Fraggle fic: The Minstrel's Path

[The Count]

I'm Never Alone is my fave because it shows Boober in a rare happy self-assured form. I Sniff The Rose echoes that a smidge, but it devolves into a fun-based romp which is still good for him.

As for Animated FR songs as MUP3's... Someone "might" have them, you could try asking in the trading thread or maybe ask KermiClown if he has the episodes and could send you the tunes that way also.

 

[Slackbot]

I have the DVDs, so I guess I could rip the songs from them, but I'm a lazy twerp and would rather snag existing files. Plus, well, animated FR. It's not like anything about it is worth much effort, is it? I'm still embarrassed that I wrote a fic for the series. Hopefully I'm the only person silly enough to do that.

 

[Slackbot]

Heh heh. I'm working on the next chapter, and here's a little non-spoilery teaser...

Murray said, "Cantus, usually I get you, but sometimes I really wonder what you're up to."
Cantus smiled and nodded as if acknowledging a compliment.

 

[Slackbot]

Another chapter! I has written it!

*****

The Minstrel's Path​

Part 19​

by Kim McFarland​

*****

The tunnels were cool even now, at the height of summer. For Cantus, Murray, and Brool, it was comfortable and nostalgic. Brio and Balsam found it pleasant, if strange.

Cantus had led the Minstrels far north, to a Doozer colony they sometimes visited in their wanderings. Shelflike roads and walkways too small to accommodate a Fraggle were attached to the cave walls. The Minstrels walked to a lit tunnel mouth well up the wall. Cantus and Murray had once climbed up into the tunnel for no reason other than curiosity about the light. Now the Minstrels stopped in front of it and played a marching tune.

Soon little round heads looked out. They disappeared again, and a rope ladder with rigid metal rungs tumbled down, unrolling as it fell. The Minstrels climbed up, one by one.

When they emerged from the tunnel into a large, open cavern they began playing another tune. It was fast-paced and energetic, the kind of music Doozers enjoy. Their music soon attracted a crowd. To Balsam, who had never seen so many Doozers in one place, they looked like a vast collection of green balls topped either with helmets or colorful tufts of hair.

When they finished Cantus lowered his pipe and said, "Greetings. I am here, as are you."

Some of the Doozers began heading back out of the open chamber. The Minstrels did not mind; some of their audience were Doozers on duty who had declared a work break to hear the music, and had to get back to their tasks. He continued, "I bring two new Minstrels, Brio and Balsam."

That surprised Balsam. He was a Minstrel?

Cantus said, "I would like to show them your music boxes."

Comb Doozer, self-appointed liaison to the Minstrels, said, "Sure. Come with us."

Some curious Doozers came in with them. It was always a novelty, seeing a Fraggle who was not childish and hyperactive, and who appreciated Doozer music. He could even play it! Maybe, some of them thought, Fraggles were not as hopeless as they seemed.

Cantus told the Minstrels, "The Doozers store music in these boxes. It is the legacy of Doozer musicians long ago who wished to sing to the future."

He looked around the room. The walls were lined with small, shallow shelves displaying music boxes. There was machinery on the sides of the shelves to bring any box a Doozer selected down to eye level. Cantus, of course, did not need this assistance. He found the box he was looking for, then said "Listen" quietly and opened it.

The Minstrels listened. It sounded as if the tune was played on tiny bells. Murray recognized it; he had heard all of these tunes in previous visits. Brool was familiar with them too. For Brio and Balsam they were new.

After it finished Cantus closed its box and said, "For most of the people in the Rock, music is as fleeting as light on the surface of water, beautiful while it lasts and then gone. Few songs are sung over and over again. These Doozers keep the songs they love most in these boxes, so they may hear these voices from long ago."

Brio asked, "How do they work?"

Comb spoke up. "Look at this box." He opened one that was at floor level. She crouched down. Holding the key so the box would not play, he said, "See the roller?" He pointed to the metal cylinder textured with tiny bumps. "Each one of those raised spots is a note. As the roller turns, the notes pass under the comb and pluck its teeth, playing the music." He released the key. The cylinder began to turn slowly. Now Brio saw the dots go under the comb. The teeth glittered as they caught the light when plucked.

"Wow. I thought it was magic," Brio said, impressed.

Pleased, Comb said, "Nope, not magic, just good Doozer skill and knowhow."

Cantus said, "I would like to ask you and your fellow Doozers to make a music box for me."

"You would?" Comb asked, surprised.

"Yes. I would like to give music to someone I have never met."

"Well…sure, why not. How many scribes will it take?"

"Three."

"All right, hold on." The Doozer left the room.

Murray said, "Cantus, usually I get you, but sometimes I really wonder what you're up to."

Cantus smiled and nodded as if acknowledging a compliment.

*

Soon Comb came back with two other Doozers, several rolls of paper, and a triangular device. Cantus said, "Murray, Brool, and I will play this."

"How fast is the beat?" Comb asked.

Cantus tapped his foot on the ground. Comb fiddled with the little machine. A bar on the front began swaying and clicking. Comb adjusted its speed to match the rhythm Cantus was tapping out. Then he sat and opened a roll of paper in front of himself. It was like a scroll, and had a set of lines running the length of the paper.

Brio and Balsam watched as Cantus, Murray, and Brool played their music. They did not feel left out. The tune had to be simple to be suitable for a music box, and Brio's cymbals and Balsam's drums wouldn't translate well. The tune was a calm, pleasant one which repeated, building gently each time it did. The Doozers, each listening to only one of the instruments, made marks on the paper as they listened.

When they finished Comb turned off the ticking machine and said, "We'll have a test track this evening."

"Thank you," Cantus said.

*

The Minstrels climbed down the ladder. Then Cantus led them to a nearby cave that was filled with edible plants. All but Brool found things there to eat. Brool, as ever, had his own supplies. As they ate Murray said, "I hope this turns out well."

"I believe it will," Cantus replied. He was nibbling on a mushroom.

"Whatever it is."

Cantus merely nodded. Murray shook his head in a sort of shrug. They had dropped everything and come back north, a trip of many, many days, bypassing many of the colonies along the way and spending little time in the ones they did visit. En route Cantus had composed and taught Murray and Brool a song. Unlike all of their other tunes, this was not to be elaborated or ad-libbed upon; it had to be played exactly as Cantus showed them. Why? He had never tried to control their music before. He had assured them that there was reason for this strange exception.

Sometimes, Murray thought, you just had to bear with Cantus. Which he did, willingly, even if he did grumble mentally sometimes. He trusted that the answer would be worth the effort.

*

When they returned late in the day the foundry was shut down and the Doozers were out of their work uniforms. Some of them, Cantus saw, had brought instruments. That pleased him. He said, "Who will begin, you or us?"

A particularly spontaneous Doozer began playing a flute. Cantus recognized her: Reed, who worked as a burnisher and played music on her time off. Other Doozers joined in, playing a cheerful, lively tune. When the Minstrels got the feel of it they joined in.

*

When they came to a stopping point Comb said, "It's ready for you to listen to. Come with me."

He led the Minstrels into a workroom. Scroll-like rolls of sheet metal stood on one side. There were tiny tools at worktables all along the walls, and a low table running down the center of the room. A long piece of sheet metal, printed with a grid pattern and textured with hundreds of raised dots, lay on it. At the far end was a comb, like those in a music box, mounted in a frame with its teeth pointing downward. The door slid shut, sealing away outside sounds. One of the Doozers standing at the table said, "Quiet for the test!"

"Ready," Cantus replied.

She flipped a switch on a device attached to the comb's frame. Rollers on either side began turning with a faint hum, drawing the sheet of metal under the comb.

They all listened as the device played the tune that the Minstrels had "dictated" earlier that day. When they had played it on pipe and two guitars it had sounded pleasant, but not special. But now, it seemed to sparkle. Cantus closed his eyes and smiled. This was exactly what he had heard in his head.

When it finished the Doozer at the controls flicked the switch again and said, "How was that?"

"That was perfect," he told her. "I would not have you change anything."

She smiled and nodded. She had expected that. Doozers, after all, did their jobs well. She said, "It will take some days, perhaps a week, to make the machinery for the box."

"It will take as long as it takes," Cantus replied.

"What about the lid?" she asked.

All music boxes had some design on the lid to identify the song within. It might be a picture, it might be an abstract design or carving or even a texture. Cantus had already thought about this. He said, "Murray, that picture I asked you to copy?"

"Sure." Murray had wondered why Cantus had asked him to copy a design they often saw in Fraggle colonies. There were all sorts of variations on it, so he had drawn a basic version with the common elements. He took it out of his pack and showed it to Cantus, who glanced at it and nodded. Then he gave it to the Doozer.

She stared at it for a long moment. Then she said, "Is this a Fraggle?"

"Yes," Cantus replied.

"Doing this?" She held her hands by the sides of her head, fingers outspread.

"Yes."

She stared at it a moment longer, then said "Okay."

*****

Fraggle Rock and all characters except Comb and Reed Doozer are copyright © The Jim Henson Company and are used without permission but with much respect and affection. Comb, Reed, and the overall story are copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.

 

[The Count]

*Grins at finding Reed at the Northern Doozer colony. *Knows what Cantus is up to, won't spoil it for others reading though.
Thank you for posting again.

 

[Slackbot]

Cantus is up to about 2'6", I'd guess. For a Fraggle he's pretty tall.

I'll bet you can hum the tune Cantus wrote.

 

[The Count]

Cute, cute joke.
No, but if you fake it... Actually, I have the MUP3, so there's that.

 

[Slackbot]

I have that MUP3 too. I listened to it several times while deciding who would play it for the Doozers. At first it was only Cantus and Murray, but then I recognized what passes for a bass line and added Brool.

 

[charlietheowl]

I think I know where this is going! Good to see that Cantus is open-minded with the Doozers and how to get across his music, and I recognized Reed from one of your previous stories (forget which one). Thanks for sharing.

 

[Slackbot]

Reed originally appeared in A Wandering Heart.

Cantus is a lot more open-minded now than he was at the beginning of the story, isn't he? He's taking one of Niven's Laws to heart: There are beings who think just as well as you, but differently. Now he doesn't try to fit those differences into his own paradigm, but enjoys them for their own qualities. It's more fun that way.