"…and so it was that the crew of the Reef Runner tricked the specter of Kressa the Pirate Queen into revealing the location of her treasure trove. After recovering a fourth of the lost Treasures of Rul, our heroes returned triumphantly to Octopon to tell King Ren I of their good fortune."

The old bard of Kinja again nodded her head in recognition of the appreciation the gathered residents showed for her the latest of her songs. She spared a moment to glance at the jar of chrono-fish set above the bar; the faint glimmers of light from their scales showed that night was now thinking of turning towards morning. The rawun had been spinning tales all night, and still had more to tell. Fortunately, she was skilled enough that her audience did not notice the passage of time and did not mind spending so long in each other's company. Of course, the jolt-weed she'd instructed the tavern's staff to lace the food and drinks with didn't hurt either.

"My friends, I must congratulate you. You have survived the high tide of my stories. I have but four more tales to tell you this night, and then my time here is finished." This last was said with a trace of irony that went unnoticed by her audience. "The songs I have left to sing complete not only the voyage of my tales, but also the cycles of many events. This next story I tell starts the closing of the cycle of the Treasures of Rul, as well as the beginning of the end for the Dark Dweller."

"But it also tells of the closing of cycles for the heroes of my stories. Not only will you hear of how the brave crew of the ship recovered a fifth of the lost Treasures in the Great Sargasso Reef – yes, the very watermark that lies a week's sail to the northwest of this island – but you will also hear of how three of the heroes find solace and resolution to the great tragedies of their lives. This was not done without cost, but nothing worthwhile ever comes for free."

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