The Knights of Dragon Down

Riding, riding across the plain,
See them riding home again.
Bright their shields, bright their chain—
The Knights of Dragon Down.
They have gone where shadows creep.
Their blades a bloody harvest reap.
Another dragon put fore'er asleep
By the Knights of Dragon Down.
On their fingers gem rings gleam.
Of such baubles, the very cream
Falls into the hands, in a steady stream,
Of the Knights of Dragon Down.
In a dark hall a lady sits alone,
Her bright eyes gleam as white as bone.
Her dark spells a-hunting roam
For the Knights of Dragon Down.
With cruel smile, a web she weaves.
From each might, his soul she cleaves.
Armored bones are all she leaves
Of the Knights of Dragon Down.
Riding, riding, their skulls a-grin—
Past the gates, the Knights ride in.
Sorcery now their souls doth spin
Of the Knights of Dragon Down.
Ladies scream at the touch of bone,
As skeletal Knights come riding home.
Undead now, fore'er to roam,
Are the Knights of Dragon Down.
Hear them riding, nearer outside.
Never sleeping, doomed to ride.
There's no place where you can hide
From the Knights of Dragon Down.

History

The final verse is not often sung, except late at night and whispered around a dwindling campfire, for fear it might draw the seven skeleton knights or other undead to them. This verse was even outlawed in Elturel at one point because an evil archmage of the city made it the words of a summoning spell that brought undead to those that sang it.
However, it became the favorite drinking song of the patrons of A Pair of Black Antlers tavern in Elturel . It was sung every night, but minstrels had to show the appropriate skill and treatment, playing it with a mournful and macabre tone, lest they earn the patron's ire. The patrons revere the ballad as an anthem to fallen friends, to adventurers still alive, and to the dark whims of gods who demand to be appeased.

Execution

The Knights of Dragon Down" is normally chanted to the accompaniment of a dark and intricate melody played on a harp.

Primary Related Location

A Pair of Black Antlers