The Battle Hymn of Buhuhbluh

The Battle Hymn of a Buhuhbluh is a song that Johann VonGruppen played during an impromptu busking session in the marketplace of Witchmill. Though Johann was certain he had played it many times before, his broken memory would not allow him to recall its origins.

He remained certain, however, that it was a tried-and-true crowd pleaser. And although the performance itself was impressive, those gathered very plainly did not recognize the tune. Some went so far as to compliment Johann on his original work, which only confused the bard further (though it did not stop him from accepting the coins being tossed).

Performance at the Sober Dwarf

Johann would not play the song again before a fateful evening at The Sober Dwarf inn (nestled within the Bluffs district of Necine). On this night, the muses smiled upon Johann, who gave what was certainly one of the most impressive concerts of his life. He delivered it to a small crowd which quickly grew larger as his music poured out into the city streets. It attracted the attention of many passersby, and among them were countless, tiny cheering voices that Johann would later learn belonged to a group of Gutter Fey.

Following his masterful performance (which earned him free room and board alongside the admiration of many new fans), Johann was approached by a well-dressed and well-mannered elf who recognized the bard as Feytouched. The elf questioned the performer about where he had learned that song, but that memory had been inaccessible to Johann since his mysterious arrival in Crossbones. Upon claiming that he had "just heard it around," the elf simply did not believe him, and vowed to return the following day with more to discuss. Johann introduced himself by name, which troubled the elf who clearly was not comfortable giving his own name. Instead, Johann elected to call him Friend, which was met with appreciation and delight.

The following day, as promised, Friend returned with an etching, housed in a glass case. He explained that this was collected by an adventurer from the wall of a "pre-Spellplague" ruin, and it featured sheet music. On the page was the conclusion of an untitled song that was quite obviously the closing bars of The Battle Hymn of Buhuhbluh. It was followed by the beginning of another song, simply entitled "Funeral Hymn". Johann not only knew that song as well, but he recognized both as being from Buhuhbluh -- a name that Friend had never heard before.