Ariella, an heroic tale

Sometimes a magic lute is more than a magic lute.

Minions of an evil ogre have stolen Rymer the troubadour's lute. The lute's name is Ariella. Rymer needs her for his livelihood. He thinks of Ariella as Her, not It. In fact he believes his lute is his wife. He sets off to find the ogre and recover Ariella. He will encounter Swine Girl, who will help him. But he first must pass by the Black Duke and Castle Grey, where Swine Girl's brother is held captive. How will he get past the castle and find his ogre?

The Black Duke stands in Rymer's way. No one knows where he came from, or the source of his power. He has taken Castle Grey for his own, and drained all color from it. He throws Rymer in the deepest dungeon, next to Swine Girl's brother. The troubadour has only a single dragon's scale to help him escape. Where is he to find an army to overthrow the Duke?

If Rymer should fail in his mission he will not see Ariella again, and Castle Grey shall be buried in gloom forever. Now travel to an imaginary time past, which haunts us yet today.