch - Score Music, by Lois Paton And now, on with the show-- we're excited to tell a story with you.