The Talekeeper
Every culture has their own version of this folktale, the Man in the Tavern, the Meadmouth, the Scrawler. Each tale is fraught with mystery and confusion but all bear three central tenets that marks this remarkable tale.
1. The Talekeeper has the power to give you whatever you want, but you must accomplish something to get it.
2. The Talekeeper requires that you relate the story of your task to him; the details and the happenstance.
3. No one ever speaks of their task or their reward.
Of these three, there have been attempts to locate those who have dealt with this mysterious being. Scientists and historians alike have pursued these leads and tracked down these tales. Magical tests and interrogations have been performed, but compelled through some power beyond those researchers' reckoning, none have been willing to discuss the experience. Some appeared wealthy, or happily married, or in possession of some rare artifact. Assumptions could be made about how or why they managed to acquire these things, especially when mundane means could be involved. However, despite all the inferences and assumptions, nothing conclusive was ever found.
The question remains however, why, in all these tales of people seeking to acquire things that they desired, do none of them bear a happy ending? Why do none of them come to a conclusion, or a satisfying resolution that would reveal the nature of the transaction? Who is this man and what power does he possess?
Comments