Battle of the Bards

Riquelme looked at the paper inside of his hand, his hands sweated, his heart thumped, he was excited. You have been invited to the final round of the Vanadiel Best Musician tournament, we hope to see you soon and we wish you the best of luck. Gather together at Ru’Lude Gardens, 9 p.m. at the Grand Duke’s Cathedral. He stared at it over and over, he knew he did great the first time, he stunned the crowd, hypnotizing them with his soulful melodies. The way he played his flute was heaven on the ears, the crowd loved him. It was now time to do it again. He had to wow them one last time, this was the grand of them all. He entered the tournament not seeking fame, it was money he was after. The winner would walk away famous without a doubt, becoming the worlds best musician, but he would walk away tem million dollars richer. He squealed with glee at his moogle, hugging him until he choked. He packed his bags, making sure to pack his instruments inside them. Would be a shame to get there and forget them. It was his time in the limelight. He faded away, seeing the crowd clap and cheer. He saw himself taking a bow, and then he saw the check. Dollar signs danced in his eyes. With everything packed and confidence through the roof, he headed for the airport and his destination was Jeuno. He arrived at Port Bastok docks right in the nick of time, the airship was here and was just allowing people to board. Rushing, he paid the airship fee and hurried to take a place on it, he wanted to get a calming view of the ocean, one day he’ll buy a yacht and travel on it, with all the money he’s bound to make. He noticed the inhabitants of the airship were also heading to Ru’Lude, some were musicians and some were there to just cheer them on. The airship was packed and had little breathing room. He clutched his bag close to him, last thing he needed was for a thief to ruin this day. The goblin in the corner looked at him, mugging him. Riq just shrugged him off, but he wondered what the causes for the dirty looks were. Then it hit him, he stared at the goblins face. He came in second to me. Riq remembered, a grin came over his face, he waved to him. The Grand Duke’s ballroom was packed, there weren’t even any standing room left to watch the competition Riq noticed as he peeked his head through the curtains. His heart began to thump wildly again, he knew he was a great Bard, but damn it if he wasn’t nervous.

“Hello.” Musicstixx called to Riq, even though he was the runner up to him last time, he felt a need to be polite. In his mind, he should have won, and the only reason Riquel won was because he was human. The Goblin laid eyes on him, he patted him on the shoulder and wished him good luck with a smile. “Weird.” Riq muttered after he left, he decided it was best to just check his bags. Rushing to the storage area where they left their luggage, he opened his bag and pulled out his flute, it seemed to be in fine order, he thought the goblin had stolen it. He didn’t want to think so badly of him, but he decided he wouldn’t put it past him. The whole time before the tournament began Music just wished Riq good luck and smiled, it was startling to Riq, he had a feeling the Goblin was up to something. His mind flashed back to a month ago, when he was standing on stage receiving the million dollar prize for first place. Music had walked over to him, called him a fake, a phony, and then said that there is no way in his Goblin heart that he would allow Riq to win the finals. Nothing will stand in his way and that Riq was going down. He shuddered at the thought as Music waved at him. Time for competition, Music took the stage, his goblin hands working wonders on the harp, the crowd danced along from their chairs, enticed. He had them under his spell, it wasn’t Goblin trickery, just Goblin skill. He took a bow and the crowd went absolutely crazy, throwing red roses that cluttered the stage as Musicstixx the Goblin walked off. He passed Riq, who was set to perform next, he patted him on the back and wished him good luck. Riqeul took the stage, the crowd on the edge of their seats, they know what he is capable of and wouldn’t settle for anything but the best. He pulled out his flute, he looked behind him, and he saw Music smiling. Nervousness took over Riq, his hands clammed up. Nothing will stand in my way from winning. Nothing. Riq played it again in his mind. He put the flute to his mouth, dug deep in his soul, and played. He shut everything out of his mind, and just played. His flute screeched and squealed. Making a horrible noise, baffled he stopped. Put it to his mouth and played again with the same result. He gave up, froze on spot. I knew it. He bowed and walked off stage, he was embarrassed and the crowd was puzzled, what happened to such a great musician.

Riquel stormed to the tournament officials and had them check his flute, claiming it had been tampered with by Music. They told him to not to jump to conclusions but they will check it. Five minutes later they returned to Riq who was sitting in his chair waiting patiently. “Everything is fine.” They told him, who’s jaw hit the floor hard enough to shatter in two. “But…” Riq began. They handed him his flute, he stared at it, maybe it was just me, and I just have to focus. Before the second part of the three part competition was to begin Music had walked over to Riq. “I didn’t sabotage your instrument.” His eyes displayed his hurt feelings. “When I said that you were going down this time, I meant because I would train hard to beat you, not cheat my way.” “I wouldn’t cheat you.” He said as he headed on stage. It was another great performance for Music and another awful one by Riq. But somehow someway, they voted him into the last round, believing that he is far more talented and he will prove it in the last round. He thanked his lucky stars he was still being given a chance, he had to push all the bad vibes out, Music wasn’t trying to destroy him, just trying to beat him, he realized he let that theory mess up his perfomances but he wouldn’t let it do it this time. He went to the bathroom to splash water on his face, he left his cup of tea on the table, it was to warm up his throat for the last part of the tournament, the singing finale. As he stared at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t let this slip away, he had to knuckle down and push forward. He was better than this. He returned to his seat, took a swig of his tea and spat it out, it tasted horrible. His throat seemed to tighten a bit, he felt a lump growing. Then of all people to walk past, Music walked past, smiled and wished him luck as he took the stage. “You fucker.” Riq swore, “You stinky Goblin bastard.” He said angrily to Music who stared blankly. “You poisoned my tea.” “Nonsense you insecure human.” Music has had enough of the accusations. “I never poisoned you, you just want an excuse of why you lost, and you’re not big enough of a man to say I was beaten by the better performer.” “Your kind makes me sick.” He said as he took the stage “Not all goblins are bad.” A tear formed in his eyes. Music began to bellow out the melody straight from his soul. He had chosen to sing “Do I Make You Proud.” Why he covered a Taylor Hicks song is beyond me, but the Goblin ladies in the front row went nuts, he felt as though he knew for sure this match was his. As he bowed to the frenzied crowd, he turned back to Riq. “Good luck.” He said with his head down, he couldn’t look at him.

Riqeul shook everything off, he'd chosen the song he wanted to sing. “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Was Riq’s song, he had the pitch to deliver it perfectly. He cleared his throat and sang. The crowd gasped, covering their ears at the screeching sound that came out of Riq’s mouth, he sounded like he had a banshee caught in his throat. He continued to wail, it was weird. He thought he sounded fine, but the crowd had a different reaction. The lights on the ceiling broke, and shattered, hitting the occupants in the row, beams collapsed as Riq’s voice was literally bringing the house down. He saw people running, covering their ears and ducking debris. He was tackled by an official before he stopped singing. From the ground he looked at the massacre in the aisle, there were people hurt, many people trampled trying to escape harm. The judged huffed and puffed, and ask for a word with Riq. Hurting on the inside, he handed over his Bard ID, he can no longer play the job anymore, ever. They’ve taken it away from him, he had to find another job he enjoyed seeing as how he was robbed of his Bard status. As Music was handed the trophy and the check, Riq turned away disgusted at himself. He began to walk back to the back door and go home and forget about it when he kicked something with his shoe. He watched as the bottle flew across the room, he decided to pick it up. Designed to make you sing with the soul of a banshee, perfect for a karaoke night when your friends force you to sing. Wail Away will help you shut them up and make sure they never pester you again. Brewed in the heart of Sorcery, the Rhinostery in Windurst. Prescribed to Musicstixx the Goblin.