Donovan nodded to the man who approached, requesting some romantic tunes for his little groups honestly pathetic display of desperation. Were all of them so utterly lonely that they would cluster together around that woman for a piece? Honestly she wasn't even that pretty now that he thought about it, a measly 5/10 if he was being generous. Though that could just be his uncharitable opinion of her at work. Donovan began strumming his lute and playing a rather ironic little diddy called 'heartache and a cold knife'. Oh it did indeed sound romantic when he sang it, full of flowery words and driven by an upbeat melody but this was a song he had gathered in the north where warmth was an idea not often thought of. There they had no happy stories with happy endings and the lyrics of the song Donovan sang were heavy with allegory which spoke of a man who fell in love with the wrong sort of woman and ended up doomed for it.<br/><br/>Though obviously if the filthy apes pawing at their own wrong sort of woman were too dumb to realize the not so pretty face they were attempting to pray on would soon make them her prey they were surely far to dense to sense the deeper meaning to his macabre tune. Donovan included no magical touch in the lyrics of this song however, didn't wish for the words of a sad song to affect his audience at large. Though luckily for the majority of the patrons his music was delightful with or without magic.<br/><br/>Donny was about halfway through his song when the gambler rose from his seat and put on a rather convincing drunken act as he approached the crowded woman. It was likely so convincing because it wasn't entirely an act, the mead here was indeed strong and the tankards deep and the gambler had all but drained his before putting on his own little show. Donovan wondered what his game was for a moment but then the gambler started to speak and he only rolled his eyes. The fool was running interference for the predatory harlott. And here Donovan was hoping to maybe see her bite off more then she could chew and get her just desserts for it.<br/><br/>A part of the bard wanted to see this gambler get his face pushed in by the monkeys who hung off that would be damsel in distress. A part of him was tempted to cast a spell of rage on one of the bigger ones to ensure just that. But in the end the fondness he'd felt for the man earlier lingered on despite how he attempted to help that poison woman in a most foolish show of chivalry. And so Donovan changed up the tune he played and the song he sung entirely to one of the classics. A jaunty fight song called 'rebuke the raid'. A hopeful little diddy about a town of farmers fending off a band of marauders to save their home. And this time he did lace his song with no small ammount of bardic magic. As his words filled the air the gambler was filled with strength and vigor, lighter on his feet and quicker in reflex by far then he would be normally while the music had the opposite effect on the swine he was quickly earning the ire of. The five men became more sluggish and slow in thought. Their hands and feet became as heavy iron ingots and soon a five on one fight was more fair then not.