In Too Deep - Demo Version

It was a busy day at summer's end
Newsboys in the street hustling, whole market bustling
A lone figure coming down the street, stumbling
Tumbled into the Inn and called for some assistance

My group, sittin in the corner saw
I took a drink and I went and got him up off the floor
Sat him at our table, gave him an ale
Told him to drink up, and asked for his name and his tale
He seemed grateful at first, when slaking his thirst
But once he'd eaten and relaxed, he became a lil nervous
He said "Thank you for helping me, the days are a blur
But it's been well over a month on this dangerous search
Please pardon me, I mean you no offense, but it's hard for me to
imagine that y'all could be the answer to my quandary
I think a party with more experience ought to be entrusted with it
It's too dangerous for a novice team."
I nodded solemnly and said "I think we all agree
You can find a lower-ranked team for it, probably
We're pretty booked with solving this big robbery
Cuz someone busted up in the room where the mayor's daughter sleeps."

Yeah, it wasn't true, obviously
But me and my friends were all posturing
We'd never been outside the town as long as we all were growing up
We were just messing with him for comedy
The man's jaw released, he straightened up and he said
"Wait, I'm sorry, please, hear me out
I never meant to offend you, honestly!
The only adventurers I've ever seen carried expensive equipment
but you're all outfitted so modestly."
I said "Of course, it's all a matter of marketing
Some are always looking for work in a greater quantity
They dress pompously, we're over the novelty
We only take on what we deem is a high priority
Long as it's not beneath us, that's the policy
So my apologies if you think we're the wrong quality-"
He cut me off with an instantaneous offering:
A bag of gems and a note signed by the local sovereignty

If you were looking for trouble, you won the lucky draw
Don't want to lose it but it's never enough
You might be In Too Deep, too much of this routine
Wanna be dumb, then you better be tough

Wow I can't believe this
This out-of-towner couldn't perceive shit
He just handed a tidy fortune to three kids
and gave us a note we could go to the king and queen with
The man paid for the tab and gave a blessing
He told us he would stay at the Inn, then made his exit
We sat a minute there, all static a bit impaired
What happened, we didn't care, we ain't know what we messed with
Reckless, we hit the town and we started shopping
Bought us all a couple of weapon and armor options
Popped into the general store looking for rope
When the bloke asked what was the goal, I said "oh, let's see"
I grabbed the note and I started reading it verbally
It told about a dragon that's acting really assertive
He's already gone and murdered three families and a herd of sheep
Half of the local clergy, and said that he's coming for the king

Oh
Yeah... crap
"Yo, we gotta go, this mission's impossible
Yeah, I want the money but I ain't tryna get slaughtered, though!"
Unsurprisingly, nothing we bought could be refunded
The seedy slums that we frequent are run by greedy scum
It should've been obvious from the start of this we were unfit
We ain't adventurers, this wasn't meant to be for dunces
We had to get to the Inn and sort this
Tell this dude that we were just messing with him this morning
Hopefully the money we spent could just be reported
And we wouldn't go to jail or get sentenced to be some corpses
We all beat cheeks through the bleak streets
Racing with haste to the destination we seek
We made it there and when we explained the scenario
He whispered very low and said "You three are in deep fec!"

If you were looking for trouble, you won the lucky draw
Don't want to lose it but it's never enough
You might be In Too Deep, too much of this routine
Wanna be dumb, then you better be tough

The long and short of it was that this is a morbid mission
They figured someone impossibly strong would warrant it
That's why they paid up front, but the more important bit was
That the contract that we took had a little more than it seemed to it
The kicker was a magical clause
That bound the life of the taker as a collateral cost
Meaning the moment we took it our fate was actually locked
To whether we succeeded in killing the dragon or not
He said the money didn't matter all
But it was not a possibility to take back the hex that was on us
The whole point was to keep, sketchy adventurers honest
Any attempt to counter it would be prevented regardless
That was the sentence upon us; the room felt tight
I tried to imagine telling my mom the news that night
Away for one year, suddenly I'm a tool that lies
A cruel bad guy, leading my friends into traps?

I... looked at both of my buddies; Mera looked awfully pale
Bravest girl I knew, normally so hearty and hale
She'd challenge anybody to brawl, and body 'em all
But her whole body was suddenly impossibly frail
Right beside her stood Artus as diplomatic as usual
With a smile on his lips, acting cool as a cucumber
But his voice shook as he took in the news
And the two of 'em followed me out of the room
Like we just came from a funeral
We didn't say a lot as we walked
We prayed to gods that we'd all, wake up and shake this dream off
But we knew it was on us, we messed around and this is what it got us
We all just decided in the morning is when we'd talk
Couple hours later no sleep, no ounce or trace of rest
Sitting up in my bed like I've heard a house invader
I packed a couple bags, wrote a note to mum and dad
Left 'em half the money sack and took off straight out the gate and

Ran for it
I didn't even have a plan for if
Arty and Mera's parents demanded some answers
Or didn't understand and reacted angrily to it
As I was trying to figure it out I glanced, to my left
'Bout scared me death
Mera was jogging up to me very prepared for a trek
Hair in a terrible mess, barely aware of me, vexed
Swearing and wearing her vest open, baring her chest
I said "I couldn't sleep at all, I just left them a letter."
She nodded, agreeing it prolly wouldn't get any better
We talked about where to go as we headed toward the town square
But we were shocked what we found there

Around where we normally met up, Arty was chumming and chatting
With this Tiefling overachiever from some of our classes
She was kind of weird, but she worked wonders with magic
Way ahead of the rest of us, so what was she after?
Me and Mera came up to 'em, I was puzzled at best
Something was messed up about her showing up just as we left
Arty looked relieved when he saw us
He chuckled and stretched, and started introducing us
I ain't know what to expect, he said
"You guys had the same idea, huh? -- great minds, weird stuff
Venti, this is Dizzy and Mera,
We're, uh, in a little trouble
But I guess you already knew that, you could hear us, is that right?"
Venti nodded like it's not our lives up on the line
That's when I noticed a leather bag slung across her side
Couple vials and jars, charcoal and chalk to write
A notebook and a pouch filled with coppers, aight I got it

"Why do you think you're coming?"
She seemed nonplussed, she's like
"I thought you could use some help if we're being honest
I heard about the situation when you came to the Inn
You go without magical backup you ain't playin to win
At least they'll fit all your remains in a tin, maybe a cookie jar
Even at ten feet away I can see how shook you are
You think a hippie, a gym rat, and a rookie bard are
Gonna beat a dragon without the help of my book-ly smarts?"
I felt attacked but she wasn't lying
She was smarter than all of us when she wasn't trying
It was miles to the next town, and even if we left now
We'd only barely make it while the sun was shining
We'd be on the road, walking alone
Even if nobody bothered us it would not be like home
Plenty of bandits and animals were the problem for most
That's why people hired adventurers
To guard 'em when goin' anywhere else

I shook my head and I shrugged
I wasn't gonna stop her coming, she was better than us, but
"What's in it for you? This is levels above anyone here
And it's deadly if we're messing it up."
She grinned inwardly and said "Right, that's in it for me
Maybe you haven't noticed, I know you're bad at history
But Tieflings aren't given half the dignity that humans are
So if I'm part of the group of heroes that do this job
I'll be on the stage, bringing honor on my name
Every stuck up aristocrat will be swallowing their rage
Every college will be begging, every scholar, every sage
Everybody will want me and I'll turn ALL of 'em away
Dragonology makes all of em afraid, no one studies it
Everything I learn, I'll be the first, to discover it
Even if you die, I'm not bound to your contract
So I'll come on back and be famous just for seeing combat!"

I don't know what I expected her to say
I'm not the biggest fan of dying but the rest of it's okay
I grew up poor; nobles ain't the friendliest
I'll take the opportunity to make 'em all get bent up outta shape
So with that, we had a crew of four newbies
Through the doors, even eluded the guards' snooping
Half a mile out, we mapped the entire route
To the shire town to hire a crew to perform duties
We figured if we put together a squad, it would be less suicidal
But whatever the odds, it wasn't guaranteed to work
But it's better than not
And going in just the four of us wasn't ever an option
So we walked, and we talked, and we took breaks
Learned that Venti was in surprisingly good shape
The tension dissipated, by the time we made it we were vindicated
Feeling pretty good - and we looked great

If you were looking for trouble, you won the lucky draw
Don't want to lose it but it's never enough
You might be In Too Deep, too much of this routine
Wanna be dumb, then you better be tough

If you were looking for trouble, you won the lucky draw
Don't want to lose it but it's never enough
You might be In Too Deep, too much of this routine
Wanna be dumb, then you better be tough