The sun has been fully set for an hour. It is a bright night, for the Shadow Moon lurks in the night sky between the crown of the looming Fire Moon and the silver coin that is the Bright Moon. Although the Shadow Moon does not steal any of the light from its sisters, it appears that its influence has fallen on the island town of Kinja. The whole of the settlement is dark and quiet, save for a single building. That place is brightly lit, not only by candle and lantern, but also by friendship and song. All the people of the island are gathered in that one place, at ease and unsuspecting. They feel the breezes, but they are not aware of the gathering clouds. A storm is coming, and it will be a strong one. Already, the first drops have fallen.

"... and with one last mighty kick from the man who pretended to be Oscar Bones, the pirates were thrown into the sea and defeated. Thus ended the first trial of the crew of the Reef Runner. After accepting the heart-felt gratitude of the captain of the courier vessel Arrow, our heroes volunteered to carry the monkey-bird messenger the rest of the way to Octopon. And thus it was that the Reef Runner and her crew first docked in the greatest of all the island kingdoms."

The old bard falls silent, and takes a drink from a recently delivered mug. She slyly watches her fellow townsfolk from over the rim of her drink. The gathered throng still sits in rapt silence. She can feel a general air of puzzlement over the subject of her first song. But the old woman can also see some heads nodding in thoughtful agreement. "Some of the fish see the hook hidden inside the bait," she thinks to herself. "This is good. It distracts them from the net." The old woman allows herself another sly smile as she sets the mug down.

The audience is indeed puzzled over the song. It was a good story, yes, but the odd crew of the odd ship does not appear to have anything to do with the final defeat of the Dark Dweller by King Ren. A growing number of the townsfolk suspect there is more to the story than what has just been told to them. Naturally, Pinagore is among them. "This story's a puffer fish," he whispers to his grandson as the old fisherman nudges his offspring in the ribs. "It'll get bigger before too long." While Pinagore tries to be very quiet with his comment - mainly to avoid drawing any further attention to himself - his hushed cackle is heard by Kinja's children. Having neither the experience nor the patience to figure things out for themselves, this noise is the excuse they've been waiting for. A small tidal wave of questions washes over the woman on the stage.

"What do these people have to do with anything?"
"I don't like the Korb. He's icky!"
"That wasn't scary."
"When are you going to get to the good stuff?"
"What does 'smarmy' mean?"
"Who's the monkey-bird supposed to be?"
"What happened next?"

The elderly bard chuckles. "All the winds are at my back," she thinks to herself. "Everything is exactly on the course I have set." Children always make the best audiences, because they are so trusting of the words, and they don't try to pry for a hidden meaning. They also have a wonderful habit of eventually asking exactly the questions you want them to ask. The old woman clears her throat and speaks once more. She is looking at the gathered children, but her words are obviously meant for all those in the tavern.

"I can't answer you questions now, younglings, for it would spoil the story. Please wait for one more tale, and all will be made clear. Every story has a beginning, after all. And quite often, the beginning doesn't look anything like the ending. I will say that these people are very important to the tale of King Ren and Dark Dweller. The 'good stuff' - as you call it, young master - is anchored in the next harbor. You simply have sail out and meet it. As for the monkey-bird, he is the key to what happened next. It is because of the selfless actions of the crew of the Reef Runner that they met Ren and began the Great Quest."

"Sit back and listen now to my words as I sing of the voyages of the Reef Runner and her crew..."