Threes

Threes
by Julia Ecklar
based on Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey
Appeared on:
Quarks & Quests
Horse-Tamer's Daughter
more:
www.prometheus-...

[@TheoneandonlyDrops]

The lyrics so you can try singing along: Deep into the stony hills, Miles from keep or hold, A troop of guards comes riding With a lady and her gold Riding in the center, Shrouded in her cloak of fur, Companioned by a maiden And a toothless, aged cur Three things see no end: A flower blighted ere it bloom, A message that was wasted, And the 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 Of three things be wary: Of the hungry hunting cat, The shepherd eating mutton, And the guardsman that is fat From ambush bandits screaming Charge the pack train and its prize All but four within the train Are taken by surprise And all but four are cut down As a 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 the maid who does not scream Then off the lady pulls her cloak, In armor she is clad Her sword is out and ready And her eyes are fierce and glad The maiden gestures briefly And the dog's a cur no more A wolf, swordmaid, and sorceress Now face the bandit corps 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 When it ends, there are but four Left standing from that 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've stripped the traitor naked And they've 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, And the sister at your side

[@maddenhuxley2390]

InstaBlaster.

[@keybladewizard49]

As a note to those commenting - all of these "problems" come from the fact that the song was written, by Mercedes Lackey herself, before she wrote the book to go with. That's where the discrepancies come from; when she wrote the story she fixed the problems with the song.

[@kawaibakaneko]

Nope it's because Leslac got it backward

[@israelcampbell361]

listen to the blade wizard, he holds the key

[@CatBuchanan]

Exactly. Misty wrote the song long before she wrote Oathbound. In one of the other novels where Kethry and (I forget her partner's name) meet heralds they even comment in the story that the song got facts wrong.

[@MaryGreenleaf]

@@CatBuchanan Tarma :)

[@keybladewizard49]

@@kawaibakaneko I mean in canon yes, but in real life it's because the song came first

[@JEcklar]

Lyrics by Mercedes Lackey. Music by Leslie Fish. Vocals by Julia Ecklar (who is technically a mezzo soprano).

[@platypipope328]

wait a minute you're the person who sang this song wtf based how did I never notice before

[@missqueenbee98]

I so can see my fiancé's bard singing and playing this song at some point during our d&d campaign. The bard almost never shuts up since he's always performing even in middle of a jungle or dungeon, lol.

[@Bowfin567]

@WhoTouchedMyReindeer The way it's told in the book is that the song was written by a bard that wasn't there and just heard what had happened second or third hand. There are some mistakes in the song because of the distance of the writer.

[@Stardream222]

Thanks for posting this song!Tarma,Keth,And Warrel is my faveorite trio!

[@LauraShino]

thank you so much for putting this up! I waited for literally years to hear this again.

[@doctorpsycho1960]

I first heard this song about 1982. Very fond of it. I even swiped it (with credit) for some really bad fanfic I wrote once upon a time.

[@eg2b]

@madihwa Actually, this is sung by Julia Ecklar. Leslie wrote the melody, though.

[@RaonaidLuckwell]

So love this song, especially since it is about Tarma, Kethry, and Warryl. They are my favorite characters

[@wintersking4290]

Actually they are about the song, since the song predates them...

[@midnightsorrow4548]

so is this a book series I've got to k ow

[@RaonaidLuckwell]

@@midnightsorrow4548 A trilogy, though the third book is a series of short series.

[@saraabel5991]

@@midnightsorrow4548 Yes! Its the Vows and Honor Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey! This song refers to one particular story within the series. I would personally recommend getting one of the omnibus versions of the series!

[@scumhunter1966]

@SpikesScarletWitch Don't feel bad. This is the first time I have heard this not done by a male voice. I found it as an mp3 on the web at the time. I used it during a D&D campaign with, "You walk into the tavern and a travelling bard is singing this for an attentive crowd."

[@Tovath]

And if you buy OathBlood and look on page 48 you will clearly see that she says the song predated the story

[@Ironsouled]

Bud... Mercedes LAckey herself wrote the song (She's an accomplished lyricist as well as an author) About the escapades described in the book, Oathbound. Buy the book Oathbreaker adn look at the lyrics in the back "Threes" By: Mercedes Lackey. The tune may or may not be original, however the lyrics most certainly are. Before you make any claims, Please bring any facts you might have to bear.

[@AislinneG]

AND in the story Misty had Leslac the Bard do that very thing!!!! THAT explains all the "mistakes" in the song.

[@elywoen]

Of course there would be. Anyone who has heard THAT song (the swordlady) or the Leslac version would know just by the fact that Leslac sang it...

[@abraxusc0ldheart]

now if you were a bard of that time, you'd probably have written like she originally wrote it for dramatic pourposes.

[@Ironsouled]

hmm. I stand (well... sit) corrected. Oathbreaker has the song but it said Filked By: Mercedes Lackey. I also bought Oathblood. You are correct in both instances.. depressingly.

[@gabrielstrong2186]

Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase this album or, more specifically, this song either electronically or physically without paying $160+ on eBay?

[@reddir]

This would make a great tavern song.

[@zuhtru]

Skip the "tavern" part. This is a great song alltogether.

[@reddir]

@@zuhtru I like the idea of those familiar with the song joining in on the chorus, the singer can have so much fun with that. Maybe pointing at different sections of the room for each line of the chorus.

[@madihwa]

This song was on Heralds, Harpers & Havoc.

[@WhoTouchedMyReindeer]

So, wait... the sword maid and the witch let all the regular guards die, for dramatic effect? Wow.

[@dragoncatgaming5481]

Actually, that was an exaggeration by an in-universe bard who heard the tale second-hand and then took some... artistic license.

[@winkleried]

Ya need to listen to the Roundworm version of the song. Search for Threes, take 3....

[@spectrelead]

IIRC (haven't read the books in a while), only a handful of guards actually died from their wounds, most were what the military calls 'casualties', meaning injured in action.

[@eliotreader8220]

@@spectrelead I think that the Bandit's where almost all killed by Tarma and Warrel and the war horses Iron heart and Hells bane in that battle.

[@spectrelead]

@@eliotreader8220 IIRC, Kethry was about as lethal, but that was Need helping. Gotta re-read that

[@TheAndroia]

I have loved this song for many years. Has anyone made a video for the song? Would love to see that.

[@madihwa]

Also, this is sung by Leslie Fish, a woman who has a very low alto.

[@BenHyle]

This version is NOT Leslie Fish singing.

[@Lukiel666]

Three smi9les you cannot trust: the smile of a wolf as it leaps at your throat, the smile of a godsman, and the smile of a woman. Old norse proverb.

[@eliotreader8220]

not a Wolf Exactly but a Kryree in fact

[@Friend2Trolls]

They are referring to a song on an album.

[@Hopanio]

Maybe she did, and we just never heard about it....

[@RDMyers65]

Yeah, Lester married an heiress but he makes an appearance in another song... He's the count in 'A Dark and Stormy Night'...

[@eliotreader8220]

I believe Tarma used their connections to get him out of the way.

[@Tovath]

actully you have that backwards the story was based on this song

[@widowow]

is there anyone who have a "dark and stormy night"

[@mariemahaffey6288]

Does anyone have the 2nd version of the lyrics (Misty wrote a set of "Dilbert" lyrics)

[@MavrikUSMC]

I'm having trouble finding the Heather Alexander version.

[@ChrissGoddess]

the d and d adventure?

[@quizzlie]

Didn't Heather do this as well? I could have sworn...

[@abraxusc0ldheart]

if that made any sence

[@totallyspies01]

where'd you get this? i want to get the songs from Mercedes Lackey's books badly!

[@RandomPerson1313]

totallyspies01 firebird records I think is the company... if you go to Mercedes lackey's website you can order them. She did a bunch of cds

[@totallyspies01]

RandomPerson1313 thank you. Are there any shipping restrictions that you know of?

[@RandomPerson1313]

totallyspies01 I haven't ordered yet I'm waiting to get

[@RandomPerson1313]

Sorry my phone was being dumb I don't know about any restrictions though

[@totallyspies01]

RandomPerson1313 it's fine. Hopefully they ship to Canada, otherwise I can't get any albums!

[@tommylawrence3095]

3er

[@shikatsu]

Yet everything is so wrong...leslac is lucky tarma did not take his tripes