Ledgerhands Unbound from Ledgerwake by Bartermarch

The secretive scratching of quills against ledgers inspired this fevered composition. When we ventured into the counting houses where Ledgerhands perform their arcane tallies, something unsettling lurked beneath their methodical work—a thrumming ambition, barely contained. The swirling shawm captures their circular reasoning, while the hammered dulcimer mimics the rapid calculations flowing through their ink-stained fingers.

We recorded this during a dispute between rival accountants at the eastern market row. Their competitive energy infused every note. Listen for the fretless bass that pulses like a heartbeat during negotiation, or the ascending dulcimer pattern that suggests rising stakes as ledgers are compared and challenged.

Ledgerhands are never truly at rest. Their anxious vigilance translates into our refusal to settle on comfortable cadences. Each time you think the melody will resolve, it pivots instead—just as a guild member might suddenly discover a forgotten debit or hidden profit margin.

The interlocking cross-rhythms embody the competitive nature of these mathematical minds. When we introduced abrupt dynamic shifts, we were channeling those moments when a Ledgerhand triumphantly discovers an error in a rival's calculations, sending the copper trays clattering.

This music lives in the tense space between precision and passion, where seemingly bland administrative work transforms into a battleground for status and power. The final dulcimer chimes suggest both victory and uncertainty—for in the market of Ashen Pike, today's triumph becomes tomorrow's new ledger to defend.

Weathered lutes & market rhythms stir memories of forgotten trades. Our dulcimers echo merchant calls across time—barter songs woven between coin-percussion & hurdy-gurdy drones. Listen for the Arbiter's bell.