Beve LaRue had started playing the harp when she was very young. She had not been born to it, like her mother. It had taken her years, nay - decades - to perfect her technique and even now she found herself fearing that she might slip up.<br/>In the cold, mountainous region of Skjoldbjerg, inns and taverns were very popular, but none were quite as popular as the<i> Dragensild </i>tavern, where the lights were always on and the fire always burned the warmest.<br/><br/>To be hired as a musician at Dragensild was one of the highest honours for any aspiring young artist, especially when the position came with the possibility of gaining a wealthy sponsor and a ticket to a more or less carefree life.<br/>Beve was the newest of the entertainers at the tavern, but she had been warmly welcomed after her first  performance the night before. She may have been a long way from competing with the more well-versed musicians of the place, but she was certainly not a poor choice for the tavern.<br/><br/>The patrons were generous and eager to hear her play and sing and she was happy to oblige them; even when her fingers grew tired or her throat a little coarse. They never seemed to notice - it was perhaps the booze and the good food and the dreamy atmosphere of the place that made you forget about the cold winter air outside or the frequent blizzards or the fact that the year's harvest had not been the greatest. Whichever the case, it worked just fine for her.<br/><br/>Fights rarely occurred at the tavern and if they ever did happen, they would quickly see an end as the owners of the place were quick to cut any sign of conflict short.<br/>So it was rather odd that, on that particular night, smack in the middle of her song, Beve heard the rising voices of several men, followed by the unexpected sound of a bottle being hurled across the room and colliding with a wall, causing further distress in the ranks of patrons present.<br/>It was even more puzzling to see that one of the men yelling was Helm himself, the tavern's owner - the gentlest man that ever did walk the earth.<br/><br/>What could have distressed the man so severely was beyond Beve's comprehension, but it had certainly caught her attention as she rose from her seat to try and get a better understanding of the situation.