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."You'rea musician," she said, gleefully."Why don't you do it?"At first Rune could only think of all the reasons why it wouldn't work-that people were used to the old song and would hate the new version, that the Bardic Guild would hate it becausetheir members had written a great many of the variants, and that it wasn't properly romantic.But then she thought of all the reasons why, if she chose her audience properly, pickingmostly young people who were in a mood to laugh, it would work.There were not a greatmany comic songs out in the world, and she could, if she managed this successfully, getquite a following for herself based on the fact that she had written one.In fact, there were agreat many really stupid, sentimental ballads like "Two Fair Maids" in existence; if she wroteparodies of them, she could have an entire repertory of comic songs.And songs like that were much more suited to the casual atmosphere of street-busking thanthe maudlin ones were.She'd started on the project in late spring; she already had four.She'd moved to a newcorner, vacated by one of the buskers-that-weren't, on a very busy crossroads.It wasn't avenue usually suited to busking, but she'd made a bargain with one of the Gypsy-dancerswho had reappeared at the fountain in Flower Street with the spring birds.Rune would playthe fiddle for her to dance from exactly midday until second bell and split the take, if theGypsies would hold the corner for her to play from two hours before midday till the dancershowed up.No one wanted to argue with the Gypsies, who were known to have tempersand be very quick with their knives, so the corner was Rune's without dispute.Now what she had planned to do, was to alternate lively fiddling with comic songs, to seehow well they did, and if she could hold a rowdy crowd with them.She had discovered this afternoon that not only could she hold the crowd, she now had areputation for knowing the funny songs, and there were people coming to her corner at lunchjust to hear them.And furthermore, they were willing to pay to hear them.Every time she'd tried to go back tothe fiddle today, someone had called out for one of her songs.And when she'd demurred,protesting that she'd already done it, or that people must be getting tired of it, at least threecoins were tossed into her hat as an incentive.In the end, she had made as much during herstint alone as she and the dancer had together.She explained all that to Tonno, who looked pleased at first, then troubled."You didn't writeanything-satiric, did you?" he asked, worriedly."These were just silly parodies of commonsongs, am I understanding you correctly?"She sighed, exasperated.He was beating around the bush again, rather than asking herdirectly what he wanted to know, and she was tired of it."Tonno, just what, exactly, are youasking me? Get to the point, will you? I'm not one of your Scholar customers, that you haveto build a tower of logic for before you get a straight answer."He blinked in surprise."I suppose-did you make fun of anyone high-ranking enough to causeyou trouble? Or did you sing anything satirical about the Church?""If anybody in one of those songs resembles someone in Nolton, I don't know about it," shetold him in complete honesty."And I must admit that I had considered doing somethingabout a corrupt Priest, but I decided against it, after seeing Carly leaving my room.It wouldbe just like her to take a copy to the Church with her, when she goes to one of her stupidPrayer Meetings, and find a way to get me in trouble."Tonno let out a deep sigh of relief."I'd advise you to keep to that decision," he said, passinghis hand over his hair."At least for now, when you have no one to protect you.Later,perhaps, when you have Guild status and protection, you can write whatever you choose."He smiled, weakly."Who knows; with the force of a Guild Bard behind a satiric song, youmight become an influence for good within the Church.""What are you so worried about, really?" she asked, putting her instruments down on thecounter."Did Brother Bryan tell you something? Is the Church planning on backing more ofthose ordinances you don't like?"He shook his head
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